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CI Quiz Answers
STOP! Only read further if youve already taken the Continuous Improvement Quiz.
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If youve already taken the quiz, here are short explanations of each correct answer.
One of the industrys best resources for printing companies striving for operational
excellence is the 2016 Continuous Improvement Conference, April 1013 in
Milwaukee. We hope youll consider attending.
[Explanations provided by John Compton, Jeanette Hiemstra, Jason Hoffman, Mark
Stenzel, and Jim Workman]

The principles and practices of Lean manufacturing (also known as Lean

management) are primarily based on:
Correct answer: Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System (TPS) comprises Toyotas management philosophy
and practices. The system was developed by Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo, and Eiji
Toyoda following World War II. The system in credited with producing the quality and
efficiency that allowed Toyota to grow from a small company to the worlds largest
automobile company. The principles underlying TPS are also referred to as The
Toyota Way. The term Lean manufacturing is an American term, first coined by
John Krafcik in a 1988 article, Triumph of the Lean Production System. It represents
a management philosophy mostly derived from TPS. The term was popularized in
the 1995 best-selling book, The Machine that Changed the World, co-authored by
Jim Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos.

The primary goal of Lean manufacturing is:

Correct answer: To find and eliminate waste while maximizing value
Lean manufacturing is based on a constant striving to eliminate the seven deadly
wastesdefects, overproduction, transportation, waiting, inventory, motion and
excessive processingin manufacturing and business processes. Companies
adopting the Lean philosophy try to remove or shorten the time spent on activities
that the customer doesnt valueusually activities other than the ones that convert
a product into a usable form for the customer. Even though steps such as estimating
and makeready may be thought of as necessary, they are branded non-value-added
and targeted for reduction. Companies address the issues that cause them to spend
time on things the customer doesnt value. By eliminating the wastes and nonvalue-added processes, lead time and cost is reduced and customer value is
maximized. All employees in a Lean-thinking company need the ability to spot
waste in a process. [An excellent primer on Lean manufacturing is Lean Printing:
Pathway to Success.]

Which activity is NOT considered value-adding according to Lean thinking?

Correct answer: Estimating
Value-added activities are activities the customer is willing to pay for. These
typically consist of activities that change the form, fit, or function of a product or
service. Another way to think about it: if a company were to include prices on its
invoice for every significant activity that it performed on behalf of the customer
(sales, order entry, customer service, estimating, file repair, etc.), which prices
would the customer dispute? Estimating would probably be one of them.
Its true that some non-value-added activities are essential to the overall process.
They should, however, be reduced in time and expense as much as possible while
still meeting the companys needs. A Lean thinking company spends much of its
continuous improvement efforts on ridding itself of non-value-added activities.

In Lean manufacturing, flow refers to:

Correct answer: Having pieces move continuously between processes with little
work-in-process inventory
One-piece flow is a basic tenet of Lean manufacturing. It refers to the concept of
moving one work piece at a time in-between operations until it is a finished product.
Ideally, the piece should not stop moving and should not go into storage or
inventory. It is the opposite of mass production in which equipment produces large
quantities of work-in-process inventory in order to drive the unit cost down. Leanthinking manufacturers like Toyota believe that inventory is generally a bad thing
because product can be damaged while sitting on the production floor, inventory
can hide production problems, product is more likely to be over-produced, and
throughput takes longer. Of course, perfect flow is almost impossible, particularly in
a job shop industry like printing, however some processes can be connected in-line
or placed near line to improve flow.

A diagram depicting the steps in any process that line up to produce a product or
service, and the flow of information that triggers the process into action is called:
Correct answer: Value Stream Map
In manufacturing a value stream is comprised of the actions (both value-added and
non-value-added) required to bring a product from raw material into the arms of the
customer. The method of identifying and graphically depicting the steps within a
value stream and how they relate to material and information flow is called Value
Stream Mapping. This tool helps visualize the entire process to identify wasteful

activities like repetitive data entry, unneeded transportation, batching, and

warehousing of semi-finished materials. By visualizing the interaction of materials
and information through the entire process it allows companies to develop a Future
State Map where these wastes are eliminated. One of the best books on value
stream mapping is Learning to See by Mike Rother and John Shook.

A signal that alerts people of problems at a specific place in a process is called a:

Correct answer: Andon
The andon, a key component of the Toyota Production System, is a simple tool used
to identify problems in a process. The benefit of an andon is its flexibility and ease
of implementation in any manufacturing situation. Translating to paper lantern in
Japanese, the focal point of an andon system is a light or other signal that when
turned on notifies management or maintenance of a problem. This signal can be
activated manually by the operator or automatically based on equipment settings in
manufacturing and is localized to the problem area. Reasons the signal can be
activated include defects, parts shortage, breakdown, idle machines, machines
running slower than planned rate, or safety concerns. The main component to the
success of an andon system is managements quick response and resolution of the
problem. By responding quickly it corrects the problem and resumes work while
empowering the operators to take ownership of quality.

Which of the following is NOT one of the seven wastes in Lean manufacturing?
Correct answer: space
A core part of Lean manufacturing is to eliminate waste in manufacturing and
business processes. Wasted time and money is generally grouped into seven
categories:
Defectsinspection, scrap, rework
Overproductionmaking more than is required right now
Transportationmoving materials around the plant
Waitingidle time
Inventoryany supply in excess of immediate need
Motionpeople moving without adding value
Excessive Processingunnecessary process steps
Another waste category is frequently addedfailure to use employee knowledge
and creativity.
{Read a terrific article that explains waste in terms of a printing operation.]

In Lean manufacturing, a production arrangement of people, equipment, and

materials where the processing steps are placed right next to each other in
sequential order is called a:
Correct answer: cell
Cells are generally configured in a horseshoe or U-Shaped layout that enables
workers to easily move from one process to another in close proximity and pass
pieces and/or information between workers with little effort. In the printing industry
cells are sometimes organized by physically bringing together CSRs, estimators, and
production operators in the same office area to facilitate teamwork and sharing
information quickly.

When conducting a makeready reduction activity based on the Sngle Minute

Exchange of Die (SMED) concept, makeready time is broken into which two
categories:
Correct answer: Internal and external.
Internal makeready activities are those that can only be performed when equipment
is stopped, while external activities can be done while the last job is being produced

or once the next job has started. Two key steps in reducing changeover time using
the SMED system is to categorize the activities of the existing makeready process
as either internal or external, and then to convert as many of the internal activities
into external activities as possible. The Set-Up Reduction for the Printing Industry
book does an excellent job of explaining how the SMED concept is used in our
industry.

A highly focused improvement event that runs for a short period of time is called a:
Correct answer: Kaizen blitz
A Kaizen Blitz, often referred to as a Kaizen Event or a Kaizen Burst, is an intense,
coordinated effortnormally occurring over the course of three to five long days
focused on achieving radical improvement of a single process or operation. A Kaizen
Event may be used to jump-start or revitalize a regular kaizen practice of gradual,
continuous improvement, or it may be used to address a process or operation that
has not responded effectively to other efforts and is deemed to be in need of more
radical change. Conducting a successful Kaizen Blitz requires many considerations,
including advance planning, thoughtful selection of team members, the scope of the
process or operation to be improved, the budget available, and the specific goal(s)
targeted as a result of the improvement effort, meeting logistics, and possibly
training for team members on problem solving approaches and relevant Lean tools.

The most difficult part of an improvement program is to:

Correct answer: Sustain improvements over time
Even with a good start, Lean initiatives can falter after some time. It is rare that one
does not lose steam as it progresses to maturity. Almost always this regression is
due to either misapplying or only partially applying key cultural principles necessary
to have a successful culture-changing event. It makes no difference what a culturechanging event is calledwhether Lean, TQM or Six Sigmathere are some
principles, which if ignored or misapplied, will ultimately cause the effort to either
partially or totally fail.
Lean requires a fundamental shift in organizational culture and behavior, from rigid
to dynamic, from top-down management to flexible and adaptive implementation of
change that can be initiated from any level. Employees must not only be
empowered to suggest ways to increase efficiency, but they must also be expected
to detect these opportunities. In many cases, sustaining lean requires a transition
from a well-developed kaizen culture at a single site, to a broader enterprise-wide
commitment to instill Lean into the companys DNA.

As is too often the case, after the easy gains have been achieved and performance
begins to level out, business unit leaders and managers at many companies
become disillusioned and turn their attention elsewhere. But this is exactly the time
in a business transformation when direct leadership engagement is essential to
keep moving forward. Although there is no sure-fire way to maintain momentum
from year to year, there are some specific actions and behaviors that business
leaders can take to maintain the vitality of a Lean program so that it continues to
deliver long-term results.
Sustaining a strong lean program beyond the first two or three years requires:

Widespread communication of current performance and metrics

Continually finding new ways to keep employees motivated

Ongoing employee training and learning

Direct involvement by organization leaders in lean efforts

A technique for analyzing an operation to identify the vital few quality problems
needing to be addressed is called a:
Correct answer: Pareto analysis
The Pareto analysis (named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto) focuses efforts
on the problems that offer the greatest potential for improvement by showing their
relative frequency in a descending bar chart. After choosing an overall problem to
examine (e.g., why customer files require fixing) and a time period to study, data is
gathered in real time or by reviewing historical records. A chart showing each
cause and its frequency is created, and that chart is then converted to a bar graph.
A Pareto analysis often reinforces the 80%/20% rulein this case, 80% of a problem
comes for 20% of the causes. The analysis directs companies to direct their
improvement attention on the few causes that will have the biggest impact on
reducing a problem.

The correct sequence of activities in a 5S event is:

Correct answer: Sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain.
5S is a workplace organizational tool that is a vital component of Lean
manufacturing. The goal is to organize work areas so problems are easy to see.
Problems in any process represent waste leading to inefficiencies. SortS1 (remove
unnecessary objects) comes before set in orderS2 (Organize & Label) because it
would be considered waste to neatly arrange and organize items first, and then
throw out items not needed. ShineS3 (clean everything, inside and out) is next in
the sequence. It would be a waste to clean something that may be needed or
thrown out. The 4S is standardizeS4 (the state that exists when S1-S3 are being
maintainedeverything in a state of readiness). The hardest step to achieve and
last step is sustainS5 (discipline or making a habit of properly maintaining correct
procedures). This step generally requires a change in organizational culture and will
always require continued management support and communication.

Which of the following tools is commonly used when attempting to determine the
root cause of a problem?
Correct answer: Five Whys
Identifying root cause is key to implementing a preventative action and ensuring the
problem doesnt return. The technique of 5 Whys assists companies in uncovering
root causes by forcing them to probe beyond the often superficial answer given to
the first question of why a problem occurred. During a 5 Why exercise it is not
required to identify the root cause by the 5th question, but rather to keep asking

why until your root cause is identified. If multiple answers can be provided to a
single Why, continue with exercise on each divergent path as there may be multiple
root causes. It is important to remember in a 5 Why exercise that the true root
cause should point to a process rather than an individual. In our industry we may
stop short of the root cause by saying an operator did not perform their quality
check when an extra Why should have been asked. For example, why did the
operator not perform the check, why was the operator allowed to not perform the
check, or why is the operator required to perform a check? The last Why is this
line of questions indicates the need for a process that ensures quality output and
eliminates the need to perform a check.

A kanban is a system designed to:

Correct answer: Indicate when components or raw materials need to be replenished
In Japanese, the word Kan means visual and ban means card, so Kanban
refers to visual cards.
Kanban was originally invented as a part of the famous Toyota Production System. It
is associated with the concept of delivering just-in-time goods. Lean uses visual
cards as a signaling system that triggers an action to supply the process with its
needs either from an external supplier or from a warehouse. The most common
form of kanban is a card with data printed on it, although modern forms can also
use e-mails, sensors, and electronic dashboards. A kanban card is placed in the
work-in-process inventory of a particular material at the critical ordering point, the
point where an order has to be sent to the supplier. When stock dwindles and the
card appears, a reorder is placed with the supplier or warehouse personnel. An
effective kanban system avoids excess inventory and out-of-stock situations.

The greatest potential to boost productivity comes from:

Correct answer: Idea generation system for front-line workers
Without a steady stream of improvement ideas, no company can truly excel in any
aspect of performance. Progressive companies depend on press operators, prepress
technicians, delivery drivers, and other front-line employees to bring problems and
opportunities to the attention of management. Leaders at those companies realize
the bulk of improvement ideas come from employees doing the work, so they create
a culture and an idea system that keeps ideas bubbling to the surface. Each
employee at companies with well-developed idea systems will submit, on average, a
dozen or more ideas each year. Companies that are world-class in this area will
generate an average of 100 or more annual ideas per employee. All those ideas pay
offthe average U.S. company improves its productivity 34% per year; average

idea-driven companies see productivity gains of 1517% per year. Read more about
idea systems.

The purpose of a work instruction is to:

Correct answer: Specify the currently best known way of performing a task
Standard work is based on the principle that standards are required for continuous
improvement to take place. The precise work sequence in which employees perform
the same process or task is documented and discussed with operators, with the
group reaching agreement as to the safest, highest quality, and most efficient way
to perform the process or task. The work instructions are then developed and made
available to each affected employee. Workers are expected to adhere to the work
instructions so that variation from operator performance is reduced. When improved
ways of performing the process or task are proposed by workers, the new approach
is tested and if there is agreement, the work instructions are updated. The
instructions are not supposed to be static but be frequently updated as better ways
of doing things are uncovered. To sustain adherence to the work instructions, there
are often audits by individuals outside the department. Read an article on Standard
Work written by the operations manager of Label World.

Kaizen is defined as:

Correct answer: Continuous Improvement
Kaizen is the Japanese word meaning improvement or change for the better and
refers to philosophy and practices that focus upon continuous improvement of
processes in manufacturing, engineering, and business management. When used in
the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that
continually improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the
assembly line workers. By improving standardized activities and processes, kaizen
aims to eliminate waste and reduce variation. Kaizen was first implemented in
several Japanese businesses after the Second World War, influenced in part by
American business and quality management teachers, such as W. Edwards Deming,
who visited the country.

A type of line graph used to assess the stability of a process is called a:

Correct answer: Control chart
A control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over time. Data are
plotted in time sequence order. There are 3 components to a control chart; an

upper line for the upper control limit, a lower line for the lower control limit and a
center line showing the average performance. These lines are determined from
historical data. When comparing current data to these historical lines one can draw
conclusions about whether the process variation is consistent (in control or stable)
or is unpredictable (out of control).

The ISO 9001 standard is best described as the:

Correct answer: Requirements for a quality management system
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the worlds largest developer
of voluntary international standards. ISO 9000 standard was first published in 1987
as a way to address quality problems in manufacturing. The initial versions primarily
focused on having factories document their manufacturing procedures and prove by
record-keeping that procedures were being followed.
The current version is ISO 9001:2008, with a new version due out in 2015. The
standard describes the criteria for a quality management system. It can be used by
printing companies, large or small, as well as companies in other industries. The
2008 version is based on eight quality management principles including a strong
customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process
approach, and continual improvement. Companies can follow the requirements of
the standard and also use Lean manufacturing thinking and strategies, since the
two approaches are complementary.
ISO does not certify companies to the standard; instead, third party registrars exist
to verify a companys conformity to the standard. Certification is optional, although
some customers may require that their suppliers be certified. Thousands of printing
companies worldwide are certified.

An overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) study of a process revealed:

Availability: 8 hours were available but it only ran 6 hours
Performance: 500 items should have been produced but only 300 were produced
Quality: Of 300 items produced, 30 were defective
The OEE for this process is:
Correct answer: 40%
OEE is the relationship of the percentage of available operating time for a piece of
equipment to the percentage of the equipments performance to the percentage of
quality product produced. In other words, a measure of true performance for a press
or any other piece of equipment must include the equipments actual time available

to operate and produce a saleable product, the equipments actual performance

when in production, and the amount of quality product produced that can be sold to
and accepted by the customer. An OEE measure focuses attention on how to
produce more acceptable printed product in a given time frame.
The formula for OEE:
Availability x Performance Efficiency x Quality Rate
Thus, in the questions example:
Availability = 6/8 or 75%
Performance Efficiency = 300/500 or 60%
Quality Rate = 30/300 or 90%
75% x 60% x 90% = 40% (typical OEE is 60%; world-class is 85%)
The more the following Six Big Losses can be reduced, the higher the OEE:

Equipment failure/breakdown

Equipment makeready time

Equipment idling and minor stops

Reduced running speeds

Defective products

Reduced equipment yield (startup losses)

A tool that is used as a simple way to capture data and information, and as a
standardized approach for team based problem solving, as well as to easily visually
communicate information and ideas by telling a story is the:
Correct answer: A3
A3 is a structured problem solving methodology which is known for putting all
information relative to a problem on a single sheet of paper. Toyota evolved A3
planning from the Quality Circle problem solving format. They made it a standard
because they believed every issue the organization faced can and should be
captured on a single piece of paper (1117), so everyone sees the issue through
the same lens. A well-executed A3 document should tell a story that starts in the
upper left-hand side to the lower right that can be understood by anyone viewing it.
The goal of an A3 is to make problems visible.

When common causes of variation are treated as special causes, the usual result is:
Correct answer: Over-adjustment of the process
Theres variation in the output of every process. If you measure the occurrence of
something many times, its going to vary around some averageor meanvalue.
That variation is mostly comprised of natural or common causes. Print density, for
example, will vary because of many inherent factors, such as press wear and tear,
slightly inconsistent substrate properties, measurement error, and normal effect of
operators. Special causes, on the other hand, are unusual and often result in
specific variation patterns. Special causes of print density variation could occur
because of a new operator, press malfunction, bad batch of ink or paper, problems
with the water quality, and many other reasons.
Variation is measured using a control chart, in which some output property is
measured over time, plotted on a chart, and the average calculated. Outer upper
and lower control limits are statistically calculated and added to the chart. When a
process shows random variation around the mean it is said to be in control. Of
course, variation can be systematically reduced, even in stable processes, as might
be required to meet customer specifications. When a measurement falls outside
those limits it acts as a warning for workers to investigate whether a special cause
was introduced into the process.
When workers dont understand the principle of natural variation, and know the
level of common cause variation for the particular output property, there can be a
tendency to react to common cause variation and make adjustments that not only
serve no benefit, but make the process unstable for a short time until it settles into
equilibrium again.

Lead time is properly defined as the total time:

Correct answer: A customer must wait to receive a product after placing an order
Lead time is the time period between the placement of an order and the shipment
of the completed order to the customer. A short manufacturing lead time is a
competitive advantage; many customers want the delivery of their products as soon
as possible following the placement of the order. In addition, a faster lead time
generally translates to a less expensive process, since as Benjamin Franklin
famously put it, Time is money.
Manufacturing lead time consists of wait time and throughput time. Lead time is
often confused with cycle time which is the time it takes to do one repetition of any
particular task typically measured from the starting point of one products
processing in a specified machine or operation until the start of another similar

products processing in the same machine or process. Process cycle times are a
component of total lead time.

The primary objective of the Six Sigma improvement methodology is to:

Correct answer: Reduce process variability so fewer defective products are
produced
Six Sigma is a methodology and management philosophy developed by Motorola in
the early 1980s that emphasizes setting extremely high objectives, collecting data,
and analyzing results as a way to reduce variation and eliminate causes of defects
in products and services. Sigma is a statistical term that measures how far a given
process deviates from perfection. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you
can measure how many defects you have in a process, you can systematically
figure out how to eliminate them. Statistically speaking, Six Sigma quality means a
process is producing no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities.
The Six Sigma philosophy is relied upon by larger U.S. companies, but is only lightly
used in the printing industry. It can be expensive to implement because it requires
highly trained and paid six sigma experts to implement and coach the process. The
hierarchy of roles mimics martial arts skill levels: master black belt, black belt,
yellow belt, and green belt. Master black belts and black belts typically devote
100% of their time on Six Sigma strategy and projects.
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