Week 9 Production Review Quiz

Who was Taiichi Ohno, and what role did he play in the Toyota Production System?

• A marketing executive at Toyota

• The engineer who developed the Toyota Production System

• A quality control inspector at Toyota

• The CEO of Toyota

What is 'Just-in-Time' production, and how does it improve efficiency?

• Producing parts only when customers demand them, reducing inventory

• Producing extra parts to keep in storage in case of emergencies

• Manufacturing parts in bulk to lower costs

• Focusing on employee training programs

What does 'Jidoka' mean, and how does it help prevent defects in manufacturing?

• Continuous improvement through daily meetings

• Building quality into the process by stopping production when a defect is detected

• Using machines to eliminate human error

• Outsourcing defect-prone processes to suppliers

Why did Toyota focus on reducing inventory in their system?

• To improve product quality by eliminating excess materials

• To reduce costs and reveal production problems

• To prevent defects from spreading

• To create more storage space for new machinery

How did Toyota improve the speed of their die changeover process, and what was the impact?

• They added more machines to increase production.

• They reduced the die change time from hours to minutes, improving flexibility.

• They outsourced the die-changing task to a third party.

• They eliminated changeovers by using only one product design.

Why is 'thinking people' an important part of Toyota's system?

• Employees are encouraged to follow instructions without questioning.

• Workers are responsible only for their assigned tasks.

• Employees are empowered to suggest improvements and solve problems.

• Managers make all decisions without input from workers.

How does Toyota work with suppliers to improve efficiency?

• By negotiating lower prices without considering quality

• By forming close partnerships and sharing information

• By switching suppliers frequently to maintain competition

• By reducing communication to avoid interference

What is the actual bottleneck at Alex’s plant?

• The shipping department

• The NCX-10 machine

• The inventory storage area

• The employee training process

What kinds of evidence help the team spot the bottleneck?

• Complaints from customers

• The buildup of inventory in front of the NCX-10 machine

• High worker satisfaction surveys

• Increased overtime requests

Why is it important to not just blame the slowest worker or machine?

• Workers can be replaced easily.

• The real issue might be the process, not the worker or machine.

• The slowest worker is usually the least experienced.

• Machines naturally break down, so it’s expected.