24-28. High turnover rates at manufacturing plants has historically meant high p

Question

24-28. High turnover rates at manufacturing plants has historically meant high product defect rates because of the increased number of inexperienced workers. In a recent study 5 Japanese and 5 U.S. plants that manufacture air conditioners were randomly selected to compare their turnover rates. The air conditioners that came from U.S plants were 25% more likely to be defective. Based on the data below, is there evidence at a .05 level of significance that U.S plants have a higher turnover percentage than the Japanese plants?

Japanese Plants

U.S. Plants

3.52%

7.11%

2.02%

6.06%

4.91%

8.00%

3.22%

6.87%

1.92%

4.77%

29-30. Stan

Japanese Plants

U.S. Plants

3.52%

7.11%

2.02%

6.06%

4.91%

8.00%

3.22%

6.87%

1.92%

4.77%

Explanation / Answer

Ever since Henry Ford invented the assembly line, industrial innovators have constantly focused on improvement through a variety of different manufacturing strategies. Lean manufacturing is a manufacturing strategy that seeks to produce a high level of throughput with a minimum of inventory. Originally a Japanese methodology known as the Toyota Production System designed by Sakichi Toyoda, lean manufacturing centers around placing small stockpiles of inventory in strategic locations around the assembly line, instead of in centralized warehouses. These small stockpiles are known as kanban, and the use of the kanban significantly lowers waste and enhances productivity on the factory floor. In addition to eliminating waste, lean manufacturing seeks to provide optimum quality by building in a method whereby each part is examined immediately after manufacture, and if there is a defect, the production line stops so that the problem can be detected at the earliest possible time. The lean manufacturing method has much in common with the Total Quality Management (TQM) strategy. Both strategies empower workers on the assembly line, in the belief that those closest to production have the greatest knowledge of how the production system should work.

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