Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Practice Exam

What term describes the waste associated with excessive delays in a process?

1. Overprocessing

2. Cycle time waste

3. Defects

4. Transport waste

The correct answer is: Cycle time waste

The term that describes the waste associated with excessive delays in a process is indeed cycle time waste. Cycle time refers to the total time taken to complete a process from start to finish, including any delays that occur between steps. When a process experiences excessive delays, it contributes to inefficiencies and can lead to longer lead times for customers, ultimately affecting satisfaction and operational performance. Understanding cycle time waste is crucial in Six Sigma as it allows teams to identify bottlenecks in their processes. By analyzing where delays occur, organizations can implement targeted improvements to streamline processes and enhance overall efficiency. This concept emphasizes the importance of time as both a valuable resource and a key performance indicator for process evaluation and optimization efforts. Other terms like overprocessing, defects, and transport waste refer to different aspects of inefficiencies. Overprocessing pertains to unnecessary work that does not add value, defects involve errors or rework needed to fix issues in a product or service, and transport waste concerns the unnecessary movement of materials or information. Each of these categories represents specific forms of waste within a process, but cycle time waste specifically highlights the impact of delays on workflow efficiency.