IPA IP 2021 Question 35
A question IPA Japan published in 令和3年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問35, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2025 Q90
In a manufacturing company, a production system uses electronic tags containing information such as the part number of a component. The tags are used as a production order from a post-process to a pre-process and a delivery note from a pre-process to a post-process. A system such as this is used in a just in time production system in a supply chain or in-house manufacturing. Which of the following is the appropriate name for a system such as this?
Explanation
Kanban system — the tag goes from the post-process to the pre-process as a production order and comes back with the parts as a delivery note.
Kanban is the control tool of just-in-time production. The later process withdraws only the parts it has used from the earlier process, and the kanban it hands over tells the earlier process what to make, and how many, to replace them. The kanban then travels with the parts as the delivery note. Because each process makes only what was withdrawn, work in process stays small. Electronic tags replace paper cards in an e-kanban, including between companies in a supply chain.
Answer (a)
Why not others:
- •(b) Craft production system — skilled workers make each product individually by hand; no tags control the flow between processes
- •(c) Cell production system — one worker or a small team assembles a whole product in a compact cell of workbenches; it is a layout for the line, not a pull signal between processes
- •(d) Build-to-stock production system — products are made in advance to a forecast and held in stock, the opposite of producing only what the next process takes
Key rule: Kanban is a pull system: the later process's withdrawal triggers production in the earlier one, so a card or tag running backward as an order marks it.
Business Industry · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.