Lecture 6: Principles of Lean- Flow and PULL

Question 1

What is the pull technique?

Answer 1

You only start producing when demand is known

Question 2

What is Single Piece Flow?

Answer 2

the movement of products or services through the process one unit at a time

Question 3

What does single-piece flow ensure?

Answer 3

employees are focused on the value-adding elements of the process rather than the waste; waiting, transportation, etc.

Question 4

TRUE or FALSE

Single piece flow does not impact employee performance?

Answer 4

FALSE

single piece flow improves employee performance

Question 5

What are the advantages of single piece flow? (5)

Answer 5

• Reduces lead time
• Eliminates over-production
• Reduces inventory
• Identifies defects early within the process
• Provides agility to rapidly respond to changing customer requirements

Question 6

What is the ideal Lean condition?

Answer 6

process one, pass one

Question 7

What are examples of single piece flow?

Answer 7

• hairdresser
• surgeon
• dentist
• personal trainer
• formula 1 pit stop

Question 8

What are factors that prevent companies from achieving single piece flow (5)

Answer 8

1. type of demand
2. cost
3. layout
4. planning
5. resources

Question 9

For single-piece flow to be effective the changeover times must be …

Answer 9

short

Question 10

What should a single-piece flow layout include to avoid defects being passed?

Answer 10

in-process control/inspection

Question 11

Should there be a pull or push system for single-piece flow to work?

Answer 11

pull

Question 12

What is batch production?

Answer 12

More things are produced at the same time

Question 13

What is parallel processing?

Answer 13

To reduce the lead time process steps that are currently being completed in series can be re-engineered to work in parallel

Question 14

What is another name for parallel processing?

Answer 14

concurrent engineering

Question 15

What two elements are required for parallel processing?

Answer 15

• Only process steps which are independent of each other can be done parallel
• the customer (or business) would value the reduction of lead time

Question 16

What are examples of parallel processing?

Answer 16

• chopping vegetables and cooking pasta at the same time that will go on 1 plate
• changing tires of an f1 car and briefing the driver at the same time

Question 17

What does multi-skilling ensure?

Answer 17

that there are enough sufficiently skilled employees to carry out the process

Question 18

Why does multi-skilling employees improve quality?

Answer 18

because all members are aware f up and downstream processes and will immediately identify defects

Question 19

What are Layout and Cells guidelines? (4)

Answer 19

• Utilise a U-shaped layout to minimize transportation and motion
• Organise process steps close to each other so there are no locations for inventory
• Consider ergonomics and safety during cell design
• Use 5S to improve layout efficiency and sustain improvements

Question 20

What is changeover time?

Answer 20

the time between the last good item and the first good item after a product changeover

Question 21

What is quick changeover?

Answer 21

the process used to reduce changeover times

Question 22

What is the 8 step approach to quick changeover process

Answer 22

1. Observe and measure the current process
2. Separate internal and external activities
3. Convert internal and external activities
4. Create parallel activities
5. Minimize internal and external activities
6. Implement the new process and validate
7. Document the new process
8. Chart change over time

Question 23

What is an internal activity?

Answer 23

activities that can only be performed when the process is stopped

Question 24

What is an external activity?

Answer 24

activities that can be performed when the process is still ongoing

Question 25

Why do businesses not perform at maximum capacity?

Answer 25

Because it leads to overproduction

Question 26

What is the mother of the Seven Wastes?

Answer 26

Overproduction

Question 27

What is the pull system?

Answer 27

when work is only conducted based in customer demand or following a signal for demand from the next process step

Question 28

What are the benefits of the pull system? (5)

Answer 28

• Only produce what the customer requires
• Improved communication between processes
• Standard method for communicating between processes
• System is agile to respond to changing customer demand
• Decreases inventory levels

Question 29

What is Kanban?

Answer 29

a communication system which uses visual triggers to control the flow of material within a process

Question 30

Which country is Kanban from?

Answer 30

Japan

Question 31

What is the literal meaning of Kanban

Answer 31

Kan = visual 
Ban = card

Question 32

Who pulls the product through the value chain when using Kanban?

Answer 32

the customer

Question 33

What is production Kanban?

Answer 33

it identifies the quantity and product type that the process should produce

Question 34

What does production Kanban start with?

Answer 34

a comprehensive list of all items that need to be completed at a specific time

Question 35

What is Withdrawal Kanban?

Answer 35

Pulls items from the previous process or a supermarket

Question 36

In which 4 forms can the Kanban ‘signal for demand’ take form?

Answer 36

• Cards
• Call Buttons
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags
• E-kanban linked to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems