Lean Six Sigma

MET 4650

Homework
Topic: Jack Smith Case Study (A, B, & C)

1 During his recruitment, Jack Smith came to understand that he would assume a senior level manufacturing
management position where: Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant.

2 Who founded Toyota's Operational Management Consulting Division (OMCD) and was one of the creators
of the Toyota Production System (TPS)? Taiichi Ohno

3 Toyota emphasized _______local production________ in the major auto markets, including in Europe
and North America, even though labor Costs were often high.

4 What vehicles were produced at the TMMK Assembly Plant? The Avalon, Camry cars and the Sienna minivan, as well as power-train components

5 Toyota's success in terms of quality and productivity are often attributed to: ______Toyota Production System_____

6 While many TPS practices and tools were renowned, what was really essential to the success of Toyota's
best plants were the ways in which doing work was tightly coupled with: ________finding problems and ___
___making improvements____.

7 Toyota managed work so that ____ problems would become evident _____ close to their occurance
and could be quickly addressed.

8 Responding to problems as theyfrom

_________information occur provides
which access
effective to: ___provided
corrective measuresaccess
could to
bedetailed, specific, and immediate___
constructed._____________
measures could be constructed. __________________.

9 Jack Smith had an undergraduate degree in what? Mechanical Engineering

10 Jack Smith had two master's degrees. What were they and where did he get them? Engineering and Management at MIT

11 In 1995, Smith was chosen to manage a large vehicle-assembly plant where the company was preparing to launch
a new vehicle. As part of his approach, he divided workers into small teams and instructed them to design what?
Standard work procedures

12 Smith also brought in outside consultants, many of whom were former Toyota employees, to facilitate the
development of _____"lean thinking"____

13 On Smith's firstthe
day__________Toyota
at Toyota, he met Hajime
SupplierOhba, VP of
Support Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, who headed
System____________________.
Supplier Support Center ________________________________.

14 He also met ________ Ken Fukunaga____________, who would be his orientation mentor.

15 Smith's first assignment with Toyota was to: help a single group of 19 workers improve their labor productivity, ergonomic safety, and operational availability
16 Fukanaga insisted that Smith observe people directly to _discover the detailed nuances of the work-element content, sequence _
___and cycle-time of each for the line’s 19 processes as the basis for rebalancing work, reducing labor content, and improving ergonomics. _____

17 What plant did Smith's first assignment take place with Toyota? West Virginia

18 During Smith's first 6 weeks assignment, he spent it observing work methods. His 2nd assignment, which took
another 6 weeks was to: __watch individual machines until they faulted so that he could investigate causes immediately.
___________________.

19 Jack Smith had assumed he would receive some form of orientation, but was surprised that it was more like an
apprenticeship where he was responsible for: improving, through hands-on problem solving, shop-floor work.
___

20 After Smith left the West Virginia plant, he went to: Toyota's Kamigo Plant.

21 Smith's first assignment at this new plant was to: _make 50 improvements in 3 days and reduce the “overburden” on the worker—walking, lifting,
and other effort that did not add value to the product but tired or otherwise impeded the worker and lengthened cycle times_

22 On the way home, after this last assignment, Fukanaga asked "so, Jack, what do you do when you get home?"
What was Jack Smith's response? Smith took off the earphones, stashed them in the seat pocket in front of him, and slowly massaged his temples,
thinking of what the right answer should be. In which he gave no response....