Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Lean Principles and Waste 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Green Belt notices technicians walking long distances between workstations to retrieve tools. Which type of waste does this represent?
- Overproduction
- Motion (Correct answer)
- Waiting
- Inventory
Correct answer: Motion
Motion waste refers to unnecessary movement of people, such as walking to retrieve tools that should be located at the point of use.
Question 2: Which Lean principle is most directly associated with producing only what the customer needs, when they need it?
- Continuous flow
- Pull system (Correct answer)
- Perfection
- Value stream mapping
Correct answer: Pull system
A pull system produces goods only in response to actual customer demand, preventing overproduction and excess inventory.
Question 3: In the TIMWOOD acronym for the 8 wastes, what does the second 'O' stand for?
- Overloading
- Over-processing (Correct answer)
- Output defects
- Overanalysis
Correct answer: Over-processing
In TIMWOOD (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Overproduction, Defects), the second O stands for Over-processing.
Question 4: A company produces reports that are never read by any stakeholder. Which category of waste best describes this activity?
- Waiting
- Overproduction (Correct answer)
- Defects
- Transportation
Correct answer: Overproduction
Producing reports no one uses is overproduction — creating output beyond what the customer (stakeholder) needs or requests.
Question 5: Which Lean concept categorizes activities as value-added, non-value-added but necessary, or pure waste?
- 5S methodology
- Value stream analysis (Correct answer)
- Kaizen event
- Poka-yoke
Correct answer: Value stream analysis
Value stream analysis categorizes every process step into value-added, necessary non-value-added, or waste to identify improvement opportunities.
Question 6: A manufacturing team stores six weeks of raw material on the shop floor 'just in case.' Which waste type does this exemplify?
- Defects
- Transportation
- Inventory (Correct answer)
- Motion
Correct answer: Inventory
Excess inventory held beyond immediate need ties up capital and space, representing the inventory waste type in Lean.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the Lean principle of 'Seek Perfection'?
- Achieving zero defects on the first production run
- Continuously striving for incremental improvement with no end state (Correct answer)
- Eliminating all seven wastes permanently
- Implementing standardized work across all processes
Correct answer: Continuously striving for incremental improvement with no end state
Seeking perfection in Lean is an ongoing, never-ending pursuit of continuous improvement (kaizen) rather than a single achievable goal.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Lean Principles and Waste 2
A Green Belt notices technicians walking long distances between workstations to retrieve tools.
Which type of waste does this represent?