CIPS Operations Management Sample Questions:

1. Performance Benchmarking is a form of what type of benchmarking?

A) internal
B) competitive
C) non-competitive
D) external

2. 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 5?

A) variation
B) visibility
C) variety
D) volume

3. Below are details of 4 local manufacturing companies. For each company you must decide what the main objective is for the organisation and what layout their manufacturing plant has.
Company 1: This company creates large, delicate products which are hard to move. The main aim of the company is to stand out from competitors due to the superior level of materials used and by using the latest forms of technology to create the items.
Company 2: This company produces 72 different items and has designated zones within its premises for the creation of each item. The zones are organised based on the technology used and some products may be passed between different zones to be completed. The company creates many different items in response to changing customer demands, with many product lines only lasting a single season.
Company 3: Company 3 creates one product which flows along a single production line, with staff members adding to the product on four different occasions. The company must produce a high volume of this singular product in order to break even. Therefore, there is always a steady flow of items through the plant and it is important there is no stoppage in production.
Company 4: This company produces small batches of products, as and when they are ordered by customers. Due to uncertainty in demand, a high profit margin is added to the cost of each item. Teams in the factory are grouped into different areas depending on the technological process they are using.
Complete the table below by listing the objective criteria and plant layout for each company. Each response should only be used once: flexibility, speed, quality, cost, functional layout, cell layout, product layout, fixed-position layout

Which of the following will you put into box 5?

A) cell layout
B) fixed-position layout
C) functional layout
D) product layout

4. Logan has recently been appointed to the position of Operations Manager within in IT firm. The CEO has charged Logan with improving the performance of the department, in particular, in ensuring that promises made to customers are kept. Logan is therefore prioritising KPIs for the team including the delivering of services on-time and customer retention.
Which of the 5 Performance Objectives of Operations Management is Logan focusing on?

A) quality
B) dependability
C) flexibility
D) speed

5. One of the main differences between Business Process Re-Engineering and Kaizen is that Kaizen is more expensive, is this true?

A) no- Business Process Re-engineering is a slow process that involves all members of the team
B) yes- Kaizen uses a cross-functional team to implement
C) no- Business Process Re-Engineering is usually more expensive as a Consultant is often hired
D) yes- Kaizen involves changing an entire process

Solutions: