Performance Metrics & Continuous Improvement Flashcards
7 cards from real CLL practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Performance Metrics & Continuous Improvement flashcards as text
A lean leader wants to measure improvement in flow efficiency. Which metric is most appropriate?
Answer: Value-added time as a percentage of total lead time
Flow efficiency (value-added ratio) shows what fraction of total lead time actually adds customer value, exposing the scale of non-value-added waste.
What does an 'escape defect' metric track in a lean quality system?
Answer: Defects that pass through the process and reach the customer
Escape defects measure quality failures that slip past all internal controls and reach external customers, the most costly defect type.
In lean, what is 'pitch' and why is it used as a metric?
Answer: A multiple of Takt time used to schedule and monitor material flow in fixed time increments
Pitch is the quantity of parts produced per Takt time interval, used to make performance visible at regular intervals and trigger rapid response to deviation.
A team's kaizen event improves throughput by 20% but the improvement disappears within three months. What lean principle was most likely violated?
Answer: Standardization and sustainment of improvements
Without standardizing the new method and building sustainment mechanisms (audits, visual controls, training), improvements regress to old habits.
Which of the following best describes 'Cost of Poor Quality' (COPQ)?
Answer: Total cost of internal failures, external failures, appraisal, and prevention activities
COPQ encompasses all costs resulting from producing defects — internal failures, external failures, appraisal, and prevention — quantifying the full impact of poor quality.
What is the key lean reason for tracking 'number of improvement suggestions per employee per year'?
Answer: It measures employee engagement and the health of the continuous improvement culture
This metric is a leading indicator of CI culture health — engaged employees who are encouraged to improve generate and implement more ideas.
In lean performance measurement, what is the danger of measuring too many KPIs simultaneously?
Answer: Teams lose focus and cannot prioritize the most critical improvements
Tracking too many KPIs dilutes attention, creates measurement overhead, and makes it unclear which metrics actually drive value and improvement priority.