Lean For Operations Review Questions
- Please write a five or more sentence description of the balanced scorecard.
The balanced scorecard is a strategic management tool that is used in different organizations, businesses, NGOs, and government agencies to shape performance and accountability (Rothaermel, 2016). Primarily, it focuses on four areas of interest. These areas include financial, employees, customers, and operational excellence. The balanced scorecard helps in linking the business strategy and objectives to the customers’ needs. It also a crucial accountability tool in the business environment and other organizations like NGOs and government agencies (Nørreklit, Kure & Trenca, 2018).
- Describe cellular flow in 5 or more sentences.
Cellular flow is a manufacturing concept that links manual and machine operations in a way that the resources are efficiently utilized to maximize the output and value-added while at the same time reducing wastes (Panwar et al., 2015). The best combination of cellular flow must ensure process balancing (Jeffrey &David, 2016). When a state of balance is achieved, then wait time between operations is reduced, product flows uninterrupted, and parts movement is significantly minimized.
- Give two examples of continuous improvement, as described in the book. Be sure to explain what the process is and what it does to improve.
Toyota Production System is an example of an activation process. The TPS encouraged employees to look for areas that require improvement and suggests management. Minami is yet another example of continuous improvement, a word that refers to conveying motor-vehicle parts without a container (Jeffrey &David, 2016). It helped to reduce the waste and production of different sections in a small production facility.
- Explain Kaizen in 5+ sentences.
The term refers to continuous change or incremental change. Kaizen helps businesses to take unnecessary activities out of the manufacturing process (lean manufacturing) to streamline the process and makes it more efficient. Kaizen, therefore, applies well-structured strategies to improve a business process like manufacturing, a business unit, or an entire value stream (Jeffrey &David, 2016).
- Describe the value stream and the value stream mapping. Please write a full paragraph of 5 sentences or more.
The value stream refers to a series of steps that are available to an organization, and that can be used to implement solutions to ensure a continuous flow of value to the customer (Dimi, 2015). Value stream mapping, on the other hand, refers to a flowchart method that illustrates, identifies, and analyzes the steps that are necessary to provide a product or service efficiently (Rohani & Zahraee, 2015).
- Please talk about what W. Edwards Deming did for Lean Manufacturing. Write a paragraph of 5 + sentences.
The Toyota Production System, which is the backbone of Lean manufacturing, was developed based on the works and thoughts of W. Edwards Deming. At one point, Shoichiro Toyoda is quoted saying, “There is not a day I don’t think about what Dr Deming meant to us. Deming is the core of our management.” This shows that Dr Deming’s thoughts got incorporated into lean manufacturing processes (Jeffrey &David, 2016).
- Pick a chart used in Lean Manufacturing and describe what the table is and how it is used.
The PDCA chart is a critical tool that can be used in Lean Manufacturing for continuous improvements in several business process areas. PDCA chart can be applied in lean manufacturing to offer a systematic method of incremental change in the production process (Panwar et al., 2015). Adopting this strategy allows the management to have a widen decision-making process and a high probability of sustainable, efficient lean production that minimizes waste (Rothaermel, 2016).
Figure 1: Adopting PDCA in Kaizen
Source (Adopting the PDCA Cycle in Kaizen, 2020).
- Explain Jidoka as far as to define and what the process is used for. Please write a full paragraph of 5+ sentences.
The Jidoka principle is widely used in Lean Manufacturing. It focuses on quality during the production process. It helps in the identification of the defect and correcting it in time to prevent the production of low-quality products (Tekin et al., 2018). Jidoka thus allows for anyone in the production line to stop production when a defect arises and fix the problem before production is resumed.
- Select a lean accounting report and explain what it is used for. An example, lean accounting values inventory differently than financial accounting. Muscular inventory tracking is much less complicated than financial accounting inventory counting. Lean accounting could include a visual and may not even use computers.
Figure 2: Lean Accounting Chart
Source (Bassiouny, 2020).
Value Stream Costing; The Value Stream Costing is a straightforward way of creating financial reports. It involves the process of identifying all the costs related to providing value to the customer. Each step is analyzed and the associated cost established during the Value Stream Mapping process (Rohani & Zahraee, 2015). This makes Lean Accounting more desirable as it eliminates wastes in the accounting process (Dimi, 2015).
- Describe how flowcharting is used in Lean. Please use 5+ sentences in your description if you would like to describe a typical flowchart and symbols that will be allowed.
The flowcharts help to create a clear mental picture of individual components that requires the attention of the management or decision-makers. Different shapes and colours may be used to represent a specific activity Source (Saadeddin, 2020). For example, in the activity flowchart below, plain triangles denote a particular task to be accomplished. Arrows connect the functions or processes and indicate the direction of flow.
Figure 3: An Example of Activity Flowchart
Source (Saadeddin, 2020).
References
Adopting the PDCA Cycle in Kaizen. (2020), from https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/adopting-pdca-cycle-in-kaizen.htm
Bassiouny, A. (2020). Lean Accounting Sample, from https://www.slideshare.net/ahmad1957/lean-accounting-sample
Dimi, O. (2015). Aspects Regarding the Application of Lean Accounting in Taking the Managerial Decisions. Ovidius University Annals, Series Economic Sciences, 15(1).
Jeffrey, K. L., & David, M. (2016). Toyota Way.
Nørreklit, H., Kure, N., & Trenca, M. (2018). Balanced Scorecard. The International Encyclopedia of Strategic Communication, 1-6.
Panwar, A., Nepal, B. P., Jain, R., & Rathore, A. P. S. (2015). On the adoption of lean manufacturing principles in process industries. Production Planning & Control, 26(7), 564-587.
Rohani, J. M., & Zahraee, S. M. (2015). Production line analysis via value stream mapping: a lean manufacturing process of the colour industry. Procedia Manufacturing, 2, 6-10.
Rothaermel, F. T. (2016). Strategic management: concepts (Vol. 2). McGraw-Hill Education.
Saadeddin, D. (2020). Flowcharting | Continuous Improvement Toolkit, from https://citoolkit.com/articles/flowcharting/
Tekin, M., Arslandere, M., Etlioğlu, M., Koyuncuoğlu, Ö., & Tekin, E. (2018, August). An Application of SMED and Jidoka in Lean Production. The International Symposium for Production Research (pp. 530-545). Springer, Cham.