Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Advanced Lean and Enterprise 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Lean enterprise, which principle describes the idea that every process step should only produce output when the downstream process requests it?
- Push production
- Pull system (Correct answer)
- Batch-and-queue processing
- Continuous replenishment
Correct answer: Pull system
A pull system triggers production based on actual downstream demand signals (such as kanban cards), preventing overproduction and excess inventory — a core Lean principle.
Question 2: An enterprise Lean transformation team wants to eliminate waiting waste between departments. Which Lean tool is MOST directly used to visualize and quantify this inter-departmental delay?
- Process capability study
- Value stream map (Correct answer)
- Spaghetti diagram
- Fishbone diagram
Correct answer: Value stream map
A value stream map captures both value-added and non-value-added time (including wait time) across the entire flow, making inter-departmental delays visible and measurable.
Question 3: Which concept in Lean enterprise thinking refers to the rate at which the market demands a product, used to synchronize production pace?
- Cycle time
- Lead time
- Takt time (Correct answer)
- Throughput rate
Correct answer: Takt time
Takt time is calculated as available production time divided by customer demand rate; it sets the heartbeat for production and helps align all processes to customer pull.
Question 4: A Lean Black Belt notices that a factory layout causes workers to walk long distances between workstations. Which waste category does this PRIMARILY represent?
- Overproduction
- Defects
- Motion (Correct answer)
- Transportation
Correct answer: Motion
Motion waste refers to unnecessary physical movement by people (walking, reaching, bending), whereas transportation waste refers to movement of materials or products.
Question 5: In an enterprise Lean deployment, 'yokoten' is best described as:
- A formal escalation process for quality defects
- The horizontal sharing and replication of best practices across the organization (Correct answer)
- A type of kanban signal used in assembly lines
- The annual policy deployment review cycle
Correct answer: The horizontal sharing and replication of best practices across the organization
Yokoten (横展) literally means 'horizontal deployment' in Japanese — it is the Lean practice of proactively sharing successful improvements across different areas or facilities to multiply gains.
Question 6: When applying enterprise-level Lean, a Black Belt wants to assess how efficiently the organization converts inputs into customer value. Which ratio BEST captures this?
- Process cycle efficiency (value-added time ÷ total lead time) (Correct answer)
- First pass yield (units passing inspection ÷ total units)
- Overall equipment effectiveness (availability × performance × quality)
- Return on invested capital (NOPAT ÷ invested capital)
Correct answer: Process cycle efficiency (value-added time ÷ total lead time)
Process cycle efficiency (PCE) directly quantifies the proportion of total lead time that is actually value-adding; a low PCE signals significant waste and improvement opportunity across the value stream.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Advanced Lean and Enterprise 1
In a Lean enterprise, which principle describes the idea that every process step should only produce output when the downstream process requests it?