INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Process Flow/Facility Layout

 What is the process flow of the operations of the company?

 How did the company come up with this layout?
 Why is this the most appropriate layout to use?
 How does the company address the problems/bottlenecks of the operations?

Operations Capacity

 What is the design capacity of the operations?

 What is the effective capacity of the operations?
 What is the actual output of the operations?
 What does the company do if the capacity of the operations is not achieved or
exceeded?
 What aspects does the company considered to be able to come up with an
effective capacity strategy?

Work Systems

 How does the company establish trust with its employees?

 How does the company motivate its employees to encourage them to perform in
a way that is beneficial to the company?
 Does the company have unofficial teams? If yes, how are they beneficial to the
company? If none, why?
 What is the most appropriate working condition in the operations of the
company?
 What qualifications does the company look for in hiring? Does the company
prefer to hire a person who has certain specialization?
 If not, how does the company avoid giving a monotonous job to its employees?
 How often does the company conduct a method analysis of its operations?
 How is it done? How does the company respond to the observed problems?
 Does the operations need specific motions in carrying the job? What are those?
 e.g: Both hands should begin and end their basic divisions of accomplishment
simultaneously and should not be idle at the same instant, except during rest
periods.
 What is the specific arrangement and conditions of the workplace?
e.g: All materials and tools should be located within the normal working area.
 What is the specific design of the tools and equipment?
e.g: Multiple cuts should be taken whenever possible by combining two or more
tools in one.
 What are the safety measures of the company?

Operations Scheduling

 What is the schedule of the intermediate-volume systems of the operations?

Why?
 What is the schedule of the human activities in the operations? Why?
 What is the schedule of the equipment used in the operations? Why?
 How did the company come up with this schedule?
 What does the company use to remind the employees regarding the schedule?
 What difficulties does the company face in scheduling? How does the company
address the problem?
 What are the priority rules of the operations regarding productions?
e.g: First come, first served; shortest processing time; earliest due date

Management of Quality

 How does the company assure that the overall operations are of quality?
o Top Management
o Design
o Procurement
o Production/operations
o Packaging and shipping
o Marketing and sales
 o Customer service
 How does the company respond to defective products?
 How does the company prevent failures or mistakes on the operations?
 What dimensions of quality does the company put emphasis on?
o Performance: main characteristics of the product/service
o Aesthetics: appearance, feel, smell, taste
o Special features: extra characteristics
o Conformance: how well the product/service conforms to the customer’s
expectations
o Reliability: consistency of performance
o Durability: useful life of the product/service
o Perceived quality: indirect evaluation of quality (e.g. reputation)
o Serviceability: service after sale
 How does the company assures that the quality of the products have achieved
the intention of the designers?
 How does the company come up with this idea of quality?