CGM Data Collection & Analysis 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A grounds manager records irrigation run times but not actual water applied. What additional data is needed to calculate water application rates?
- Evapotranspiration rate
- Precipitation rate of the heads (Correct answer)
- Soil infiltration rate
- Plant water use coefficient
Correct answer: Precipitation rate of the heads
Precipitation rate (inches per hour output of sprinkler heads) multiplied by run time gives the actual water application volume.
Question 2: Which type of chart is best for comparing the proportional budget allocation across multiple maintenance categories?
- Bar chart
- Scatter plot
- Pie chart (Correct answer)
- Box plot
Correct answer: Pie chart
A pie chart visually represents parts of a whole, making it ideal for showing proportional budget allocation across categories.
Question 3: In quality control charting for grounds maintenance, what does a data point falling outside the control limits indicate?
- Normal process variation
- A potential special cause requiring investigation (Correct answer)
- Data entry error only
- Seasonal adjustment needed
Correct answer: A potential special cause requiring investigation
Points outside control limits signal special-cause variation, meaning something unusual affected the process and warrants investigation.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of conducting a grounds audit using standardized evaluation forms?
- To eliminate the need for chemical testing
- To ensure consistent, repeatable data collection across staff and time (Correct answer)
- To replace GPS mapping systems
- To calculate exact labor hours per task
Correct answer: To ensure consistent, repeatable data collection across staff and time
Standardized forms ensure that data is collected consistently regardless of who conducts the audit, enabling reliable comparisons over time.
Question 5: A manager finds that irrigation water usage spiked in July despite stable weather. The first analytical step should be:
- Replace all irrigation controllers
- Cross-reference usage data with maintenance logs and meter readings (Correct answer)
- Reduce irrigation run times by 50%
- Assume data entry error and discard the month
Correct answer: Cross-reference usage data with maintenance logs and meter readings
Cross-referencing usage data with maintenance records and meter readings helps identify the root cause before making management decisions.
Question 6: Which GPS-based technology allows grounds managers to create precise maps of areas, assets, and problem spots?
- GIS (Geographic Information Systems) (Correct answer)
- EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Correct answer: GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
GIS integrates GPS positioning with mapping software to create spatially accurate maps of grounds assets, features, and conditions.
Question 7: When analyzing turf density data collected at multiple sites, which measure of central tendency is most resistant to extreme outliers?
- Mean
- Mode
- Median (Correct answer)
- Range
Correct answer: Median
The median is resistant to outliers because it represents the middle value of ranked data, unaffected by extreme high or low values.
CGM Data Collection & Analysis 3
A grounds manager records irrigation run times but not actual water applied.
What additional data is needed to calculate water application rates?