WorksheetsWeek 9 Production Review Quiz
Total questions: 18
Worksheet time: 9mins
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.
What solution does the team try to improve the bottleneck?
They speed up all the machines.
They replace the NCX-10 with a newer model.
They prioritize work for the bottleneck machine.
They increase employee break times.
How do they know if their solution is actually working?
Employees report higher satisfaction.
Throughput increases and inventory buildup decreases.
The NCX-10 machine breaks down less frequently.
Operational expenses drop immediately.
What lesson from this section do you think would help a small business (like a bakery or print shop)?
Focus on improving every step of the process equally.
Identify the slowest step and find ways to reduce its impact.
Hire more employees to increase speed.
Invest in automation without analyzing the bottleneck.
Why does Alex ask Jonah to visit the plant? What specific help is Alex hoping for?
To increase product variety and attract more customers.
To identify the plant’s real bottleneck and improve operations.
To cut employee costs through layoffs.
To develop a new marketing strategy.
Jonah asks the team to describe what they think the problem is. How does their understanding of the plant’s issues differ from Jonah’s perspective?
The team believes the issue is with slow employees, while Jonah focuses on the process.
The team wants to invest in better advertising, while Jonah wants to fix machine breakdowns.
The team blames poor product design, while Jonah recommends changing suppliers.
The team suggests improving customer service, while Jonah believes hiring new staff is the solution.
What does Jonah mean when he says that increasing efficiencies everywhere won’t necessarily help the plant?
It will result in higher employee turnover.
Increasing efficiencies in non-bottleneck areas will lead to excess inventory without increasing throughput.
It will reduce customer demand.
It will cause machines to wear down faster.
The team discusses what’s preventing them from making more money. What key insights does Jonah provide to help them shift their thinking?
They should reduce product prices to increase sales.
They should focus on training employees to work faster.
They should maximize throughput by identifying and fixing the constraint.
They should cut costs by reducing quality control.
Jonah challenges the team to identify their constraints. Based on the discussion, what are the possible constraints at the plant? How can the team find out for sure?
Survey the employees for feedback.
Replace all machinery to avoid breakdowns.
Track inventory buildup and watch for slow production areas.
Hire an external consultant to make recommendations.
