 1.

The primary goal of lean is to remove waste in a process; whereas, the primary goal of
six sigma is to reduce variation.

Lean deals with eliminating waste. Six sigma deals with reducing variation.

 2. At a soda bottling plant in Mexico, machines are supposed to fill each can with 12
fluid ounces (355 milliliters) of soda. However, after conducting a sample of 100 cans,
employees at the plant noticed that the variation in the amount of soda per can was
beyond certain limits that were acceptable to their customers. A reduction in variation,
which would be needed in this example, is the primary goal of:

Lean deals with eliminating waste. Six sigma deals with reducing variation.

 3. At a factory owned by a mobile phone company, thousands of phones are

manufactured each day. However, on occasion, the company designs a new type of phone
to accommodate a change in customer preferences – such as a desire for larger storage
capacity or longer battery life. In this case, the effort to design a new phone is considered
a:

Processes are ongoing, repetitive activities. Projects are temporary initiatives.

 4. Which of the following is an example of a process?

Processes are ongoing, repetitive activities. Projects are temporary initiatives.

 5. With lean, the goal is to eliminate waste in our processes.  One type of waste, _____,
refers to raw materials that are purchased but not immediately used.

As a summary of the 7 elements of waste: TRANSPORTATION is the unnecessary

movement of materials. INVENTORY is storing more raw materials that can be
immediately used. MOTION is the unnecessary movement of people (as mentioned in
this question). WAITING is waiting for the next step in the process.
OVERPRODUCTION is producing more than the customer demands.
OVERPROCESSING is doing more than the customer requires. DEFECTS are when we
have to correct issues with our products.
 6. A company that makes televisions decides to add features to their product that are not
required or value-added for their customers. This is an example of which one of the seven
elements of waste? (It also referred to as “gold plating.”)

As a summary of the 7 elements of waste: TRANSPORTATION is the unnecessary

movement of materials. INVENTORY is storing more raw materials that can be
immediately used. MOTION is the unnecessary movement of people. WAITING is
waiting for the next step in the process. OVERPRODUCTION is producing more than
the customer demands. OVERPROCESSING is doing more than the customer requires
(as mentioned in this question). DEFECTS are when we have to correct issues with our
products.

 7. To reach a sigma level of six (“Six Sigma”), there must be at least 6 standard
deviations between the average of a process (the mean) and the closest customer
specification limit. It also signifies that our defects per million opportunities (DPMO) are
less than or equal to 3.4.

This is true. There must be at least 6 standard deviations between the mean and the
closest customer specification limit, and DPMO should be less than or equal to 3.4.

 8. Six Sigma is now used across the world, but it had its origins in the 1980s at the
following company:

WALTER SHEWHART, while at Bell Labs in the 1920s, began using statistical process
control (SPC). BOB GALVIN, while at Motorola in the 1980s, formalized Six Sigma.
Then, JACK WELCH, while at General Electric in the 1990s, led one of the largest
implementations of Six Sigma.

 9. After production, a worker at an electronics factory tests a sample of memory cards to

confirm that each contains the amount of storage that has been promised to the customer.
(This measurement is in gigabytes.) In a particular batch, he observes that the memory
cards have become corrupted and will need to be repaired before being sold. This
scenario represents which type of quality cost?

In terms of quality costs, PREVENTION is before production, APPRAISAL is during

production, INTERNAL FAILURES are after production but before shipment, and
EXTERNAL FAILURES are after production and after shipment. Repair or rework costs,
 as mentioned in this scenario, are classified as an internal failure cost. They are incurred
before the product is shipped.

 10. A petroleum company has an accident on a rig that results in oil spilling into the
ocean. They are required to pay penalties, which represent what type of quality cost?

In terms of quality costs, PREVENTION is before production, APPRAISAL is during

production, INTERNAL FAILURES are after production but before shipment, and
EXTERNAL FAILURES are after production and after shipment. Legal penalties, as
mentioned in this scenario, are classified as an external failure cost. They are incurred
after shipment.

 11. The cost of poor quality is the financial impact of our defects. Which of the following
would be classified as a visible cost of poor quality?

When we consider costs of poor quality using the “iceberg” model, visible (or hard costs)
are more easily quantified. They are more direct. Hidden (or soft costs) are more difficult
to quantify.

 12. At a software company, after a tester identifies a security vulnerability, it typically

takes 2 hours before the development team begins their investigation. Once they begin
investigating and fixing the issue, on average, it takes the team 8 hours to implement a
solution. In this case, what is the process cycle efficiency?

To calculate process cycle efficiency (PCE), the value-added time is the divided by the
process lead time. Value-added activities are those that add value to the product. They are
activities that the customer is willing to pay for. The process lead time is the total time
between when we receive the order until the product or service is delivered to the
customer, which includes waiting. In this case, PCE is 8 hours divided by 10 hours,
which is 0.80.

 13. A clothing manufacturer produces 1,000 pairs of jeans in a given month. For each
pair of jeans, there are 12 different opportunities to fail at meeting critical CTQs. During
the month of May, they identified and corrected 24 defects. In this case, what are defects
per million opportunities (DPMO) and are they achieving six sigma?

To calculate defects per million opportunities (DPMO), we use the following formula:
(defects/opportunities) x 1 million. In this case, we have 24 defects and 12,000
 opportunities (or 1,000 units multiplied by 12 opportunities to fail per unit). Finally, if
our DPMO is greater than 3.4, we are not achieving six sigma.

 14. A company that manufactures wheelchairs for hospitals wants to understand the
amount of rework in a given manufacturing process. The process has three steps with the
following yields: 92%, 96%, and 89%. What is the rolled throughput yield (RTY) for this
process?

Rolled throughput yield (RTY) for an entire process is calculated by multiplying the yield
of individual process steps.

 15. A doctor’s office has benchmarked themselves against other offices in the area and
noticed that their average patient wait times are considerably longer than normal. (They
hypothesize that this could be one explanation for their declining customer review
scores.) They decide to begin scoping a new process improvement project to correct the
issue. What phase of the DMAIC lifecycle are they in?

As a summary of the DMAIC lifecycle: In DEFINE, we define the goals of the process
improvement and scope a new project. (This can include preparing a Project Charter.) In
MEASURE, we measure the current, "as is" process. (This can include preparing a
process map.) In ANALYZE, we analyze the process for areas of improvement and use
statistics (hypothesis testing) to validate claims made about the process using sample
data. In IMPROVE, we improve the process. (This can include conducting designed
experiments.) In CONTROL, we monitor and sustain the improved process to ensure the
benefits last.

 16. A restaurant chain is looking at their food delivery process in order to understand and
improve it. They decide to frame the problem in a formula, which shows how various
inputs affect the output of a given process. In this case, which would be the best way to
represent that formula?

When we first begin to brainstorm and break down the process, we do not yet know the
mathematical relationship, so it would not make sense (or be correct) to add, subtract,
divide, or multiply. We simply say that our process output is a function ("f") of the
inputs, which are separated by commas.

 17. The operations department within a large construction company has documented
several examples of waste being generated across the organization and have
recommended a Lean Six Sigma implementation to address the issues. Who would need
to approve this organization-wide implementation of Lean Six Sigma?
Within the world of Lean Six Sigma: an EXECUTIVE SPONSOR makes the decision to
invest in Lean Six Sigma and sets goals for the organization. The PROCESS OWNER is
responsible for the process being improved and will often consult with teams during the
improvement. A WHITE BELT understands foundational terms. A YELLOW BELT has
a basic understanding, supports small projects, and often focuses on improving their own
work. A GREEN BELT has an intermediate understanding and leads small projects often
in their own functional area. A BLACK BELT has a deep understanding and leads large,
cross-functional projects. A MASTER BLACK BELT has expertise in all areas of Lean
Six Sigma and provides advice and training.