IPA IP 2026 Question 31
A question IPA Japan published in 令和8年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問31, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
Among muri (overburden), mura (unevenness), and muda (waste), which are the viewpoints of business improvement in the lean production system, which of the following is the most appropriate as an example of muda?
Explanation
Waiting and processing more than necessary, actions that add no value — in lean production, muda is waste, set apart from muri (overburden) and mura (unevenness).
Lean production, developed from the Toyota Production System, improves work by removing three kinds of loss:
- •Muri — overburden: a load on people, equipment or the organization beyond what it can bear
- •Mura — unevenness: variation in workload, method or output quality
- •Muda — waste: any activity that uses time or resources without adding value for the customer
The classic seven wastes are overproduction, waiting, transportation, over-processing, inventory, unnecessary motion and defects. Option (c) names two of them, waiting and over-processing.
Answer (c)
Why not others:
- •(a) — quality that varies with the person doing the work is unevenness, mura
- •(b) — a plan or work standard beyond the organization's capacity is overburden, muri
- •(d) — work that strains part of the body for long periods is overburden on the worker, muri
Key rule: Muri is too much load, mura is variation, muda is anything that adds no value; lean improvement removes muda by levelling mura and avoiding muri.
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.