[ SOLVED ] Lean Interview Questions and Answers

Last updated on 14th Nov 2021, Blog, Interview Questions

Lean manufacturing, also known as lean production, addresses the most indispensable part of manufacturing, i.e., waste. The process oversees that all of the resources are deployed efficiently during stunt production. The production also comprises neglected resources that include everything ranging from manufacturing management tools to expert staff. In this article, we’ve compiled some of the most sought-after interview questions alongside answers. Moreover, professionals will find some of the most fundamental problems, whereas advanced level questions help them land the best job. ACTE offers Lean Interview Questions that help you in cracking your interview & acquire a dream career as a Quality Analyst.

1.What are the crucial elements of Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

The following are the crucial elements of Lean Manufacturing: –

• Empower people and fellow employees in the company for building trust between the workforce and the management.
• Eliminate Waste. Given that Eliminating Waste is the core reason why manufacturers should integrate lean in their production facilities. It is essential to focus on this USP.
• Lean aims to make things as simple as possible to make the entire process transparent and easy to remember.

2.What are the seven waste products in Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

Inventory:

• This type of waste is referred to as the waste that is produced via irregular inventory. Further, the waste also includes storage, capital waste trapped in the unprocessed inventory, waste that transports the inventory, containers that possess inventory, and storage space lighting. There are chances that excessive rates of inventory could easily hide the actual waste in them.

Defects:

• Defects come into being when a product initially deviates from its usual standard of design and the customer’s expectations. The defective products are meant to be put into a replacement. Further, replacing damaged goods requires human labor alongside paperwork for processing. Defects are also the reason why manufacturers lose their precious customers. Moreover, the resources which are put into use to make defective products aren’t used.

Waiting:

• Waiting refers to the overall time that is wasted due to obstruction in production. The entire production chain is disrupted the moment production is put to a halt. If a single task in the chain takes more than usual, then the employee in charge of the following task will wait. Tasks that consume time should be made quite efficient. If need be, manufacturing units should reach out to new employees should be to aid with the workflow.

Over-processing:

• Over-processing refers to components for the manufacturing process which are entirely unnecessary. Some of the notable examples of over-processing are painting areas that will never be used or house any employees. What would happen if you use cutting-edge features in your manufacturing but never rely on them. When it comes to manufacturing, adding value is an excellent attitude of any facility. However, excessive adding of values that customers do not require is a sheer example of waste.

Transport:

• Moving any materials from one position to the other is called Transport. In Lean Manufacturing, transport comprises no value regarding the product. Hence, it is essential to minimize the cost. In case a manufacturing unit has a facility closer to another, then diminishing the overall transportation cost using systematic methods. Handing material in manufacturing facilities requires time and resources. It also requires employing staff for operating training, transportation, introducing safety precautions, and using space effectively. Often, transport leads to the waste of waiting because one segment of the production chain must wait for materials to arrive.

Overproduction:

• Lean manufacturing considers overproduction to be a severe waste type as it leads to other wastes and results in massive inventory. When facilities stock up too much product that goes unused, it leads to storage, excessive capital, and wasted materials.

3.How can you achieve lean manufacturing with us?

Ans:

The process of eliminating waste through lean is called Muda. By the looks of it, the removal of waste takes place right within the manufacturing system; Lean is accountable regarding different types of waste such as continuous Lean manufacturing empowers users with a systematic method to minimize waste. By overseeing quality and productivity, lean manufacturing allows companies to reach the epitome of operational efficiency to compete in the market. The following are the ways by which you can implement lean manufacturing. –

Kaizen

• Kaizen is a Japanese term for continuous improvement. Lean manufacturing at its core practices continuous improvement.
• Kaizen allows us to analyze specific crucial manufacturing metrics such as cycle time. Cycle time aids in finding convenient ways to shorten off overall time. As a practice, Kaizen encourages the implementation of value streams for improving work and reducing waste.

Demand-based flow manufacturing:

• Inventories in pull systems are pulled via production centers when necessary. Pull systems ensure the just-in-time working principle to complete customer’s orders. Pull systems are entirely different from other practices as it enables everyone at a manufacturing facility to focus on certain things rather than carrying out the work all at once.

KPIs, Measurement, and visualization:

• In lean manufacturing, metrics like cycle time, lead time, cumulative flow, and throughput aid organizations in measuring the impact of improvement efforts. Moreover, analyzing, collecting, and socializing the metrics together promotes transparency and drives change.

4.How can you calculate Takt Time?

Ans:

Takt time in Lean manufacturing represents the average time required to meet up the customer’s demand capacity. Takt time is usually calculated via the following equation: –

• Takt time = Ta÷ D
• The formula would help get overall production time (Ta) alongside the rate of the customer (D) to find Takt time. Production time doesn’t denote the total amount that a machine runs or the entirety of the workday. Rather, Takt time indicates total hours employees work, which they haven’t spent on maintenance, meetings, lunch, breaks, and planned stoppages.

5.What is the History of Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

Lean manufacturing can trace the general concepts back hundreds of years, and in reality, many of the concepts have been used by man as long as we have been around. The formal Lean manufacturing processes that are in use today, however, really got started with Henry Ford and the assembly line for his vehicles. That was then taken to the next level and further formalized by the Toyota Motor Company using their ‘Toyota Production System.’ Using the ‘just in time’ production method allowed their manufacturing systems to not only produce a greater number of vehicles, but also produce them with far less waste. This helped to boost the profitability of the company while also increasing the customer satisfaction since they were getting more of what they wanted.

6.What are the 5s methods, and why is it important?

Ans:

The 5S came into being with a goal to decrease waste while optimizing the overall productivity via maintaining a workplace. It utilizes visual cues by attaining consistent results. 5S are the most important pillars for any manufacturing workplace. The 5s stands for: –

• Seiri or Organize: Seiri eliminates everything that cannot be compartmentalized, like parts, tools, instructions from the unneeded materials.
• Seiton or Orderliness: Organizes everything which remains by neatly arranging and at the same time identifying tools and parts for seamless usage.
• Seiketsu or Standardize: Scheduling maintenance and regular cleaning by overseeing seiton, seiri, and seiso every day.
• Seiso or Cleanliness: Organizes a cleanup campaign to clean the work area.
• Shitsuke or Discipline: It ensures that 5S is a way of life in Lean Manufacturing.
• Shitsuke also provides the follow-up habits of the first four S’s in the list.

Benefits of 5S:

• Improves safety.
• Diminishes defect rates.
• Ensures higher equipment availability.
• Reduces costs.
• Increases production flexibility and agility.
• Better utilization of assets.
• Improves morale of employees.
• Enhances the overall image of the enterprise to suppliers, customers, management, and employees.

7.What is the Purpose of volume leveling?

Ans:

Production leveling is an effective technique to reduce mura or unevenness that further reduces Muda or waste. Production leveling is crucial to increase efficiency in lean manufacturing. The goal of volume leveling is to produce goods and products immediately in a consistent manner. The process needs to be carried out predictably and consistently.

8.What are Muri, Mura, and Muda?

Ans:

When Toyota came up with Lean Manufacturing, it developed a groundbreaking production system by eliminating three evils or enemies in the manufacturing process: –

• Muda or Waste
• Muri or Overburden
• Mura or Unevenness
• All three enemies are interrelated, and maintaining them should be a top priority in the production process.

9.What is Kanban in lean?

Ans:

In Lean Manufacturing, Kanban is a technique that eliminates inventory and labor waste. Kanban relies on pull production to reduce waste. As a technique, Kanban regulates the production of items according to demand and consumer supply. Rather than estimating the volume of specific items that are needed in the market. Kanban ensures the production of items in the most straightforward manner as per the market’s demands.Kanban also provides trails for pilot programs for certain employees to experience the holistic pull system & teamwork. Visual systems must be exponentially indispensable.

10.What is SMED in Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

SMED or Single-Minute Exchange of Dies is a lean system that dramatically reduces the time taken to completing equipment transfiguration. The very essence of SMED in lean manufacturing is to convert external changeover steps. It simplifies and, at the same time, streamlines the conclusive efforts.

11.What is benefits of SMED in Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

Successful SMED program has the following benefits: –

• When changeovers are faster, it suggests the downtime of equipment will be seemingly less. Ultimately this lowers the cost of manufacturing.
• Faster changeovers would enable frequent product changes, further giving rise to a smaller size for lots.
• Small-size lots enable flexible scheduling by improving responsiveness to counter customer demand.
• The streamlined changeover process improves both quality and consistency to help startups kick-start most smoothly. If the lot sizes are smaller, it further results in lowering the inventory levels.

12.Which Japanese term refers to continuous improvement?

Ans:

Kaizen is the Japanese term refers to continuous improvement.

13.Which waste elimination technique focus on organizing the workplace?

Ans:

5S is the waste elimination technique focus on organizing the workplace.

14.What does the six sigma performance measurement involves?

Ans:

Average and Variation computation.

15.How is lean manufacturing achieved by an organization?

Ans:

Lean manufacturing achieved by an organization by Elimination of Waste.

16.Where is muri technique primarily applied?

Ans:

Muri technique primarily applied to New product design.

17.What are the key elements of Lean?

Ans:

Some of the key elements of Lean areare: –

• Empowering people to build trust between management and the workforce.
• Eliminate waste.
• Make it as simple as possible as simple things are understood and remembered.
• Doing one thing at a time by focusing on problem-solving before moving.
• Smooth information flow with minimum friction.
• Visual Interpretation help to know when a process is not functioning.
• Building quality – Products and processes perform as expected, first time and every time with consistency.

18.Name the different types of waste in terms of Lean.

Ans:

The basic types of waste are : –

• Correction
• Overproduction
• Inventory
• Unnecessary Motion
• Transportation
• Delays
• Complicated Process
• Unutilized People skills

19.Describe the typical process of implementing Lean?

Ans:

The typical process of implementing lean is: –

• First it requires basic education of a company’s leadership, their understanding, and acceptance of the undertaking.
• Second step involves forming and educating of Kaizen Team of key employees in the use of Lean tools.
• Involves Project assessment, analysis, and selection.
• Focus on establishing goals and objectives.
• Conduct Kaizen event including Value Stream Mapping (VSM) inside your company’s four walls and 5S.
• Expand education of associates through original Kaizen Team.
• Understand how culture change is affecting the organization and communicate benefits continually.
• Continue Kaizen Events, communication, and leadership’s visual support of the program.

20.How long does it take to implement Lean?

Ans:

The process of sustaining the momentum is the real challenge to any Lean undertaking. Due to which company leaders show their commitment. Clearly Improvements may begin quickly, however a Lean transformation may take 6 months or more. It might take a year or more before people truly adopt and accept the cultural changes required. As associates continue to see immediate payback for their involvement in Kaizen events a cultural foundation begins to take shape. Also as the process steps above are repeated positive results will reinforce the reason Lean was embraced by the organization’s leaders.

21.Explain the term BOM.

Ans:

The term “Bill Of Materials” refers to a list of items or parts that go into assembling a product. A lawn mower, for example, needs a handle assembly, a metal deck assembly, a control assembly, and a motor and blade assembly.

22.What is DCR?

Ans:

DCR stands for Document Change Request, which is a request for a change to a document, SOP (standard operating procedure), or specification that addresses a problem and proposes a solution.

23.What is Kanban?

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Kanban is a scheduling method that tells manufacturers how much to make, what to make, and when to make it. Inventory is only refilled in this system when visual indications such as an empty bin or cart are detected.

24.What is MES?

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The term “MES” refers to a system that organizes and regulates production on the factory floor in order to reduce the overall time it takes to complete an order.

25.What is Six Sigma?

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Six sigma is a data-driven methodology and approach for reducing faults in any process, from manufacturing to transactional to product and service.

26.What is the difference between lean manufacturing and JIT (Just-in-Time) Manufacturing?

Ans:

Lean Manufacturing re-examines the concept of just-in-time (JIT) from the customer’s perspective. Anything created should offer value to the customer’s requirements. For example, if you’re designing a stereo system for a luxury car, you’ll consider factors such as sound quality, durability, space occupancy, loud or medium sound, and so on. JIT (Just-in-Time) is a methodology for ensuring that a product or item is delivered just in time to be used. This method saves money by reducing the cost of underutilized goods and decreasing the requirement for stockpiling.

27.What is QMS?

Ans:

Quality Management System (QMS) is a document that contains all relevant information regarding a firm’s design and operational controls, such as issue reporting, monitoring, continuous improvement, and training, in order to ensure that the organization produces a consistent product.

28.What is batch production?

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Batch production is a manufacturing technique that involves producing components or items in batches rather than in a continuous stream. When similar things are created simultaneously, this practise is commonly used.

29.What is the challenge in manufacturing products?

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The major issue in manufacturing is to improve production processes, guarantee that the proper materials and components are available at the lowest possible cost, reduce production time, eliminate waste, and maintain product quality.

30.List out the factors that can affect the manufacturing process?

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The factors affect the manufacturing process are: Supplies Equipment Factory Overhead Special Parts Work Force.

31.Define the term “factory overhead”?

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Whatever costs are spent during the production process, excluding the cost of materials and direct labour, is referred to as “factory overhead.”

32.List out some of the examples of factory overhead?

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Following are the overheads a production manufacturing engineer has to consider: Factory rent Utilities used in the unit Costs behind equipment set up Costs behind equipment maintenance Production unit supplies Insurance covered on equipment’s and production facilities Fringe benefits Depreciation QA Salaries Property taxes on manufacturing facilities Material management salaries.

33.How to supervise in a manufacturing unit?

Ans:

Supervising a manufacturing process entails paying attention to each stage of the operation. In addition, the manufacturing supervisor should keep an eye on the inventory that will be used. Step 1: Keep track of the various stages of manufacture and determine whether the volume of goods produced by the crew is sufficient to meet demand. Step 2: Look for bottlenecks in the system and figure out how to fix them. Step 3: Keep inventory records and aim to limit the amount of liquid capital used once unneeded materials are removed. Step 4: Examine the finished goods to see if they fulfill the company’s quality requirements.

34.How can you calculate manufacturing work in progress?

Ans:

When a manufacturing company transforms raw materials, labour, and factory overhead into work in progress, it is referred to as manufacturing work in progress. You may figure out the costs for the manufacturing work in progress by multiplying all of the factors listed below. the cost of labour Inventory expenses for raw materials Cost of production For the accounting period, the cost of completing work in progress.

35.What is product report?

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A product report is a generic phrase for information about a product’s design, manufacturing, quality, sales, and repair.

36.What is RMA?

Ans:

Return Material Authorization (RMA) is a financial and work order tracking system that is used to determine the provenance of a returned item. It’s frequently used in transactions where a customer returns merchandise to the manufacturer for replacement or repair.

37.What is SCAR (Supplier Corrective Action Request)?

Ans:

Manufacturers rely heavily on their raw material suppliers, therefore SCAR is used to connect with them successfully. It’s a request for a change that details the problems with a supplier’s process or material and asks for a remedy. It may also offer information about how the issue should be handled.

38.What are the software’s which can be useful in manufacturing unit?

Ans:

Manufacturing ERP and Material Management are two types of software that might be used in a manufacturing operation. SAP, Oracle ERP system, and others are some of the organizations that supply manufacturing software solutions.

39.What is GMP?

Ans:

GMP stands for good manufacturing practise, and it is used to monitor and manage the manufacturing of foods, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical items, as well as quality control testing.

40.What are the approach used in manufacturing for QA?

Ans:

The approaches used for QA in manufacturing are Acceptance sampling: Instead of testing the entire batch, a random sample is chosen from the batch. Statistical process control: A manufacturing product can be monitored using control charts and data obtained for samples at various phases of production. Troubleshooting studies: At the end of the line, a troubleshooting study can be conducted to check if changes in the input variables are linked to the output variables.

41.What is Lean Methodology?

Ans:

In health care, manufacturing, and other industries, lean approach is employed. It’s a business concept in which companies try to generate a comprehensive flow of flow using particular elemental notions. The basic values of Lean Methodology are Continuous Improvement and Value Stream.

42.What is the purpose of volume leveling?

Ans:

Mura, or unevenness, can be reduced through production leveling, which also minimizes Muda, or waste. In lean manufacturing, production levelling is critical for increasing efficiency. Volume levelling aims to create goods and products in a consistent and timely manner. The procedure must be followed in a predictable and consistent manner.

43.What are the seven waste products in Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

Muda refers to the lean process of eliminating waste. According to appearances, waste elimination occurs within the production system; Lean is responsible for several sorts of waste, including as constant human motion. Its goal is to integrate all of the procedures required for holistic, high-efficiency production. Simultaneously, it lowers total expenditures while increasing revenue. Inventory, defects, waiting, over-processing, transportation, and overproduction are now classified as seven categories of wastes in Lean Manufacturing.

44.What are the crucial elements of Lean Manufacturing?

Ans:

The following are the most important aspects of Lean Manufacturing: In order to develop trust between the workforce and management, empower people and fellow employees in the firm. Waste should be eliminated. Given that the primary motivation for firms to implement lean in their manufacturing plants is to reduce waste. It is critical to concentrate on this USP. Lean tries to simplify things as much as possible in order to make the entire process visible and simple to recall. As in production, concentrate on one issue at a time; there is always one or the other. In a very expressive approach, lean manufacturing could assist solve one problem after another without compromising.

45.Explain the concept of the Fishbone diagram.

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A fishbone diagram, also known as an Ishikawa diagram, is a visual technique for categorizing potential sources of a problem in order to find its fundamental causes.

46.What is the load testing process?

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The load testing procedure involves placing a demand on a software system or computing system and observing how it responds.

47.What is Parkinson’s law?

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The proverb “work expands to fill the time available for completion” is Parkinson’s law. It’s sometimes used to describe an organization’s growing bureaucracy.

48.What is a value stream?

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Value Streams are the processes taken by an organization to create solutions that deliver a constant flow of value to a customer. Each value stream in a SAFe portfolio is committed to building and supporting a set of solutions, which are the products, services, or systems offered to the Customer, whether inside or external to the Enterprise.

49.What is process mapping?

Ans:

A process map is a planning and management tool that depicts the flow of work in a visual manner. Process maps, created with process mapping software, depict a sequence of actions that lead to a specific outcome. A flowchart, process flowchart, process chart, functional process chart, functional flowchart, process model, workflow diagram, business flow diagram, or process flow diagram is another name for a process map. It can be used in any business or organization to highlight who and what is engaged in a process and can reveal areas where the process could be improved.

50.How can Lean affect the supply chain?

Ans:

A “Lean” supply chain is a supply chain optimized to deliver products quickly and with little to no waste. From Lean tools to the philosophy of continuous improvement, businesses can reduce costs by translating the principles of Lean manufacturing to the supply chain.

51.What is the SCAMPER method?

Ans:

Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify (also magnify and minify), Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse (SCAMPER) is an acronym constructed from the abbreviations of: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify (also magnify and minify), Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. SCAMPER is a lateral thinking approach that lets you explore new alternatives by challenging the current quo.

52.What is cross docking?

Ans:

Cross docking is a logistics process in which products from a supplier or manufacturing plant are delivered straight to a consumer or retail chain with little or no processing or storage time. Cross docking takes occur in a distribution docking terminal, which usually has trucks and dock doors on two sides (inbound and outgoing) and little storage space. The procedure of accepting products through an inbound dock and then transferring them across the dock to an outbound transportation pier is known as cross docking.

53.What is poka yoke?

Ans:

Shigeo Shingo, an industrial engineer of Toyota, created the phrase Poka-Yoke (poh-kah yoh-keh) in Japan during the 1960s. Shingo also developed and codified Zero Quality Control, which combines Poka-Yoke procedures for defect correction and source inspection for defect prevention.

54.What is a GANTT chart?

Ans:

A Gantt chart, which is widely used in project management, is one of the most popular and useful ways to depict activities (tasks or events) against time. A list of the activities may be found on the left side of the chart, and a suitable time scale can be found along the top. Each action is represented by a bar, whose location and length indicate the activity’s start, duration, and end dates.

55.What is Takt Time?

Ans:

Takt time refers to the rate at which you must finish a product in order to meet client demand. If you receive a new product order every four hours, for example, your team must complete a product in four hours or fewer to meet demand. Takt time is your sell rate, and it’s easy to think of it as the heartbeat of your business. It enables you to best utilize your capacity in order to satisfy demand without maintaining excessive inventory on hand.

56.What is TQM?

Ans:

Total quality management (TQM) is defined as a management technique that focuses on long-term performance through customer satisfaction. All members of an organization participate in a TQM Endeavour by working to improve processes, products, services, and the culture in which they operate.

57.What is a balanced scorecard?

Ans:

A balanced scorecard is a strategy performance management tool — a well-structured report that managers may use to keep track of the activities carried out by workers under their supervision and the repercussions of these actions.

58.Define what is a perpetual inventory system?

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A perpetual inventory system is an inventory management strategy that uses an inventory management system that automates the process to track when merchandise is sold or received in real-time. Changes in inventory will be recorded in a perpetual inventory system at the time of the transaction.

59.How to Define Takt Time?

Ans:

Takt time is derived from the German word Taktzeit, which might mean “measurement,” “cycle,” or “pulse” time, depending on the source. Simply put, takt time refers to the amount of time it takes a producer to produce enough goods per unit to meet client demand.

60.Who should be involved in Lean manufacturing?

Ans:

Any facility that wants to implement or grow Lean manufacturing must carefully consider who should be involved in the process. In reality, Lean manufacturing will necessitate some form of participation from everyone in the plant. While there may be a few people who act as the Lean leadership team, in order to achieve the best results, everyone must be involved.

61.Why is Lean manufacturing called Lean?

Ans:

Lean manufacturing is a common method for helping businesses decrease waste and enhance their facility’s bottom line. The approach is so well-known that many people aren’t even aware of its name, but it is unusual. As a result, the question of why it’s named Lean Manufacturing may arise. A manufacturing manager makes a joke about this, saying that he hopes Lean refers to working effectively rather than staff leaning against a wall with nothing to do. In this case, the joke does allude to the true definition of the word lean. “Thin, especially healthy so; having no excess fat,” says the first dictionary definition of lean. It’s easy to see where the name originates from when you look at that definition and see how Lean Manufacturing focuses on minimizing waste and unnecessary labour.

62.What does FTA stand for?

Ans:

A free trade agreement is an agreement between two or more countries to lower tariffs on imports and exports. Goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or restrictions to obstruct their interchange under a free trade policy.

63.What do the letters in the acronym DOWNTIME refer to in Lean Methodology?

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The acronym for the eight wastes is DOWNTIME. Downtime stands for: Defects Overproduction Waiting Not utilizing talent Transportation Inventory excess Motion waste Excess processing.

64. Have you ever been caught stealing, or better yet, have you ever stole anything?

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I guess everyone takes a pen or paper or little things like that. But other than that, NO. I have never stole from my employers or better yet As Lean Manufacturing Manager, from anyone.

65.Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback As Lean Manufacturing Manager?

Ans:

By asking this question, your interviewer hopes to learn whether you can communicate effectively, address issues in the workplace and motivate others during difficult times. Giving negative feedback requires honesty, thoughtfulness and tact. Answering this question well can help show an interviewer that you would be a good fit for a managerial position or a position that involves working closely with others.

66.Do you think you are overqualified for this position As Lean Manufacturing Manager?

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No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.

67.What is your greatest failure As Lean Manufacturing Manager, and what did you learn from it?

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When I was in college, I took an art class to supplement my curriculum. I didn’t take it very seriously, and assumed that, compared to my Engineering classes, it would be a walk in the park. My failing grades at midterm showed me otherwise. I’d even jeopardized my scholarship status. I knew I had to get my act together. I spent the rest of the semester making up for it, ended up getting a decent grade in the class. I learned that no matter what I’m doing, I should strive to do it to the best of my ability. Otherwise, it’s not worth doing at all.

68.18. Do you think you are overqualified for this position As Lean Manufacturing Manager?

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No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.

69. Would you describe yourself as more analytical or interpersonal?

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If you answer either, just make sure you explain why. For example, “I would consider myself to be more analytical because I’m good at examining a data set and then understanding how to interpret it in a business environment.” or “I’m more of interpersonal person because I enjoy working and collaborating with my teammates and clients”

70.As a lean manager, what is your management style?

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I believe in building a team. Each member of the team should be clear on their role, know where they fit in and feel as though they can depend on one another. I also believe in real-time feedback. If you do something wrong you should know it immediately. Regardless of right or wrong, the further removed feedback is in time, the less effective it is.

71.What is Six Sigma?

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This can be answered in many ways, you can either give the description of metrics (3.4 defects per million opportunities) or methodology DMAIC, DMADV and DFSS or one can explain the 6 times standard deviation that fits at one side between the mean value and customer specification limits.

72.How did you decide on the projects and what were the issues?

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Here you must mention about the VOC or VOP. The VOC could be given by the clients or customers by reactive feedback or by conducting the survey or the customer’s ratings to the process. Through this, we find the criteria as customer’s dissatisfactions towards the products or services.

73.What was the project scope?

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The project scope makes the boundaries for the project so that people should be the focus on the inside of the boundary and anything beyond boundary is not questionable for the projects. Boundaries can be limited to one process, location, people and time durations.

74.How did you set the goal of these projects?

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The project goals should be the basis for the SMART approach, which we could see by the confidence interval. How the process is behaving.

75.How would you decide the project level, whether it should be a Black Belt or a Green Belt project?

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These things depend upon the benefits we would get after the projects and the area of projects. If the scope of the project is at the company level, it should be counted as a Black belt project. However, if it is limited to one single process, it would be considered as a Green Belt project.

76.What would you do after getting the VOC/VOP?

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Once we receive the customer complaints and Voice of the process, we need to make a Critical to Quality check which helps us to change the voice of customers into the metrics. Six Sigma would work on practical problems and change them to statistical problems with statically generated solutions.

77.What are the Milestones?

Ans:

In Six Sigma process, it depends upon the methodology, either DMAIC or DMADV, and for each stage, there should be some time durations involved, the milestones provide the time duration limit for each stage, if we extend the time limits, we need the approval from stakeholders.

78.What is the ARMI or RASIC?

Ans:

With the help of ARMI or RASIC, the whole Six Sigma team comes to know that who the authorized person is, who is responsible for the project, who should be a consultant and who should be informed so that there are no conflicts at work.

79.What are the types of data?

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Data can be of two major types – Quantitative and Qualitative. Under the quantitative data comes the Continuous data and Discrete data attributed comes under the qualitative data category. This can be described in a more detailed manner.

80.What is MSA?

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MSA is Measurement System Analysis, using this we see whether our measurement system is correct or not. For service industries, we do the Attribute analysis.

81.What is Gauge R & R?

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In Gauge R and R, we gauge by repeatability and reproducibility. Here you need to describe the difference between the repeatability and reproducibility.

82.What is the Normal distribution? If the data is not normal, what should be the next step?

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In Normal distribution, we see the p-value, and if it is not normal, we try to make it normal or transfer into the Box-Cox transformation.

83.What is Process Capability and difference between Cp and Cpk?

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Here we need to give the whole information about the process and their capability with some real time examples. Also, describe the difference and benefits of Cpk and can we not use the Cpk.

84.What is the Value Stream Mapping?

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Describe the VSM and here questions could be asked the difference between the process map and VSM. In this, they could ask about the cycle time, takt time, lead time. Hence, we need to be very clear of all those times.

85.What is the Ishikawa diagram?

Ans:

The Ishikawa diagram is also called the cause and effect diagram or fishbone diagram. After the brainstorming session, we use this to segregate all the issues in 6 Ms (manufacturing) and 4 Ps (service industries).

86.What is Pareto chart?

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Pareto is the most used tool in six sigma and quality. Here you must describe the Pareto analysis to prioritize the issues, or causes and define each and every aspect of the Pareto chart. How many data points are needed for Pareto? what if Pareto ratio 50:50? So by all this, we mean to say that we must be clear about each aspect of Pareto.

87.What is Alpha and Beta risk or what is the P value?

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Before you go to explain about the alpha and beta risk, one should know what is H0 and Ha, H0 is acceptable when we have p-value more than 0.05 or 5%. And if it is lesser, we accept Ha. And sometimes, what we accept or reject could be wrong assumptions, that time we are on risk, which could be alpha and beta risk. And p-value is the probability, when we are at 95% confidence with our sample, then we are at 5% of risk chances or probability. And if the p-value is more than 5%, that time we go as per H0, since risk at higher side, however, if the p-value is lesser than 5%, we are happy to take the risk and accept Ha. Hence, it can be very clear when doing we at these risks, what all the consequences of having these risks.

88.What is the difference between the R SQR and R SQR adjusted?

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These are the part of regression testing, and one must know the actual reason to see the R SQR and R SQR adjusted.

89.What is an affinity diagram?

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Here we do the clustering after the brainstorming sessions. We would get to know where we need to keep all inputs received by the team members.

90.If the data is non-normal, what hypothesis test should we do?

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• If the data is non-normal, we need to try to make data normal, if we cannot, then we need to use the non-normal hypothesis testing, as per their subgroup size.
• After the analyze phase, questions can be asked about what improvement plans you made, or the tools used. The improvement can be done using the FMEA, therefore we should know what is FMEA and what are the types of FMEA, what is RPN value and how to calculate it. We can also use the affinity diagram for the solution purpose, which can be done by brainstorming to resolve the issues.

91.What hypothesis test we can do in improve phase?

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In the improve phase we do the 2 samples testing to see the before and after effect. Therefore, we should know what all hypothesis tests we can do in improve phase.

92.How and Why control is required?

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Control needs to be done once the improvement is sustained. Control is usually done after the project completion so that there are no prevailing issues.

93.What are the types of control charts?

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We must give information about all control charts which we use for continuous data and discrete data.

94.Why is lean manufacturing important?

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Lean manufacturing is the practice of eliminating waste while producing high-quality products with maximum efficiency. When a company successfully meets lean manufacturing benchmarks, it ultimately saves time, material, and labor expenses—which means bigger profits at the end of the day.

95.What is the purpose of lean manufacturing?

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The goal of lean manufacturing is to obtain a competitive edge in a given production industry through careful, calculated minimization of excess resources, ultimately bringing a boost in company profits, customer service, and overall production efficiency.

96.Exactly what kind of inefficiencies can lean manufacturing eliminate?

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Lean manufacturing has been formulaically proven to reduce waste in the following seven areas: Transport, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-processing, Overproduction, and Defects. Traditionally, these wastes have been referred to as the “Seven Wastes.” Download our guide on the Seven Wastes of lean manufacturing here.

97.Can lean manufacturing be used in environments outside of the shop floor?

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Yes. Lean manufacturing is not a practice exclusive to factory floors. The core of lean manufacturing remains the same whether you are in an office or on the shop floor—establish customer satisfaction benchmarks, develop a waste-free production process, configure how you can continually complete the process in a value-add manner, and perfect the process. Consider these four pillars of lean manufacturing in any production environment and watch your efficiency and output rise enormously.

98.How large does a company have to be to practice efficient lean manufacturing?

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Lean manufacturing is a practice that can be utilized by businesses of any type. At the core of it all, any company out there is selling a product or service to meet client needs and generate a profit doing so. Whether you are a brewery, packager or automotive manufacturer, lean manufacturing can give you powerful basic guidelines to running a successful business.