問19
頻出度★★☆
ベルトコンベア方式による分業型の流れ作業ではなく, 一人又は少人数で最初の工程から最後の工程までを担当する多品種少量生産向きの生産方式はどれか。
平成23年度 秋期 ITパスポート試験 問19
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 19
- ア
正解 The correct answer is “ア Cell production method.” In the cell production method, a small work area (called a cell, also known as a stall) is laid out in a U shape or a similar form, and one worker or a small number of workers handle everything from attaching parts to assembly and inspection, covering the whole flow from the first process to the last. The three conditions given in the question, “not division-of-labor assembly-line work on a belt conveyor,” “one person or a small number of people handle all processes,” and “suited to high-variety, low-volume production,” all point to exactly the characteristics of the cell production method. Unlike line production that uses a belt conveyor, each cell works independently, so when the product being made is switched there is no need to rearrange the entire line; it is enough to change the procedure inside the cell. It is therefore strong at high-variety, low-volume production and at coping with swings in demand, and output can be adjusted flexibly by increasing or decreasing the number of cells. In addition, because workers are responsible for the product through to completion, effects such as multi-skilling from the wider scope of work, higher motivation, and a stronger sense of responsibility for the finished product can also be expected.
Incorrectイ
Fabless refers to a business model in which a company does not own its own factory (fab). It specializes in planning, design, development, and brand management, and outsources the actual manufacturing to external specialist manufacturers (foundries or EMS companies). Semiconductor makers often adopt this form, aiming to hold down investment in facilities and concentrate management resources on development. This is about how the business itself is put together, that is, who does the making (in-house or outside), and it is not a classification of production methods describing how workers divide up the processes inside a factory. It therefore does not even engage with the question's condition that one person handles all the processes.
Incorrectウ
In the line production method, products are moved along in order by a belt conveyor or similar equipment, and each worker repeats only the process they are in charge of, which is division-of-labor assembly-line work. This is exactly the method that the question explicitly rules out with “rather than,” so it cannot be the answer. Its characteristics are the opposite as well: efficiency rises the more units of the same product are made, so it suits low-variety, high-volume production, and switching products requires rearranging the whole line, which makes it unsuited to high-variety, low-volume production.
Incorrectエ
In the lot production method, the same product is made in lots (batches of a set quantity); once a lot is finished, the setup is changed over and production switches to another product type. It suits medium-variety, medium-volume production. Although it sits between line production and cell production, the work is still divided up process by process, and it is not the case that one person or a small number of people handle the work straight through from start to finish. Furthermore, every switch of product type incurs changeover time and work-in-process inventory, so it also fails as a description of the flexible response to high-variety, low-volume production that the question calls for.
ここがポイント
- Cell production method = one person or a small number of people handle everything from the first process to the last inside a cell (a U-shaped work area, also called a stall). Because no rearrangement of the line is needed, it copes well with high-variety, low-volume production and with swings in demand, and it also leads to multi-skilling and higher worker motivation.
- Organize production methods by “how the processes are divided up.” Flexibility increases in this order: line production (division of labor on a belt conveyor; low-variety, high-volume) ⇔ lot production (made in batches with setup changeovers; medium-variety, medium-volume) ⇔ cell production (a few people handle all processes; high-variety, low-volume). Fabless, on the other hand, is a business model of owning no factory and outsourcing manufacturing, a different category from the classification of production methods, so do not confuse the two.
用語