Waste Identification & Process 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 Waste Identification & Process Improvement flashcards as text
In a Lean context, which scenario best illustrates the waste of 'overproduction'?
Answer: A factory produces 500 units when customer demand is only 300
Overproduction means producing more than what the customer currently demands, creating excess inventory and tying up resources.
Which Lean tool is specifically designed to make waste visible by mapping every step, delay, and information flow in a process?
Answer: Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
Value Stream Mapping visualizes all steps in the process to expose waste such as delays, excess inventory, and non-value-added activities.
A nurse walks to the supply room 12 times per shift to retrieve items that could be stored at the point of care. Which of the 8 wastes does this primarily represent?
Answer: Motion
Unnecessary movement of people within a workspace is classified as the waste of Motion in Lean thinking.
During a kaizen event, the team discovers that a report is printed and handed to three managers who each re-enter the same data into separate spreadsheets. This is an example of which waste?
Answer: Extra Processing
Redundant data entry and unnecessary steps beyond what the customer requires represent the waste of Extra Processing (over-processing).
Which of the following best describes a 'pull system' in Lean production?
Answer: Each process produces only what the next downstream process requests
A pull system triggers production only when downstream demand signals it, preventing overproduction and excess inventory.
When applying the waste reduction concept of 'right-sizing,' a team replaces one large batch-processing machine with three smaller machines positioned inline. The primary benefit achieved is:
Answer: Reduced transportation and smoother flow
Right-sized equipment positioned in sequence reduces transportation waste and enables continuous one-piece flow.
Which metric directly reflects the combined impact of equipment breakdowns, setup time, and quality defects on productive capacity?
Answer: Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
OEE measures availability, performance, and quality together, exposing hidden capacity losses from all three sources of equipment waste.