Module 1 - J

Question 1

assignable cause

Answer 1

A source of variation in a process that can be isolated, especially when its significantly larger magnitude or different origin readily distinguishes it from random causes of variation.

Question 2

cause-and-effect diagram

Answer 2

A tool for analyzing process dispersion. It is also referred to as the Ishikawa diagram (because Kaoru Ishikawa developed it) and the fishbone diagram (because the complete diagram resembles a fish skeleton). The diagram illustrates the main causes and subcauses leading to an effect (symptom). This diagram is one of the seven tools of quality

Question 3

continuous process improvement (CPI)

Answer 3

A never-ending effort to expose and eliminate root causes of problems; small-step improvement as opposed to big-step improvement.

Question 4

control chart

Answer 4

A graphic comparison of process performance data with predetermined computed control limits. The process performance data usually consists of groups of measurements selected in the regular sequence of production that preserve the order. The primary use of these is to detect assignable causes of variation in the process as opposed to random variations. This is one of the seven tools of quality.

Question 5

control limit

Answer 5

A statistically determined line on a control chart. If a value occurs outside this limit, the process is deemed to be out of control

Question 6

cost of poor quality

Answer 6

The cost associated with providing poor-quality products or services. There are four categories of costs: (1) internal failure costs (costs associated with defects found before the customer receives the product or service); (2) external failure costs (costs associated with defects found after the customer receives the product or service); (3) appraisal costs (costs incurred to determine the degree of conformance to quality requirements); and (4) prevention costs (costs incurred to keep failure and appraisal costs to a minimum).

Question 7

critical chain method

Answer 7

In the theory of constraints, a network planning technique for the analysis of a project’s completion time, used for planning and controlling project activities. This determines project duration, is based on technological and resource constraints. Strategic buffering of paths and resources is used to increase project completion success.

Question 8

critical path method (CPM)

Answer 8

A network planning technique for the analysis of a project’s completion time used for planning and controlling the activities in a project. By showing each of these activities and their associated times, the critical path, which identifies those elements that actually constrain the total time for the project, can be determined.

Question 9

employee empowerment

Answer 9

The practice of giving non-managerial employees the responsibility and the power to make decisions regarding their jobs or tasks. It is associated with the practice of transfer of managerial responsibility to the employee. Empowerment allows the employee to take on responsibility for tasks normally associated with staff specialists. Examples include allowing the employee to make scheduling, quality, process design, or purchasing decisions.

Question 10

employee involvement (EI)

Answer 10

The concept of using the experience, creative energy, and intelligence of all employees by treating them with respect, keeping them informed, and including them and their ideas in decision-making processes appropriate to their areas of expertise. Employee involvement focuses on quality and productivity improvements.

Question 11

external failure costs

Answer 11

The costs related to problems found after the product reaches the customer. This usually includes such costs as warranty and returns.

Question 12

field service

Answer 12

The functions of installing and maintaining a product for a customer after the sale or during the lease. Field service may also include training and implementation assistance.

Question 13

five Ss

Answer 13

Five terms beginning with “S” used to create a workplace suitable for lean production: sort, simplify, scrub, standardize, and sustain. Sort means to separate needed items from unneeded ones and remove the latter. Simplify means to neatly arrange items for use. Scrub means to clean up the work area. Standardize means to sort, simplify, and scrub daily. Sustain means to always follow the first four Ss. Sometimes referred to by the Japanese equivalents: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu, and shitsuke.

Question 14

five whys

Answer 14

The common practice in total quality management is to ask “why” five times when confronted with a problem. By the time the answer to the fifth “why” is found, the ultimate cause of the problem is identified.

Question 15

flowchart

Answer 15

The output of a flowcharting process; a chart that shows the operations, transportation, storages, delays, inspections, and so on related to a process. Flowcharts are drawn to better understand processes. The flowchart is one of the seven tools of quality

Question 16

hansei

Answer 16

A Japanese word meaning reflection.

Question 17

histogram

Answer 17

A graph of contiguous vertical bars representing a frequency distribution in which the groups or classes of items are marked on the x axis and the number of items in each class is indicated on the y axis. The pictorial nature of the histogram lets people see patterns that are difficult to see in a simple table of numbers. The histogram is one of the seven tools of quality.

Question 18

hoshin

Answer 18

A Japanese word meaning statement of objectives

Question 19

hoshin planning

Answer 19

Breakthrough planning. A Japanese strategic planning process in which a company develops up to four vision statements that indicate where the company should be in the next five years. Company goals and work plans are developed based on the vision statements. Periodic audits are then conducted to monitor progress.

Question 20

internal failure costs

Answer 20

The cost of things that go wrong before the product reaches the customer. Internal failure costs usually include rework, scrap, downgrades, reinspection, retesting, and process losses.

Question 21

jishuken

Answer 21

Japanese word meaning voluntary study groups

Question 22

kaizen

Answer 22

The Japanese term for improvement; refers to continuing improvement involving everyone—managers and workers. In manufacturing, kaizen relates to finding and eliminating waste in machinery, labor, or production methods.

Question 23

lean six sigma

Answer 23

A methodology that combines the improvement concepts of lean and six sigma. It uses the seven wastes of lean and the DMAIC process from six sigma, and awards recognition of competence through judo-style belts.

Question 24

operating expense

Answer 24

All the money an organization spends in generating goal units.

Question 25

plan-do-check-action (PDCA)

Answer 25

A four-step process for quality improvement. In the first step (plan), a plan to effect improvement is developed. In the second step (do), the plan is carried out, preferably on a small scale. In the third step (check), the effects of the plan are observed. In the last step (action), the results are studied to determine what was learned and what can be predicted. The plan-do-check-action cycle is sometimes referred to as the Shewhart cycle (because Walter A. Shewhart discussed the concept in his book, Statistical Method from the Viewpoint of Quality Control) or as the Deming circle (because W. Edwards Deming introduced the concept in Japan and the Japanese subsequently called it the Deming circle).

Question 26

prevention costs

Answer 26

The costs caused by improvement activities that focus on the reduction of failure and appraisal costs. Typical costs include education, quality training, and supplier certification. Prevention costs are one of four categories of quality costs.

Question 27

preventive maintenance

Answer 27

The activities, including adjustments, replacements, and basic cleanliness, that forestall machine breakdowns. The purpose is to ensure that production quality is maintained and that delivery schedules are met. In addition, a machine that is well cared for will last longer and cause fewer problems.

Question 28

process flow diagram

Answer 28

A graphical and progressive representation of the various steps, events, and tasks that make up an operations process. Provides the viewer with a picture of what actually occurs when a product is manufactured or a service is performed

Question 29

quality at the source

Answer 29

producer’s responsibility to provide 100 percent acceptable quality material to the consumer of the material. The objective is to reduce or eliminate shipping or receiving quality inspections and line stoppages as a result of supplier defects.

Question 30

quality control

Answer 30

The process of measuring quality conformance by comparing the actual with a standard for the characteristic and taking corrective actions on the difference.

Question 31

quality costs

Answer 31

The overall costs associated with prevention activities and the improvement of quality throughout the firm before, during, and after production of a product. These costs fall into four recognized categories: internal failure costs, external failure costs, appraisal costs, and prevention costs. Internal failure costs relate to problems before the product reaches the customer. These usually include rework, scrap, downgrades, reinspection, retest, and process losses. External failure costs relate to problems found after the product reaches the customer. These usually include such costs as warranty and returns. Appraisal costs are associated with the formal evaluation and audit of quality in the firm. Typical costs include inspection, quality audits, testing, calibration, and checking time. Prevention costs are those caused by improvement activities that focus on reducing failure and appraisal costs. Typical costs include education, quality training, and supplier certification.

Question 32

quality function deployment (QFD)

Answer 32

A methodology designed to ensure that all the major requirements of the customer are identified and subsequently met or exceeded through the resulting product design process and the design and operation of the supporting production management system. QFD can be viewed as a set of communication and translation tools. QFD tries to eliminate the gap between what the customer wants in a new product and what the product is capable of delivering. QFD often leads to a clear identification of the major requirements of the customers. These expectations are referred to as the voice of the customer (VOC).

Question 33

random variation

Answer 33

A fluctuation in data that is caused by uncertain or random occurrences.

Question 34

root cause analysis

Answer 34

Analytical methods to determine the core problem(s) of an organization, process, product, market, and so forth.

Question 35

scatter chart

Answer 35

A graphical technique to analyze the relationship between two variables. Two sets of data are plotted on a graph, with the y axis used for the variable to be predicted and the x axis used for the variable to make the prediction. The graph will show possible relationships (although two variables might appear to be related, they might not be—those who know most about the variables must make that evaluation). The scatter chart is one of the seven tools of quality.

Question 36

sensei

Answer 36

A Japanese word meaning teacher or one with experience.

Question 37

six sigma

Answer 37

A methodology that furnishes tools for the improvement of business processes. The intent is to decrease process variation and improve product quality

Question 38

spread

Answer 38

Variability of an action. Often measured by the range or standard deviation of a particular dimension.

Question 39

statistical process control (SPC)

Answer 39

The application of statistical techniques to monitor and adjust an operation. Often used interchangeably with statistical quality control, although statistical quality control includes acceptance sampling as well as statistical process control.

Question 40

supplier partnership

Answer 40

The establishment of a working relationship with a supplier organization whereby two organizations act as one.

Question 41

theory of constraints (TOC) accounting

Answer 41

A cost and managerial accounting system that accumulates costs and revenues into three areas—throughput, inventory, and operating expense. Does not create incentives (through allocation of overhead) to build up inventory. Is considered to provide a truer reflection of actual revenues and costs than traditional cost accounting, and is closer to a cash flow concept of income than is traditional accounting. Provides a simplified and more accurate form of direct costing that subtracts true variable costs (those costs that vary with throughput quantity). Unlike traditional cost accounting systems in which the focus is generally placed on reducing costs in all the various accounts, the primary focus of TOC accounting is on aggressively exploiting the constraint(s) to make more money for the firm

Question 42

tolerance

Answer 42

Allowable departure from a nominal value established by design engineers that is deemed acceptable for the functioning of the good or service over its life cycle.

Question 43

total quality management (TQM)

Answer 43

A term coined to describe Japanese-style management approaches to quality improvement. Since then, total quality management (TQM) has taken on many meanings. Simply put, TQM is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. TQM is based on the participation of all members of an organization in improving processes, goods, services, and the culture in which they work. The methods for implementing this approach are found in teachings of such quality leaders as Philip B. Crosby, W. Edwards Deming, Armand V. Feigenbaum, Kaoru Ishikawa, J.M. Juran, and Genichi Taguchi.

Question 44

value analysis

Answer 44

The systematic use of techniques that identify a required function, establish a value for that function, and finally provide that function at the lowest overall cost. Focuses on the functions of an item rather than the methods of producing the present product design.

Question 45

value stream

Answer 45

The processes of creating, producing, and delivering a good or service to the market. For a good, the value stream encompasses the raw material supplier, the manufacture and assembly of the good, and the distribution network. For a service, the value stream consists of suppliers, support personnel and technology, the service “producer,” and the distribution channel. May be controlled by a single business or a network of several businesses.

Question 46

value stream mapping

Answer 46

A lean production tool to visually understand the flow of materials from supplier to customer that includes the current process and flow as well as the value-added and non-value-added time of all the process steps. Used to lead to reduction of waste, decrease flow time, and make the process flow more efficient and effective

Question 47

voice of the customer (VOC)

Answer 47

Actual customer descriptions in words for the functions and features customers desire for goods and services. In the strict definition, as related to quality function deployment (QFD), the term customer indicates the external customer of the supplying entity.