CIPS Operations Management Sample Questions:

1. Spotted Elephant Ltd is a confectionary manufacturer whose operations department is headed by Brian. Brian is looking into Total Quality Management and ways of implementing this in the factory. He is considering the introduction of Total Productive Maintenance. What would this involve?

A) servicing the machinery more frequently
B) business process re-engineering
C) using a pull inventory system
D) introducing quality assurance processes for the confectionary items produced

2. Which of the following items created by an organisation are intangible? Select TWO

A) A cup of coffee from a restaurant
B) A shirt bought at a retail outlet
C) A massage given at a Spa
D) Legal Advice provided by a solicitor

3. When quality is used as a foundation to build improvements in other areas such as dependability, what is this theory known as?

A) sand cone theory
B) brick-laying theory
C) wave theory
D) bridge theory

4. There are four manufacturing companies located on Seashell Industrial Estate. Each company creates a different product and employs a different maintenance approach to its operations. For each company, select the corresponding maintenance approach and the key operating process characteristic.
Company 1: This company creates craft beer and offers customers a tour of the brewery for a small charge. The brewing equipment is serviced monthly and the brewery is kept extremely clean. All equipment is labelled with the last service date.
Company 2: This company produces seasonal items such as Easter Eggs and Christmas Cake. The equipment has a control panel where lights will flash red advising staff to check oil levels and components. Staff can then report issues to the maintenance team if remedial work is required. Product demand fluctuates throughout the year.
Company 3: This equipment does not often break down and is only fixed when it is reported by staff as no longer working. Company 3 creates toys, providing a large range of product sizes and colours based on different customer requirements.
Company 4: Parts of the machine are serviced quarterly but in general, the machine is left to run its course and is then replaced when it is no longer financially viable to fix. The company produces cereal and the operating process is focused on the quantity produced and therefore uses standardised processes.
Complete the table below by listing the maintenance approach and operating process characteristic for each company. Each response should only be used once: preventative maintenance, run to breakdown maintenance, condition-based maintenance, mixed maintenance, volume, visibility, variation, variety

Which of the following will you put into box 3?

A) run-to-breakdown maintenance
B) preventative maintenance
C) condition-based maintenance
D) mixed maintenance

5. Below are details of five companies who operate a Total Quality Management System (TQM). For each company, select the system used and identify which area of the Balanced Scorecard this relates to.
Company 1: The focus of this company is to gather real-time data to assess the quality of products created during the manufacturing process. There are tight budgets and reworking any defects will affect the bottom line.
Company 2: This company is concerned about how their products are received. They have recently completed market research focused on their client's feelings. The objective is now to improve the product's look and performance to meet these expectations.
Company 3: The focus of this company is defining the customer requirements and translating this into a high-quality specification and effective operational process.
Company 4: Within this company there is a group of 6 employees who meet regularly with the objective of reducing issues that arise in the manufacturing of products.
Complete the table below by listing the TQM System used and the relevant Balanced Scorecard criteria for each company. Each response should only be used once: Quality Circle, Statistical Process Control, Kansei Engineering, Quality Function Deployment, Finance Criteria, Business Process Criteria, Learning and Growth Criteria, Customer Criteria.

Which of the following will you put into box 6?

A) customer criteria
B) learning and growth criteria
C) finance criteria
D) business process criteria

Solutions: