DP Design Technology Questionbank

Figure 11 shows quality control taking place in a car production plant.

Figure 11: Car production quality control

[Source: BMW AG]

Which one of the seven wastes does quality control help reduce?

A. Overproduction

B. Unnecessary inventory

C. Defects

D. Transporting

Figure 10 shows computer integrated manufacturing (CIM).

Figure 10: Computer integrated manufacturing

[Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robot_worker.jpg
Mountain at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (Wikimedia Commons)]

CIM is a system that uses computers to integrate production, business and manufacturing in order to create more efficient production lines.

Which of the following are elements of CIM?

I.   Extraction of raw materials

II.  Tracking of financial resources

III. Manufacturing final product

A. I and II

B. I and III

C. II and III

D. I, II and III

Outline one way computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) can enhance quality control.

Outline how value stream mapping would help Mouna & Partners reduce lead time.

Outline one benefit to the company of creating a product family for the chocolate bars.

Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of Mouna & Partners moving towards a just-in-time (JIT) strategy.

List two of the seven wastes eliminated by the new factory layout.

Outline why Petra Care used value stream mapping to improve the efficiency of assembling the wheelchairs.

Outline one reason, other than cost, why this factory did not adopt computer integrated manufacturing (CIM).

Maximising flow is one of the strategies used in lean production.

Explain how sorting and stabilising the tools as shown in Figure 3 contributes to maximising flow at Petra Care.

At the car manufacturing plant, teams work together to eliminate waste such as cutting time spent waiting for parts to arrive, reducing unnecessary movement in work cells, eliminating over-processing and over-production.

This strategy, where everyone works together to eliminate waste during manufacture, is a key principle of…

A. Mass customization

B. Lean production

C. Automation

D. Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)

Statistical process control (SPC) is a quality control tool that uses statistical methods to ensure that a process operates at its optimum efficiency.

Which of the following are elements of statistical process control (SPC)?

I. Dramatically reducing variability and waste

II. Reducing costs

III. Predicting demand

A. I and II

B. I and III

C. II and III

D. I, II and III

Figure 9 shows a car production line.

Figure 9: A car production line

[Source: Lotus 60th Celebration - Final assembly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/32659528@N00/2868489384).
Image by Brian Snelson under CC licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/]

The company does not allocate space to the storage of components or completed cars. This is an example of which production strategy?

A. Just in case (JIC)

B. Just in time (JIT)

C. Workflow analysis

D. Kaizen

Compare just in time (JIT) and just in case (JIC) as strategies to produce the Dualit toaster.

Which of the following costs are lower in just in time (JIT) production?

I. Storage for finished products

II. Marketing costs

III. Labour costs

A. I and II

B. I and III

C. II and III

D. I, II and III

Which of the following are monitored in computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)?

I. Purchasing

II. Recovery of products at the end of their useful life

III. Distribution

A. I and II only

B. I and III only

C. II and III only

D. I, II and III

Figure 13 shows a graph of costs/revenue against sales.

Figure 13: Break-even graph

[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2018]

Which of the following points represents the break-even point on the graph?

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D

The ideal situation in a just in time (JIT) environment is piece per process, which equates to one piece ordered, one piece processed and one piece shipped. All inventory held over and above this quantity is regarded as waste.

However, this is not always possible or practical. Which of the following allows the inventory to be minimised as far as possible?

A. Carry parts that are expensive

B. Carry parts that are likely to become obsolete

C. Carry parts critical to manufacture

D. Carry parts that another local company can also sell

List two ways that Quality Assurance (QA) contributes to quality management.

The regulation of the quality of raw materials, assemblies, products and components is referred to as…

A. Quality control (QC)

B. Quality assurance (QA)

C. Statistical process control (SPC)

D. Standardization

What is true of just-in-case (JIC) inventory management?

A. Guarantees that products will be available

B. Reduces inventory costs

C. Enables lean production

D. Efficient use of materials

The exoskeleton is a very complex design and required the development of mechanical and electronic systems for it to function successfully.

Suggest how the exoskeleton may be developed into a product family.

Outline one reason why Smart’s Shoes would use lean production to help meet their sustainability goals.

Outline one reason why Soar use just-in-case (JIC) production for their Soar e-scooter.

Outline one way how the use of statistical process control can lead to improvements in the design of the Soar e-scooter.