CMS Process Engineering & Optimization 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which technique uses a fishbone diagram to identify root causes of a process defect?
- Pareto Analysis
- Ishikawa (Cause-and-Effect) Analysis (Correct answer)
- FMEA
- Control Chart Analysis
Correct answer: Ishikawa (Cause-and-Effect) Analysis
The Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram visually maps categories of potential causes leading to a specific defect or problem.
Question 2: In process optimization, what does OEE stand for?
- Overall Equipment Effectiveness (Correct answer)
- Operational Efficiency Evaluation
- Output Engineering Estimate
- Optimal Execution Environment
Correct answer: Overall Equipment Effectiveness
OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) measures availability, performance, and quality to assess manufacturing productivity.
Question 3: A manufacturing plant reduces changeover time from 4 hours to 45 minutes using SMED. What does SMED stand for?
- Standard Manufacturing Equipment Design
- Single-Minute Exchange of Die (Correct answer)
- Systematic Machine Error Detection
- Sequential Manufacturing Event Diagram
Correct answer: Single-Minute Exchange of Die
SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die) is a lean technique aimed at reducing setup and changeover times to under 10 minutes.
Question 4: Which process improvement model follows the sequence Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control?
- PDCA
- DMAIC (Correct answer)
- SIPOC
- FMEA
Correct answer: DMAIC
DMAIC is the core Six Sigma problem-solving framework used to improve existing processes systematically.
Question 5: What is the purpose of a Process Capability Index (Cpk)?
- Measure machine uptime percentage
- Quantify how well a process fits within specification limits (Correct answer)
- Schedule preventive maintenance intervals
- Calculate total production throughput
Correct answer: Quantify how well a process fits within specification limits
Cpk measures how centered and spread out a process is relative to its upper and lower specification limits.
Question 6: In value stream mapping, which symbol typically represents a push production system?
- Pull arrow
- Push arrow (straight arrow) (Correct answer)
- Kaizen burst
- Inventory triangle
Correct answer: Push arrow (straight arrow)
A straight push arrow in VSM indicates that material is pushed downstream regardless of actual downstream demand.
Question 7: A process engineer wants to simultaneously test the effect of three factors at two levels each. Which experimental design is most efficient?
- One-factor-at-a-time (OFAT)
- Full factorial 2³ design (Correct answer)
- Taguchi L4 array
- Regression analysis only
Correct answer: Full factorial 2³ design
A full 2³ factorial design tests all combinations of three factors at two levels, capturing main effects and interactions in 8 runs.
CMS Process Engineering & Optimization 2
Which technique uses a fishbone diagram to identify root causes of a process defect?