APICS Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which lean principle focuses on eliminating all activities that do not add value from the customer's perspective?
- Value stream mapping
- Waste elimination (Muda) (Correct answer)
- Just-in-time production
- Kaizen events
Correct answer: Waste elimination (Muda)
Waste elimination (Muda) is the core lean principle focused on removing all non-value-adding activities from the perspective of the customer.
Question 2: In the Toyota Production System, what are the three types of waste collectively known as the '3 Ms'?
- Muda, Mura, Muri (Correct answer)
- Motion, Material, Method
- Muda, Machine, Man
- Markup, Margin, Method
Correct answer: Muda, Mura, Muri
Muda (waste), Mura (unevenness), and Muri (overburden) are the three types of waste identified in the Toyota Production System.
Question 3: What does the lean concept of 'Takt time' represent?
- The time required to complete one production cycle
- The rate at which products must be produced to meet customer demand (Correct answer)
- The total elapsed time from order to delivery
- The time machines are available for production
Correct answer: The rate at which products must be produced to meet customer demand
Takt time is the available production time divided by customer demand, representing the rate at which products must be completed to satisfy demand.
Question 4: Which lean tool is used to visually document all the steps involved in delivering a product or service, including both value-added and non-value-added steps?
- 5S methodology
- Kanban board
- Value stream map (Correct answer)
- Fishbone diagram
Correct answer: Value stream map
A value stream map visually documents all process steps from raw material to customer delivery, identifying value-added and non-value-added activities.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a Kanban system in lean manufacturing?
- To schedule preventive maintenance
- To signal replenishment and control work-in-process inventory (Correct answer)
- To track employee performance
- To measure overall equipment effectiveness
Correct answer: To signal replenishment and control work-in-process inventory
Kanban is a pull-based signaling system used to trigger replenishment and limit work-in-process inventory by authorizing production or movement only when needed.
Question 6: In the context of lean manufacturing, what are the five principles defined by Womack and Jones in 'Lean Thinking'?
- Plan, Do, Check, Act, Sustain
- Value, Value stream, Flow, Pull, Perfection (Correct answer)
- Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
- Sort, Set, Shine, Standardize, Sustain
Correct answer: Value, Value stream, Flow, Pull, Perfection
Womack and Jones defined the five lean principles as: specify value, identify the value stream, make value flow, let customers pull value, and pursue perfection.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'One-Piece Flow' in lean manufacturing?
- Producing items one at a time and moving them immediately to the next step (Correct answer)
- Batching all items before moving to the next workstation
- Producing one product line at a time
- Using a single shift to complete all production
Correct answer: Producing items one at a time and moving them immediately to the next step
One-piece flow means producing and moving one unit at a time through each process step, minimizing work-in-process inventory and exposing quality issues immediately.
APICS Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement 1
Which lean principle focuses on eliminating all activities that do not add value from the customer's perspective?