Lean and six sigma share in common which of the following traits?

1. They are mutually exclusive
2. They both require top management commitment
3. They are independent of customer satisfaction
4. They both require long learning curves

b

The most important element in LSS deployment would be considered:

1. Training
2. Organizational structure
3. Management support
4. Reward and recognition

c

Which of the following concepts is mostly associated with Taiichi Ohno?

1. SPC
2. TOC
3. CTQ
4. TPS

d

Which of the following is the most acceptable reason for the deployment of LSS projects?

1. A focus on cost savings
2. A focus on customer dissatisfaction
3. A focus on external problems
4. A focus on design improvements

a

LSS project benefits would include which of the following?

1. Decreased profits
2. Improved process capability
3. Increased defects
4. Increase warranty claims

b

Kaplan and Norton have outlined a business planning process that gives consideration to factors other than strictly financial ones. It provides a greater perspective for stakeholder interests. This approach is referred to as:

1. Balanced Scorecard
2. Strategic Planning
3. 5 Forces of competitive strategy
4. Quality function deployment

a

Increasing performance in a LSS corporation from 3 sigma to 4 sigma would reduce defects per million by a factor of:

1. 2
2. 8
3. 10
4. 16

c

In a nutshell, LSS is considered:

1. A business improvement approach
2. A focus on critical customer items
3. An elimination of mistakes and defects
4. A concentrated focus on business outputs

a

What guru is MOST widely associated with DOE?

1. Shingo
2. Juran
3. Ishikawa
4. Taguchi

d

The term "metrics" most frequently refers to:

1. A unit measurement
2. The metric system
3. The science of weights and measurements
4. An evaluation method

d

If one chose to look at any business enterprise on a main level basis, which of the following category choices would have either KPIV (key process input variables) or KPOV (key process output variables)?

1. Process and operations
2. Operations and technological
3. Business and technological
4. Technological and process

a

What luminary is generally recognized as being the creator of the control chart?

1. Deming
2. Shewhart
3. Harry
4. Ishikawa

b

The defect levels, as reported by Motorola in their six sigma program, are higher than one might expect from use of a standard normal table or traditional capability calculations. Why is this true?

1. Motorola found their processes followed the exponential distribution
2. Motorola allowed for failure on one-tail only
3. Motorola allowed fro 1.5sigma shift in the mean
4. Motorola found that six sigma efforts increased process variation

c

A lean enterprise approach encompasses which of the following departments?

1. Manufacturing only
2. All company departments plus suppliers
3. Manufacturing, quality, and the supply chain
4. Manufacturing and quality departments

b

From an upper management perspective, what has been the principle motivating factor in embracing LSS?

1. Bottom line results
2. Market share growth
3. Defect reductions
4. Customer focus

a

Strategic goals will be subdivided into:

1. Major benchmarks
2. Loss functions
3. Numerous tactical goals
4. Appropriate metrics

c

Of the key elements of an organizational plan, which of the following would be most likely to contain numbers and dates?

1. Vision statements
2. Tactical objectives
3. Guiding principles
4. Mission statements

b

Who was the first CEO to understand the need to control variation instead of the process average as a way to significantly improve quality?

1. Jack Welch
2. Robert Galvin
3. Henry Ford
4. Bill Smith

b

Which of the following would be considered a strategic quality goal?

1. Commitment to the customer
2. Reducing the scrap rate in the finishing department by 1%
3. Improved performance inspection checks on work in progress
4. Training 6 green belts in statistical techniques this quarter

a

The concept most closely associated with lean production is:

1. Better quality
2. Faster production
3. Flexible production
4. Elimination of waste

d

Why is LSS called TQM on steroids?

1. Because of the extensive training element required
2. Because of the inclusion of statistical and lean tools
3. Because of the heavy impact of top management support
4. Because of the impact of cost savings on the bottom line

b

Strategic goals must be subdivided. Thus, they are:

1. Delegated
2. Distributed
3. Accountable
4. Deployed

d

Many tools can be used in either lean or six sigma projects. A problem solving approach that unifies project follow-up is:

1. SIPOC
2. DOE
3. DMAIC
4. TPM

c

Which of the following quality gurus is most closely associated with the term "total quality management"?

1. Crosby
2. Feigenbaum
3. Deming
4. Juran

b

The difference between strategic goals and the strategic business plan is that:

1. Strategic goals are often a lower tier than the strategic business plan
2. They are determined by top management only
3. They may offer conflicting priorities
4. They are based on priorities given by all levels of the company

a

What would occur if the quality goals were not a part of the strategic plan?

1. There would be no strategic goals
2. There would not be as much emphasis on quality
3. The total quality effor towuld not suffer
4. The quality department would still maintain the quality goals

b

Which American figure is seen as the earliest advocate of waste reduction?

1. Henry Ford
2. Frederick W. Taylor
3. W. Edwards Deming
4. James Womack

a

A company has just started a LSS initiative. Which set of tools would be better suited for initial projects?

1. Lean tools because they provide stability and repeat-ability for future projects
2. Six sigma tools because they provide a larger number of available options
3. Lean tools because they provide a more reliable and accurate picture of the root cause
4. Six sigma tools because they provide more measurement data

a

Which of the following quality luminaries would be most clearly identified as a proponent of improvement and breakthrough projects?

1. Ishikawa
2. Deming
3. Juran
4. Crosby

c

Strategic plan implementation at the functional level requires:

1. Functional level metrics
2. A company quality policy with everyone understanding it
3. Functional short and long term strategic goals
4. A customer focus

c

Which of the following legendary lean thinkers was never officially on Toyota's payroll?

1. Sakichi Toyoda
2. Taii Ohno
3. Shigeo Shingo
4. Eiji Toyoda

c

Which of the following is a resource requirement needed to achieve strategic goals?

1. Infrastructure and support for the projects
2. Knowledge of Mikel Harry's work
3. Use of the Juran Triology
4. Proficiency with Taguchi designs

a

Who created the initial problem solving framework that would later become DMAIC?

1. Mikel Harry
2. Forrest Breyfogle, III
3. Robert Galvin
4. Michael George

a

After the development of a viable corporate strategy, the next logical step would be:

1. PDCA
2. Deployment
3. SWOT Analysis
4. Benchmarking

b

If a metrics format were being developed to track marketplace response, which of the following items would be included?

1. Cost of quality
2. Customer retention
3. Cycle time reduction
4. Profit margin on sales

b

Metrics of the effectiveness of the strategic quality plan include:

1. DMAIC
2. Customer satisfaction
3. The CSI number
4. Drennik index

b

The extension from lean production to lean office is possible because:

1. The office produces a variety of services
2. The concept of waste applies to every business environment
3. Offices are more data driven than manufacturing
4. There is little difference between production and office environments

b

If metrics were used to track marketplace response as part of the strategic plan deployment, which of the following measures are most likely to be included?

1. Analysis of returns and cost of quality
2. Cost of quality and customer retention
3. Customer market surveys and customer retention
4. Customer retention and cost of quality

c

Who should be the ultimate recipient of LSS project results?

1. Top managers
2. Employees
3. Customers
4. Project sponsors

c

One of Dr. Deming's 14 points for management states, "cease dependence upon inspection as a way to achieve quality". The underlying tenet of this statement is which of the following?

1. Many American companies employ too many inspectors; perhaps 5-10% of the workforce
2. Quality should be built into the product not inspected in
3. In most cases, the worker should perform his/her own inspection and not rely on someone else
4. Most manual inspection will miss 10-20% of defects under typical working conditions

b