What do lipstick, sheet metal, and football have in common? No, it’s not some college hazing stunt gone bad. It is all included in the range of exciting tours you can experience as part of the 2014 Continuous Improvement Conference in Dallas, TX. This year’s three tours at Mary Kay, Karlee, and AT&T Stadium get you in to see award-winning Lean manufacturing management and quality practices in progress—as well as a Texas-sized architectural wonder that will leave you so impressed you’ll be ready to “throw your hat over the windmill!”

Although you may be familiar with these facilities (as well as some Texas colloquialisms) you may be surprised by some of their most remarkable quality and manufacturing features. To give you a better look at what you can expect from these tours, we’ve put together this short quiz.

So if you think you’re “as bright as a new penny,” take a shot at these stumpers.
(Answers included below—but don’t peek!)

1. Your VIP-guided tour of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, includes tons of exclusive activities like stops at a private suite and the print media press box. It’s considered the world’s largest domed structure. In true Texas fashion, it also boasts the largest:

     a. Playing surface
     b. Retractable roof
     c. Score board
     d. Retail sales

2. For major events, AT&T Stadium can expand to accommodate seating for how many fans?

     a. 100,000
     b. 500,000
     c. 250,000
     d. 94,000

3. On average, Mary Kay’s 25 packaging lines produce how many tubes of lipstick?

     a. 7,000
     b. 100,000
     c. 25,000
     d. 15,000

4. Recognized as an FDA-registered drug manufacturing plant, how many units of TimeWise®Day Solution Sunscreen SPF 22 can the facility produce in a typical 10-hour shift?

     a. 13,500
     b. 25,500
     c. 72,500
     d. 18,500

5. Mary Kay’s commitment to consistent quality is evident in the number of different product and product component tests performed each year. With 100,000 analytical measurements of products, how many measurements of packaging components are performed each year?

     a. 50,000
     b. 100,000
     c. 250,000
     d. 350,000

6. In what year did the President of the United States present Karlee with the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, one of only 30 small manufacturers to ever win this award?

     a. 2000
     b. 2003
     c. 2010
     d. 2012

7. Karlee uses which of the following approaches to lead with best-in-class quality?

     a. Total Quality Management Principles
     b. Standard Process Control
     c. ISO 9001
     d. Lean Manufacturing

Answers:

1: b—Credited with the world’s largest retractable roof, the home of the Dallas Cowboys claim the facility the largest enclosed NFL stadium.

2: a—AT&T Stadium can handle a crowd, allowing seating room for 100,000 raving fans.

3: c—The Mary Kay manufacturing plant can produce a whopping 25,000 tubes of lipstick in a normal shift, in addition to 35,000 trays of cheek color and 50,000 bottles of body wash.

4: d—Mary Kay produces and distributes products classified as over-the-counter drugs, such as about 18,500 bottle of sunscreen.

5: c—250,000 measurements of packaging components are performed each year at Mary Kay plus more than 1,000 stability studies on products and 300,000 tests on ingredients and finished goods.

6: a—Karlee won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the year 2000 and is constantly pursuing continuous improvement.

7: a,b,c,d—Karlee uses all of these approaches.

Learn more about the 2014 Continuous Improvement Conference, March 30–April 2, at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX. You can choose to tour AT&T Stadium, Mary Kay, or Karlee when you register for the conference.