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Quiz Session - Attempts With Random Questions

ASQ CSSBB Exam Questions

Page 6 of 33

101.

A successful team is built upon all the following, except:

  • Team leader influence with leadership

  • Aligned purpose and goals 

  • Team-building events

  • Ground rules 

Correct answer: Team leader influence with leadership

Teams are always built on a solid foundation of established purpose and goals, team building, and ground rules, among other important building blocks. Just because a team leader has influence with leadership has no bearing on this person's ability to build a solid team. 

102.

Consider the following experimental design:

Three species of adult locusts are treated with three different types of pesticides at three different concentration levels. Two of the three species of locust are closely related, and the experiment will have a stratified testing design to account for this genetic similarity. The test run is planned to be fully factorial and random. 

What type of experimental design is this?

  • Randomized block factorial design

  • Fully randomized nested design

  • Fractional factorial design

  • Screening factorial design 

Correct answer: Randomized block factorial design

In this design, a collection of relatively homogeneous units is treated (e.g. randomized) within their stratification. This collection is known as a block.

A fully randomized design does not have a block. Fractional factorials look at more factors with fewer runs and don't necessarily have to have a block. Screening factorials assume that all interactions, even two-way interactions, are not significant as a way of identifying any significant interaction.

103.

Which selection is least likely to be considered a soft dollar savings by management?

  • Employee training efficiency improvement

  • Downtime improvement

  • Employee turnover reduction

  • Pollution reduction

Correct answer: Employee training efficiency improvement

This cost can be directly related to the hard financial investment made in upgrading employee skills for which there is a prior baseline of spending.

Downtime improvement, employee turnover reduction, and pollution reduction are often considered cost avoidance measures versus cost reductions. Downtime improvement adds capacity to a system. However, there is no information provided on whether there exists a demand for this capacity. Employee turnover is generally considered to add costs to an organization due to loss of efficiency and requirements for training new employees. However, the costs here can be difficult to define due to specific circumstances. Pollution reduction avoids costs of remediation and health care, and it improves the overall quality of the environment. These are all cost avoidances and are therefore soft dollar savings.

104.

Which of the following is not a likely business weakness?

  • The company practices Hoshin Kanri planning.

  • The company is proud of its substantial number of metrics.

  • The company treats all customer orders equally.

  • The company has one of the largest product offerings in the industry.

Correct answer: The company practices Hoshin Kanri planning.

This is likely a strength, as Hoshin Kanri planning helps organize and control the planning and execution of the business strategy. 

Too many metrics often confuse an organization as to the most important measures. All customer orders being treated equally often leads to an important customer experiencing late or missing orders, which may damage an organization's reputation. Having a large product portfolio is often an indication of an unfocused business strategy or poor product line management processes.

105.

 Successful TPM relies on the establishment of what critical condition in the workplace?

  • Ownership mentality in workplace personnel

  • Signage

  • Pull system

  • Drum-buffer-rope

Correct answer: Ownership mentality in workplace personnel

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), a methodology to help ensure maximum uptime in equipment through preventive maintenance, hinges its success on the personnel who work on the factory floor. They are the ones who must execute the program. Should they not have the ownership mentality required to effectively execute a preventive maintenance program, TPM will be ineffective. Signage, pull system, and drum-buffer-rope methods are all important tools for improved production efficiency, but do not pertain directly to TPM. 

106.

What is the least important selection criterion for team members?

  • Availability

  • Ability to influence

  • Openness to change

  • Subject matter expertise

Correct answer: Availability

Simply being available is not important if that individual doesn't possess other critical skill sets, expertise, and respect within their organization. All other selection criteria choices are very important to the proper identification of team members.

107.

A customer in South Korea has rejected an octabin of polymer chip due to the fact that three off-color chips were counted in a sample of 5 million chips. What is the estimated ppm in the octabin of off-spec chip?

  • 0.6 ppm

  • 0.06 ppm

  • 6 ppm

  • 0.006 ppm

Correct answer: 0.6 ppm  

The calculation is: 3/5 E06, or 6 E-7, which is 0.6 E6. 

This translates to a process sigma of 6.36. It should be noted that in many situations today, achieving a process sigma of 6 does not sufficiently meet quality or capability requirements. 

108.

What is the principal focus of FMEA?

  • Systematic design

  • Robust product design

  • Simultaneous engineering

  • Statistical tolerancing

Correct answer: Systematic design

Systematic design is commonly used in FMEA development as a means of addressing anticipated failure modes.

Robust product design is the focus of DMADOV. Simultaneous engineering allows the inclusion of stakeholders from different functions to lend their voice to the design process and is a core philosophy of DFX. Statistical tolerancing is commonly used in DMADV.  

109.

Choose the best example of a leading indicator metric:

  • Direct Labor Costs

  • Net Monthly Sales

  • Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT)

  • Return On Assets (ROA)

Correct answer: Direct Labor Costs

This metric is a leading indicator of EBIT.

Net Monthly Sales, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), and Return On Assets (ROA) are all lagging metrics.

110.

Maintaining a parking lot list is one form of:

  • Time management in meetings

  • Flip chart record-keeping

  • Creating a pre-work list for the next meeting

  • Personality management

Correct answer: Time management in meetings

Parking lots are a great way to avoid having teams waste time pursuing unproductive avenues. 

Flip charts are indeed often used, but this is a common tool, not just for a parking lot list. A parking lot list may indeed ultimately be an input to a pre-work list for the next meeting, but it is not by itself a pre-work item generator. Parking lots can be abused as a way to shift discussion to a stronger team personality's favorite topic at the expense of a more reserved member.   

111.

Jaime is looking into developing an FMEA for a new motherboard BIOS program for his company's new computer product. What type of FMEA is Jaime looking to complete?

  • System FMEA

  • Process FMEA

  • Design FMEA

  • Service FMEA

Correct answer: System FMEA

A system FMEA looks specifically at a system or subsystem of a complete engineering design—in this case, the proper operation of the motherboard BIOS program.

A process FMEA is designed to identify and evaluate relative risks associated with a process design. A design FMEA looks specifically at the hardware design as a whole. A service FMEA looks at how a specific service uses a process or processes to maximize performance and productivity. 

112.

Wernher, upon being confronted that the performance conclusions on his startup model rocket company's new G-Force four stage model rocket were wrong and that he'd made a Type II error, reviews his data and calculates, to his dismay, that the beta value (ꞵ) of his test was 0.27. What was the power of his test?

  • P = 0.73

  • P = 0.37

  • P = 0.85

  • P = 0.98

Correct answer: 0.73

Wernher's test had limited power to avoid making a Type II error: failing to reject the null hypothesis when it is false. 

In this case, approximately 27% of the time, based on the data, anyone would make a Type II error. The equation for calculating the power of a test is P = 1 - ꞵ, where ꞵ  =  likelihood of making a Type II error.

113.

Which technique is not a legacy of Kaoru Ishikawa?

  • Kanban

  • Quality circle

  • Cause and effect diagram

  • Quality first approach

Correct answer: Kanban

This technique was invented by Taiichi Ohno of the Toyota company.

114.

Harold, the business finance manager, is horrified when he sees the cost of the Hastelloy C276 reactors that have been specified for the new XR-1000 atomic bond adhesive, to be manufactured at the Toledo facility. He complains to the technology leader about the cost, who agrees to look into the matter. 

What DFX methodology should be employed in this situation?

  • Design for Producibility (DFP)

  • Design for Maintainability (DFM)

  • Design to Cost (DTC)

  • Design for Test (DFT)

Correct answer: Design for Producibility (DFP)

Designing this product for production on more affordable equipment would be key to increasing its contribution margin. 

DFM, DTC, and DFT are subordinate considerations in this circumstance. 

115.

Takt time is an example of what type of work?

  • Standard work

  • Automated work

  • Manual work

  • Changeover work

Correct answer: Standard work  

Takt time is the available production time divided by customer demand. This type of work is precisely described and assists in production planning efforts. Automated, manual, and changeover work could be components that contribute to available production time.

116.

Cloud-based document management systems are extremely useful for accomplishing what specific continuous improvement purpose?

  • Knowledge management

  • Standard work

  • Automation

  • Keeping trade secrets

Correct answer: Knowledge management

Maintaining an organization's memory is of paramount importance if the organization is not to squander gains made through individual Six Sigma projects and other continuous improvement measures.

Standard work comes from documenting and leaning out processes. Automation reduces manual efforts and human error. Trade secrets are certainly best kept in a secure, digital environment, but this is not a continuous improvement purpose.

117.

A Black Belt needs to develop a means to interpret the VOC they gathered in the Define phase. What tool should he use?

  • Kano model

  • SIPOC

  • QFD

  • Force-field analysis

Correct answer: Kano model

This model helps identify the key customer requirements that impact customer satisfaction. It is ideal for analyzing VOC. 

SIPOC is a useful tool to analyze and map processes. QFD is a means to plan new or redesign products and services. Force-field analysis helps analyze forces that either help or hinder an organization from achieving a particular goal.  

118.

Choose the correct data classification for the following data set: male and female heights in Norway.

  • Numeric, ratio

  • Attribute, nominal

  • Numeric, ordinal

  • Attribute, ordinal

Correct answer: Numeric, ratio

Data that is numeric can be measured, verified, and manipulated. Ratio data has proportionate intervals between data points and has an absolute zero as part of the measurement scale, which this data fits. 

Data that relies on descriptive or observation-based information is qualitative, or attribute data, which is not a characteristic of this data. Data that is nominal is classified with no implied order, which this data is. However, this data includes a scale with an absolute zero, so nominal is not the best category. For the data to be ordinal, there must be a ranking among subjects. However, no ranking exists.  

119.

Josh is trying to determine the largest influencing factors among a complex array of data collected from a brainstorming session. What likely is the best tool for this identification?

  • Interrelationship digraph

  • Process decision program chart

  • Affinity diagram

  • Tree diagram

Correct answer: Interrelationship digraph

This tool displays the cause-and-effect relationships between ideas or factors in a complex situation. It is useful to identify meaningful relationships from a mass of information.

A process decision program chart identifies all events that can go wrong and the appropriate countermeasures for these events. An affinity diagram is used to organize information and help achieve order out of chaotic inputs. A tree diagram depicts the hierarchy of tasks and subtasks needed to complete an objective.

120.

Frank, a team leader, notices that Parvan, his top development resource, has been consistently late to scrum meetings over the past week. What does Frank need to do here?

  • Use the Six R's to understand Parvan's current situation and help motivate Parvan.

  • Privately warn Parvan to be punctual at meetings to help motivate him.

  • Ask other team members to poke fun at Parvan for being late to meetings to help motivate him.

  • Take Parvan out to lunch to help motivate him.

Correct answer: Use the Six R's to understand Parvan's current situation and help motivate Parvan.

As an effective team leader, Frank routinely uses the Six R's to develop motivation to excel amongst his team. The six R's stand for: 

  1. Reinforce
  2. Request for information
  3. Resources
  4. Responsibility
  5. Role
  6. Repeat

Warning Parvan privately or shaming him publicly may well produce a highly negative reaction from him. Taking Parvan out to lunch might be viewed as a complicit acceptance of his current behavior.

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