VIENIDMY Sign in Start practicing

Home › Sample questions › Production Management Planning Grade 3 生産管理プランニング (BC検定)

BC Kentei Production Management Planning Grade 3 practice test with answers – free sample questions

ビジネス・キャリア検定 生産管理プランニング3級

10 sample questions in the real exam format, with furigana, English translation, answers and explanations. Tap "Show answer" under each question. For the full question bank and realistic mock exams, open the free app.

Question 1

In the following passage regarding the basic steps from product development to mass production and domain-specific logistics systems in a manufacturing enterprise, which combination of terms filling blanks A to C is MOST APPROPRIATE? "The process up to supplying a new product to the market begins with product planning based on market research, proceeds through A and B, and advances to mass production. Furthermore, logistics activities from receiving raw materials inside the factory through moving items between machining and assembly processes up to storing finished goods in the warehouse are called C."

  1. A.
    A: Product design　B: Production preparation　C: Production logistics
  2. B.
    A: Production preparation　B: Product design　C: Procurement logistics
  3. C.
    A: Product design　B: Production preparation　C: Sales logistics
  4. D.
    A: Production preparation　B: Product design　C: Recovery logistics
Show answer

Correct answer: A

The standard sequence from concept to mass production in manufacturing is: Product planning (製品企画) → Product design (製品設計: A) → Production preparation (生産準備: B) → Mass production (量産). By logistics domain: transporting materials from suppliers is procurement logistics (調達物流); internal movement and handling across factory processes and warehouses is production logistics (生産物流: C); delivering finished products to customers is sales logistics (販売物流); collecting empty containers or recyclables is recovery logistics (回収物流).

💡 Upstream sequence: Product planning → Product design → Production preparation → Mass production. Material flow inside the factory between processes is Production logistics.

WordMeaning
product planning and product design
production preparation (seisan junbi)
production logistics (seisan butsuryū)

Question 2

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the 4Ps of marketing, the characteristics of consumer goods and industrial goods, and the concept of target costing in product planning?

  1. A.
    The 4Ps that make up the marketing mix refer to the four elements of Product, Price, Place (distribution channels), and Promotion.
  2. B.
    Compared with consumer goods purchased by individuals, industrial goods such as machine tools and industrial parts tend to be purchased based on rational evaluations of economic efficiency, quality, and technical specifications by specialized buyers.
  3. C.
    Target costing takes its starting point after product design drawings have been finalized and mass production has begun at the factory, focusing on cost reduction through shop-floor work improvement and yield enhancement.
  4. D.
    At the new product planning stage, it is important for related departments such as planning, design, production engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing to participate from the outset to build in both market-required quality and target cost.
Show answer

Correct answer: C

Target costing (原価企画) originates at the product planning and conceptual design stages—where roughly 80% of product cost is determined—through cross-functional participation (planning, design, production engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing). Cost reduction carried out on the shop floor via work improvements and yield enhancement after mass production begins is cost kaizen (原価改善), not target costing.

WordMeaning
4Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion)
consumer goods and industrial goods
target costing (genka kikaku)

Question 3

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the functions of 'production planning' and 'production control' that make up the process management system?

  1. A.
    Production planning consists of 'routing planning' to set manufacturing methods and operation sequences, 'man-hour (load) planning' to balance load and capacity, and 'scheduling' to set start and completion times.
  2. B.
    'Capacity slack management (Yoryoku Kanri)' in production control refers to the activity of tracking the location and quantity of raw materials and work-in-process using identification tags to prevent theft or loss.
  3. C.
    'Dispatching (work assignment)' in production control is the activity of issuing manufacturing orders and operation instruction sheets based on the schedule to instruct each workshop to start specific jobs.
  4. D.
    'Progress control (expediting)' in production control is the activity of monitoring whether production is proceeding according to the planned schedule and expediting or adjusting schedules if delays occur.
Show answer

Correct answer: B

Tracking the physical location and quantity of materials, work-in-process, and finished goods using identification tags (現品票) or move tickets (移動票) is 'physical item control' (現品管理). In contrast, 'capacity slack management' (余力管理) monitors and adjusts the balance between workload (負荷工数) and available capacity (保有工数) at each process or workstation.

WordMeaning
routing planning, load planning, and scheduling
dispatching (sashitate) and progress control
capacity slack management and physical item control

Question 4

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the positioning of the 'Decoupling Point (DP)' in a supply chain and its relationship with production types?

  1. A.
    The decoupling point is the boundary between forecast-driven production/inventory activities and customer-order-driven production/shipment activities, serving as the location where strategic inventory is held.
  2. B.
    In a Build-To-Order (BTO) system where common modules and subassemblies are produced to forecast and final assembly is performed after receiving a confirmed order, the decoupling point is placed at the parts/module inventory stage.
  3. C.
    In a pure make-to-stock system where finished products are held in warehouses or retail stores and shipped immediately upon order receipt, the decoupling point lies downstream in the supply chain at the finished goods inventory.
  4. D.
    Moving the decoupling point further upstream in the supply chain (toward raw materials or engineering design) increases the risk of unsold finished goods inventory while significantly shortening customer delivery lead time.
Show answer

Correct answer: D

Moving the decoupling point (デカップリングポイント) upstream (toward raw materials or design-to-order) reduces the risk of unsold finished goods inventory because products are not built ahead of orders; however, because manufacturing starts only after an order arrives, the delivery lead time to the customer becomes LONGER, not shorter. Placing the decoupling point downstream (finished goods stock) shortens delivery lead time but increases inventory risk.

💡 Decoupling Point rule: Moving DOWNSTREAM (finished goods stock) shortens delivery lead time but raises inventory risk; moving UPSTREAM (raw materials/design) lowers inventory risk but lengthens delivery lead time.

WordMeaning
Decoupling Point (DP)
BTO (Build To Order)
upstream and downstream in the supply chain

Question 5

Based on the Bill of Materials (BOM) tree for Product P shown in the diagram (numbers in parentheses indicate the quantity required per unit of parent item), which of the following is the MOST APPROPRIATE value for the 'net requirement' of Part d when producing 10 units of Product P? Assume that inventories of Product P, Assembly A, Assembly B, and Subassembly C are all 0, and the current inventory status of Part d is as shown in the table below. (Inventory Status of Part d) ・On-hand inventory: 25 units ・Allocated inventory (reserved for other uses): 10 units ・Scheduled receipts (on-order balance): 15 units

Based on the Bill of Materials (BOM) tree for Product P shown in the diagram (numbers in p
  1. A.
    40 units
  2. B.
    60 units
  3. C.
    75 units
  4. D.
    90 units
Show answer

Correct answer: B

Step 1: Calculate the gross requirement (総所要量) of Part d for 10 units of Product P: ・Assembly A (Level 1) needed: 10 × 1 = 10 units; Assembly B (Level 1) needed: 10 × 2 = 20 units. ・Subassembly C (Level 2, child of A) needed: 10 × 2 = 20 units. ・Part d appears in three branches: (1) under Assembly A: 10 × 3 = 30 units; (2) under Assembly B: 20 × 1 = 20 units; (3) under Subassembly C: 20 × 2 = 40 units. → Gross requirement of Part d = 30 + 20 + 40 = 90 units. Step 2: Calculate available inventory (有効在庫量) of Part d: ・Available inventory = On-hand inventory − Allocated inventory + Scheduled receipts = 25 − 10 + 15 = 30 units. Step 3: Net requirement (正味所要量) = Gross requirement − Available inventory = 90 − 30 = 60 units. (40 units adds allocated stock by mistake; 75 units forgets to add the 15 scheduled receipts; 90 units is the gross requirement before deducting available inventory).

💡 MRP formulas: Available inventory = On-hand inventory − Allocated inventory + Scheduled receipts. Net requirement = Gross requirement − Available inventory.

WordMeaning
gross requirement and net requirement
available inventory (yūkō zaikoryō)
allocated inventory and scheduled receipts (on-order balance)

Question 6

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the three categories of 'Therblig analysis (18 basic motion elements)' systematized by Gilbreth and the 'four basic principles of motion economy'?

  1. A.
    Category 3 of Therbligs consists of 'effective motions' that directly advance the work, including motion elements such as 'grasp', 'position', 'assemble', and 'use'.
  2. B.
    Category 2 of Therbligs consists of 'motions that cause delay' and hinder work progress, including motion elements such as 'search', 'select', 'plan (think)', and 'pre-position'.
  3. C.
    Motion elements included in Category 3 of Therbligs, such as 'hold', 'rest', and 'unavoidable delay', accomplish no actual work and should be eliminated as much as possible by using jigs.
  4. D.
    The four basic principles of motion economy are: 'use both hands simultaneously', 'shorten motion distance (reduce number of motions)', 'make motions easier and less fatiguing', and 'devise equipment and jigs/fixtures'.
Show answer

Correct answer: A

In Gilbreth's 18 basic motion elements (Therblig analysis): Category 1 (第1類) represents 'effective motions' (有効動作: reach, grasp, move, position, assemble, use, disassemble, release load); Category 2 (第2類) represents 'motions causing delay' due to mental or visual hesitation (遅れを生ずる動作: search, select, plan/think, pre-position, inspect); and Category 3 (第3類) represents 'non-effective (ineffective) motions' where no work is done (無効動作: hold, rest, unavoidable delay, avoidable delay). Calling Category 3 effective motions is incorrect.

💡 3 Categories of 18 Therbligs: Category 1 = Effective (grasp, assemble, use); Category 2 = Delaying (search, select, think, inspect); Category 3 = Ineffective (hold, delay, rest).

WordMeaning
Therblig analysis (therblig motion study)
Category 1 to Category 3 basic motions
four basic principles of motion economy

Question 7

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the characteristics and proper use of statistical graphs (pie chart, band chart, line graph, and radar chart) used in quality control?

  1. A.
    A pie chart represents the whole circle as 100% and shows the proportion of each category by the central angle of its sector, plotted clockwise starting from the 12 o'clock position in descending order of share.
  2. B.
    A band chart divides a bar of fixed length representing 100% into component ratios, making it easy to compare changes in composition across different years or factories when multiple bands are aligned.
  3. C.
    A line graph plots time (days, months, years, etc.) on the horizontal axis and quantities such as output or defect rate on the vertical axis, connecting data points to grasp trends over time.
  4. D.
    A radar chart (spiderweb chart) plots evaluation scores on multiple axes radiating from the center and is used to calculate the correlation coefficient and regression line between two continuous variables.
Show answer

Correct answer: D

A radar chart (レーダーチャート) is used to visualize the overall balance across multiple evaluation items (such as product performance attributes or QCD metrics). The tool used to examine the correlation between paired continuous variables (cause and effect) is a scatter diagram (散布図).

WordMeaning
pie chart and band chart (composition ratio)
line graph (time-series trend)
radar chart and scatter diagram (sanpuzu)

Question 8

Given the monthly cost data for a factory below, which of the following statements calculating Prime Cost (素原価), Manufacturing Cost (製造原価), and Total Cost (総原価) is **most inappropriate**? 【Monthly Cost Data (no beginning or ending work-in-process)】 ・Direct material cost: 4,000,000 yen ・Direct labor cost: 2,500,000 yen ・Direct expenses: 500,000 yen ・Manufacturing overhead: 2,000,000 yen ・Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses: 1,500,000 yen

  1. A.
    The Prime Cost (direct manufacturing cost), summing direct material, direct labor, and direct expenses, is 7,000,000 yen.
  2. B.
    The Conversion Cost (加工費), summing direct labor, direct expenses, and manufacturing overhead, is 5,000,000 yen.
  3. C.
    The monthly Manufacturing Cost (製造原価), adding manufacturing overhead to prime cost, is 10,500,000 yen.
  4. D.
    The Total Cost (総原価), adding SG&A expenses to manufacturing cost, is 10,500,000 yen.
Show answer

Correct answer: C

In the structure of manufacturing cost (製造原価 = Direct manufacturing cost + Indirect manufacturing cost): 1. Total direct manufacturing cost (製造直接費) = Direct materials (600) + Direct labor (350) + Direct expenses / subcontract processing (80) = 1,030 man-yen. 2. Total indirect manufacturing cost / overhead (製造間接費) = Indirect materials (40) + Indirect labor (110) + Indirect factory expenses (90) = 240 man-yen (2,400,000 yen). 3. Head office SG&A expenses (160) are added to manufacturing cost (1,270) to form total cost (総原価 = 1,430) and are NOT part of manufacturing overhead. (150 omits indirect expenses of 90; 200 omits indirect materials of 40; 400 mistakenly includes SG&A expenses of 160).

WordMeaning
direct manufacturing cost and indirect manufacturing cost (overhead)
direct expenses (subcontract processing fees, patent royalties)
manufacturing cost (seizō genka) and total cost (sō-genka)

Question 9

In delivery management, which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding causes of delivery delays originating in the design department and their preventive countermeasures?

  1. A.
    To prevent delays in the design schedule, it is effective to omit Design Reviews (DR) and checkpoints at each design milestone and instead revise all drawings in a single batch after prototyping is completed.
  2. B.
    Insufficient specification consultation with customers or design errors that cause major rework in downstream processes are major causes of delayed drawing release, squeezing purchasing and manufacturing lead times.
  3. C.
    When establishing a schedule for the design process, building in an appropriate buffer time (allowance time) in advance to cope with technical uncertainties or unforeseen trouble is effective.
  4. D.
    Promoting standardization and commonality of existing parts, reusing past design data, and utilizing 3D CAD systems are effective measures to reduce new design man-hours and shorten design lead time.
Show answer

Correct answer: A

Omitting Design Reviews (DR) and milestone checkpoints during the design process allows design defects to pass unnoticed into prototyping or production, causing massive rework (手戻り) and severe delivery delays. Proper countermeasures in the design department include setting regular checkpoints, conducting DRs at each stage, and allocating buffer time (緩衝時間) in the design schedule.

WordMeaning
delivery delay countermeasures in the design department
Design Review (DR) and checkpoints
setting buffer time (kansho jikan)

Question 10

Which of the following statements is MOST INAPPROPRIATE regarding the 'definition of a worker' and legal procedures for installing and manufacturing machinery under the Industrial Safety and Health Act?

  1. A.
    'Workers' covered by the Industrial Safety and Health Act include not only regular full-time employees but also contract employees, part-timers, and short-term temporary workers.
  2. B.
    An employer who intends to newly install or relocate a power press machine at a workplace must submit the plan to the prefectural governor at least 14 days prior to the start of the installation work.
  3. C.
    Anyone who intends to manufacture Specified Machinery requiring particularly hazardous work (such as boilers or Class-1 pressure vessels) must obtain permission in advance from the Director of the Prefectural Labor Bureau.
  4. D.
    Anyone who has installed a boiler (Specified Machinery) must undergo a completion inspection conducted by the Chief of the competent Labor Standards Inspection Office and must not use it until it passes.
Show answer

Correct answer: B

Under Article 88 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act (労働安全衛生法第88条), an employer who intends to install, relocate, or alter a power press machine (動力プレス) must submit the plan notification to the Chief of the Labor Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署長) at least **30 days** prior to the start of the work (not 14 days and not to the prefectural governor).

💡 Safety and Health Act: report a power press installation to the Labor Standards Inspection Office 30+ days ahead; boiler manufacturing permit: Prefectural Labor Bureau; boiler completion inspection: the Inspection Office.

WordMeaning
installation plan notification for power press (30 days prior)
manufacturing permission for Specified Machinery (Prefectural Labor Bureau Director)
completion inspection (Chief of Labor Standards Inspection Office)
Practice the full question bank and mock exams in the app

Lessons: Production Management Planning Grade 3 生産管理プランニング (BC検定)

Zalo