Ch8 – Lean Operations and the Toyota Production – Test Bank

Matching Supply with Demand: An Introduction to Operations Management, 4e (Cachon)

Chapter 08 Lean Operations and the Toyota Production System

1) Which of the following statements about the Kanban system is/are accurate?

I. Deploying the Kanban system leads to pulling work through the system instead of pushing work.

II. Deploying the Kanban system leads to pushing work through the system instead of pulling work.

III. The Kanban system controls the work in process inventory.

IV. The Kanban system is a quality method that reduces defects.

V. Kanban requires cross-training all workers.

A) I only

B) II only

C) III and IV only

D) I, II, and III only

E) I, II, and IV

F) I and IV only

G) I and III only

Difficulty: 3 Hard

Topic: TPS Framework

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Analyze

2) Please write the letter corresponding to the most appropriate example or definition from choices (a) through (g) below on the blank line next to each word.

a) Examples of these include workers having to make unnecessary movements (i.e., excessive reaching or walking to get tools or parts), working on parts that are defective, and idle time.

b) This is a system that enables a line worker to signal that he or she needs assistance from his or her supervisor, for example in the case of a defect. It is used to implement the Jidoka principle.

c) This is a brainstorming technique that helps structure the process of identifying the underlying causes of an outcome that is usually undesirable.

d) As an example of this philosophy, workers in the Toshiba case had notebooks at their workstations that they used to jot down improvement ideas.

e) This is a method that controls the amount of work-in-process inventory.

f) If an automotive assembly plant used this technique, the adjacent cars on an assembly line would be mixed models (e.g., Model A with a sunroof, Model A without a sunroof, Model B, Model B with a sunroof), in proportions equal to customer demand.

g) This makes production problems visible and stops production upon detection of defects.

Please assign ONE LETTER to each of the following terms:

Kanban ____

Muda ____

Heijunka ____

Andon cord ____

Kaizen ____

Ishikawa ____

Jidoka ____

Kanban __e__

Muda __a__

Heijunka __f__

Andon cord __b__

Kaizen __d__

Ishikawa __c__

Jidoka __g__

Difficulty: 3 Hard

Topic: The Seven Sources of Waste

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Analyze

3) In the Toyota Production System, Jidoka refers to

A) the level of production where different models are produced alongside each other on the assembly line.

B) continuous improvement where workers organize meetings to discuss ways of improving the production process.

C) the inventory retrieval system where parts are replenished only when they are needed.

D) the aggressive reduction of changeover and setup times.

E) continuous line-balancing to maximize utilization.

F) the cross-training of workers for a wide range of skills.

G) none of the above

Difficulty: 3 Hard

Topic: TPS Framework

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Analyze

4) Which of the following statements accurately describe the Toyota Production System?

I. The entire production is shut down every time the Andon cord is pulled.

II. There is zero idle time at each production step.

III. The TPS uses no buffers.

IV. TPS uses buffer inventories between line segments to avoid blocking and starving of the production line.

A) I only

B) II only

C) III only

D) IV only

E) I, II, III, and IV

F) II and IV

G) II, III, and IV

H) I and IV

Difficulty: 3 Hard

Topic: TPS Framework

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Analyze