Practice 30 Continuous Improvement Engineer interview questions covering Lean, Six Sigma, and process optimization.
Question 7 of 30
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Heijunka is the concept of level-loading a process or operation. This concept is related to the aspirational goal of single piece flow in all processes. This question is meant to evaluate the candidates practical understanding of these concepts. A good answer will express the candidates understanding of these ideas as an ideal-state vision, while demonstrating their ability to work within the constraints of a real-world system to develop a practical solution.
"The importance of level-loading a production area cannot be overstated. There are many benefits to reducing batch sizes and creating a routine cadence in a production schedule. As batch sizes go down and change-over frequency goes up, the inefficiencies involved with change-overs come to light. This drives a reduction in changeover time, which can subsequently lead to further decrease batch sizes. Level-loading across shifts also has the ancillary benefit of ensuring proper training for all shifts on all products. Heijunka should be pursued with the ideal vision of single-piece-flow in all processes, even though this visoon can often not be fully realized due to practical constraints."
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