Product Management Production Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Value Stream Map (VSM), 'push' arrows between process steps indicate:
- Material is pulled based on downstream demand
- Information flows electronically
- Material is pushed forward regardless of downstream readiness (Correct answer)
- A kaizen improvement opportunity
Correct answer: Material is pushed forward regardless of downstream readiness
Push arrows in VSM show material being moved forward based on schedules, not downstream pull signals.
Question 2: A manufacturer's process yield is 95% at each of four sequential steps. What is the rolled throughput yield (RTY)?
- 95%
- 80%
- 81.45% (Correct answer)
- 75%
Correct answer: 81.45%
RTY = 0.95 × 0.95 × 0.95 × 0.95 ≈ 81.45%, showing cumulative defect probability across all steps.
Question 3: Which approach to production capacity management deliberately maintains excess capacity to absorb demand spikes without delays?
- Lag strategy
- Match strategy
- Lead strategy (Correct answer)
- Level strategy
Correct answer: Lead strategy
A lead strategy builds capacity ahead of demand to ensure availability, accepting the cost of temporary idle capacity.
Question 4: Poka-yoke devices are used in production to:
- Track real-time machine performance
- Prevent defects by making errors impossible or immediately obvious (Correct answer)
- Optimize worker shift schedules
- Calculate scrap rates automatically
Correct answer: Prevent defects by making errors impossible or immediately obvious
Poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) designs physical or procedural mechanisms that make human errors impossible or instantly detectable.
Question 5: When a product manager conducts a 'capacity cushion' analysis, they are evaluating:
- The buffer between actual demand and maximum production capacity (Correct answer)
- Excess raw material inventory on hand
- The safety stock level for finished goods
- Overstaffing ratios in production departments
Correct answer: The buffer between actual demand and maximum production capacity
A capacity cushion is the amount of capacity reserved above expected demand to handle variability and avoid overload.
Question 6: In Material Requirements Planning (MRP), 'gross requirements' are converted to 'net requirements' by:
- Adding safety stock to gross requirements
- Subtracting on-hand inventory and scheduled receipts (Correct answer)
- Dividing by the production lead time
- Multiplying by the scrap factor
Correct answer: Subtracting on-hand inventory and scheduled receipts
Net requirements = Gross requirements − On-hand inventory − Scheduled receipts, revealing the true quantity that must be ordered.
Question 7: A plant manager wants to improve flow efficiency and eliminate non-value-added waiting between departments. Which lean tool best maps and quantifies this waste?
- FMEA
- Value Stream Mapping (VSM) (Correct answer)
- Control Chart
- Affinity Diagram
Correct answer: Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
VSM visualizes the entire production flow, clearly distinguishing value-added from non-value-added time and identifying waste.
Product Management Production Management 5
In a Value Stream Map (VSM), 'push' arrows between process steps indicate: