Cummins Inc. Assessment Tests

Cummins Inc. Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a patient transport driver taking an elderly patient home from hospital. On arrival she tells you she lives alone, has no food in the house and is not sure she can manage the stairs to her flat. Your job is transport only and you have three more collections booked this afternoon. Your control room is contactable by radio, and the hospital discharge team can still be reached. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave her at the door as the job requires, since transport is what you are booked for and the hospital will have assessed her before discharging her.
   2. Help her up the stairs and into the flat, then continue with your remaining collections since she is at least safely inside her home.
   3. Stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave.
   4. Ring her family or a neighbour if she has a number, so that someone local can check on her, then carry on with your remaining collections.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave.

   Least effective: A. Leave her at the door as the job requires, since transport is what you are booked for and the hospital will have assessed her before discharging her.

   A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: she has told you directly that she cannot manage, and the assumption that the discharge assessment covered it is the assumption her own account contradicts. Leaving is the one response that resolves nothing.

   B: Treats the symptom and leaves the risk: getting her through the door solves this afternoon and leaves an elderly woman alone with no food and stairs she is unsure of, with nobody informed.

   D: Acts on assumptions without checking: an informal arrangement with whoever answers the phone is not a discharge decision, and it leaves the hospital unaware that the discharge has not worked.

   The most effective response is to stay with her, radio control to report that she cannot manage at home, and ask them to contact the hospital discharge team before you leave: she has told you she cannot manage, the discharge appears to have missed it, and the people who can reopen that are reachable now. Staying with her while it is raised is what makes the report count. It beats helping her up the stairs and into the flat before continuing your collections, because that solves the stairs for one afternoon and leaves the food, the isolation and the unsafe discharge untouched. It beats ringing her family or a neighbour to check on her, because that is a private arrangement, not a reassessment, and the hospital never learns its discharge did not hold. The least effective response is leaving her at the door because transport is what you are booked for: it assumes the assessment must have covered it, when she has just said it did not. That is worse than the other two, which at least do something for her. The principle: when someone tells you a plan has failed, keep them safe and get the fact to the people who own the plan, before you leave.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a project coordinator for a kitchen installation company. A customer’s kitchen is being fitted this week, with worktops due to be templated today and fitted Friday. This morning the fitter finds the floor is not level enough for the units and it needs a screed, taking three days to dry. The customer has family staying from Saturday. She is on site. Your installations manager is contactable. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Have the fitter pack up and tell the customer the installation is on hold until the floor has been screeded and dried.
   2. Arrange the screed straight away so the floor is ready as soon as possible, and tell the customer what has been booked once the dates are confirmed.
   3. Fit the units on the existing floor and level them with packers, and say nothing about the screed since the customer has family coming and the difference will not be visible once the units are in.
   4. Explain the floor problem to the customer now, ring your installations manager about options and timings, and go through what can realistically be done before Saturday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Explain the floor problem to the customer now, ring your installations manager about options and timings, and go through what can realistically be done before Saturday.

   Least effective: C. Fit the units on the existing floor and level them with packers, and say nothing about the screed since the customer has family coming and the difference will not be visible once the units are in.

   A: Delays the decision: it states the problem and offers no route through, when packing up without a plan leaves a customer with no kitchen and family arriving on Saturday.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: three days of drying against family arriving Saturday is her trade-off to make, and booking it first presents her with a decision already taken.

   C: Hides the problem: units packed level on an unlevel floor are a concealed defect that shows in doors and worktops later, and the customer is deliberately not told so that Saturday is protected. That is building in a fault, not managing a deadline.

   The most effective response is to explain the floor problem to the customer now, ring your installations manager about options and timings, and go through what can realistically be done before Saturday: she is standing there, the floor genuinely needs screeding, and three days of drying collides with family arriving, so she needs the facts and the real options while there is still a week to work with. Involving the manager means the options are ones the company can deliver. It beats arranging the screed straight away and telling her once the dates are confirmed, because that decides how her week goes without asking. It beats having the fitter pack up and putting the installation on hold, because that leaves her with a stripped kitchen and no route through. The least effective response is fitting the units on the existing floor and levelling them with packers: it hides a concealed defect that emerges later in doors and worktops, to protect a date. That is worse than the other two, which handle the decision badly but do not build in a fault. The principle: when a problem forces a trade-off between quality and a date the customer cares about, give them the facts and the options and let them choose.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are an administrator at a day nursery. A child has had a minor fall in the garden this morning, was checked by the room leader and is fine, and an accident form has been completed. The room leader is busy with the children and asks you to let the parent know. The parent collects at 5pm. It is 11am and you have the parent’s phone number. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the parent now, tell her what happened, that her child was checked and is fine, and that the accident form will be ready to sign at collection.
   2. Leave it to the room leader to mention at collection if she gets the chance, since the child is fine and the accident form is on file if the parent asks to see it.
   3. Wait until 5pm and tell the parent at collection, handing over the accident form then so she can hear what happened and see her child at the same time.
   4. Send the parent a short text saying there has been a minor accident and that staff will explain everything when she collects her child at 5pm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ring the parent now, tell her what happened, that her child was checked and is fine, and that the accident form will be ready to sign at collection.

   Least effective: B. Leave it to the room leader to mention at collection if she gets the chance, since the child is fine and the accident form is on file if the parent asks to see it.

   B: Hides the problem: it makes telling the parent optional and depends on a busy colleague remembering. A parent who later learns of a fall nobody mentioned has been kept in the dark by default.

   C: Delays the message: it is defensible and it means the parent spends six hours not knowing. A child's fall is something most parents would rather hear about at once, and the call costs a minute.

   D: Alarms without reassuring: it sends the frightening half of the message and holds back the half that settles it, so a parent spends six hours worrying about something already resolved.

   The most effective response is to ring the parent now, tell her what happened, that her child was checked and is fine, and that the form will be ready to sign at collection: she wants to know, the news is reassuring once she has all of it, and a call carries the fall and the reassurance together. It beats sending a short text saying there has been a minor accident, because announcing an accident without the reassurance is the worst possible half of the message, and leaves her anxious all afternoon for no reason. It beats waiting until 5pm and telling her at collection, because six hours of not knowing is avoidable at the cost of a one-minute call. The least effective response is leaving it to the room leader to mention at collection if she gets the chance: it leaves telling the parent to chance and to a colleague busy with children, so a fall may never be mentioned at all. That is worse than the other two, which tell her late or partially but do tell her. The principle: when something has happened to someone’s child, tell them promptly and tell them the whole of it, including the part that reassures.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an estimator at a car body repair shop. You and the workshop foreman, Gary, disagree about how long a repair should take. He has twice overridden your estimates and told customers a shorter time, and two cars have now been late, with the customers complaining to you. Gary has been at the shop twenty years. Four more estimates are due this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start telling customers a longer time than your estimate, so that even if Gary shortens it the promise still holds and nobody is disappointed.
   2. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.
   3. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.
   4. Take it to the shop owner, explaining that Gary has overridden your estimates twice and that customers have complained about late cars.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted to a customer.

   Least effective: B. Leave the estimating to Gary, since he has twenty years in the workshop and the customers complain to you either way, and concentrate on the paperwork side.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: padding every estimate hides the disagreement inside the quoted price and makes the shop look slower than it is, while Gary carries on overriding you.

   B: Abandons own committed work: it gives up the job you are employed to do because the disagreement is uncomfortable, so estimates keep being wrong, cars keep running late and nobody is accountable for the times.

   D: Escalates prematurely: Gary has not been shown that his shortened times are what made the cars late, and the first he would hear of it is from the owner, over something evidence and a conversation could settle.

   The most effective response is to talk to Gary this week, show him the two jobs that ran late against your estimates, and agree how the two of you will set a time before it is quoted: there is now evidence that the shortened times do not hold, and four more estimates this week will repeat it unless you agree a process. Showing him the jobs makes it about the work rather than about who is right. It beats taking it to the shop owner and explaining he has overridden your estimates twice, because Gary has never been shown the consequence, and going to the owner first turns a solvable working practice into a complaint about a twenty-year employee. It beats telling customers a longer time than your estimate so the promise holds either way, because padding conceals the problem inside customer quotes and leaves the shop quoting times it does not believe. The least effective response is leaving the estimating to Gary and concentrating on the paperwork: it abandons the role altogether, so the times stay wrong, customers keep being let down, and nobody owns the problem. That is worse than the other two, which handle it poorly but keep trying. The principle: take the evidence to the colleague, agree how the decision gets made, and only escalate if that fails.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are an administrator in a university department. You and your colleague Helen both support the same group of academics. Helen believes urgent requests should be dealt with in the order received; you triage by deadline. An academic has complained that his conference paper submission was handled after a routine expenses claim and nearly missed its deadline. Your department manager has asked the two of you to agree an approach. Thirty requests are waiting. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on triaging by deadline, since it plainly works better and the complaint proves it, and leave Helen to work in whatever order she prefers.
   2. Agree to Helen's first-come-first-served order, since it is transparent, and ask the academics to mark anything genuinely urgent when they send it.
   3. Ask the department manager to decide which approach the office should use, and continue as you each have been until she rules.
   4. Work through the thirty waiting requests with Helen today by deadline, then write down the rule you have both used and take it to the department manager to confirm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Work through the thirty waiting requests with Helen today by deadline, then write down the rule you have both used and take it to the department manager to confirm.

   Least effective: A. Carry on triaging by deadline, since it plainly works better and the complaint proves it, and leave Helen to work in whatever order she prefers.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: it declares yourself right without speaking to Helen and accepts that the office will keep running two incompatible systems. The manager asked the two of you to agree, and this is a decision not to.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: it concedes the point rather than resolving it and moves the triage burden onto academics, who have every reason to mark their own request urgent.

   C: Delays the decision: it seeks the right ruling while thirty requests keep being handled two different ways, which is the practice that produced the complaint.

   The most effective response is to work through the thirty waiting requests with Helen today by deadline, then write down the rule you have both used and take it to the department manager to confirm: there are thirty requests waiting and a genuine disagreement to settle, and clearing the backlog together both fixes today and demonstrates the rule in practice. Writing it down and having it confirmed turns a private preference into an office standard. It beats agreeing to her first-come-first-served order and asking academics to mark anything urgent, because that reintroduces exactly the failure that was complained about, and inviting people to flag urgency invites everyone to flag everything. It beats asking the department manager to decide while you each continue as you have been, because that leaves thirty requests handled two different ways in the meantime. The least effective response is carrying on triaging by deadline and leaving Helen to work however she prefers: it decides the disagreement unilaterally, never speaks to her, and leaves the office running two incompatible systems, which is the precise thing the manager asked you both to stop. That is worse than the other two, which at least seek agreement. The principle: clear the backlog together using an agreed rule, then have the rule confirmed, rather than conceding, waiting or going it alone.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an assistant quantity surveyor. You and a colleague, Farid, prepare monthly valuations for the same contractor. He values variations optimistically and you value them conservatively, and the contractor has noticed and now times submissions to reach him rather than you. Your senior surveyor is available. The next valuation is in ten days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise it with Farid now, agree how variations should be valued, and take the agreed basis to the senior surveyor to confirm before the next valuation.
   2. Match Farid's approach on your next valuation so the contractor sees a consistent position and cannot play one of you against the other.
   3. Tell the contractor that submissions must come through the agreed route rather than being directed to whichever surveyor is more generous.
   4. Carry on valuing as you think correct and let Farid do the same, since your approach is the defensible one and the contractor's behaviour is his own problem.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Raise it with Farid now, agree how variations should be valued, and take the agreed basis to the senior surveyor to confirm before the next valuation.

   Least effective: D. Carry on valuing as you think correct and let Farid do the same, since your approach is the defensible one and the contractor's behaviour is his own problem.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: it produces consistency by adopting a valuation basis you believe is wrong, which is a worse answer for the client than the inconsistency it cures.

   C: Personalises the conflict: it tackles the contractor for exploiting a gap the two of you created, and does nothing about the underlying inconsistency that made the gap worth exploiting.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: it knowingly leaves two different valuation bases in place on one contract, which is what allows the contractor to choose his surveyor. Being right on your own valuations does not make the contract position sound.

   The most effective response is to raise it with Farid now, agree how variations should be valued, and take the agreed basis to the senior surveyor to confirm: the contractor is exploiting a real inconsistency between two surveyors on the same contract, that is a professional question with a right answer, and the senior surveyor can settle it before the next valuation in ten days. Agreeing with Farid first keeps it collegiate. It beats matching his approach on your next valuation so the contractor sees consistency, because achieving that by adopting a basis you think is wrong protects the appearance and damages the valuation. It beats telling the contractor that submissions must come through the agreed route, because that addresses the symptom while leaving the two different bases that created it. The least effective response is carrying on as you think correct and letting Farid do the same: it accepts that one contract will carry two valuation bases indefinitely, which is precisely what lets the contractor choose whom to submit to. That is worse than the other two, which pick an imperfect fix but do act. The principle: settle the professional inconsistency between yourselves, have it confirmed by whoever owns the standard, and the behaviour it invited stops on its own.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You work in sample reception at a testing laboratory. At 2pm three things need doing. A batch of clinical samples has arrived that must go into the fridge within thirty minutes or be discarded. A client is on hold asking for a results certificate. And your manager wants the weekly sample log by 5pm, which takes an hour. You are alone at the bench. The certificate takes ten minutes. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the client off hold first since he is waiting on the phone, produce his certificate, then refrigerate the samples and start the log.
   2. Start the sample log because it is the longest job and has a fixed 5pm deadline, and fit the samples and the certificate around it as you go.
   3. Get the clinical samples into the fridge first, then produce the client's certificate, then do the sample log before 5pm.
   4. Refrigerate the samples, then leave the client on hold and do the log, ringing him back tomorrow when the log has been submitted and the bench is quieter.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Get the clinical samples into the fridge first, then produce the client's certificate, then do the sample log before 5pm.

   Least effective: D. Refrigerate the samples, then leave the client on hold and do the log, ringing him back tomorrow when the log has been submitted and the bench is quieter.

   A: Delays the decision: ten minutes on the phone eats a third of the thirty-minute window in which a batch of clinical samples is still usable, and they cannot be replaced once discarded.

   B: Splits effort so nothing finishes: it starts the one task with three hours of room and leaves a thirty-minute window and a waiting client to be squeezed around it.

   D: Ignores the customer's actual need: it leaves a client holding on the telephone with no answer at all and defers a ten-minute job to the next day, when three hours were available. Abandoning someone already on the line is the worst of the four.

   The most effective response is to get the clinical samples into the fridge first, then produce the client’s certificate, then do the sample log before 5pm: only the samples have a window that closes, at 2.30, and losing them means they cannot be tested at all. Once they are refrigerated, ten minutes for the certificate and an hour for the log both fit comfortably. It beats taking the client off hold first because he is waiting on the phone, since that spends a third of the refrigeration window on something with no deadline attached. It beats starting the sample log because it is the longest job with a fixed deadline, because that leaves the irreversible task to be squeezed. The least effective response is refrigerating the samples and then leaving the client on hold to ring back tomorrow: it gets the samples right and then abandons a client already on the line, deferring a ten-minute job to the following day when there were three hours to spare. That is worse than the other two, which mis-sequence but serve everyone the same day. The principle: protect the thing that cannot be recovered first, then fit the rest around it in the time that remains.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a developer in a small software team. You and a colleague, Tomas, disagree about how to fix a bug affecting customers now. Your approach takes two days and fixes the cause; his takes two hours and treats the symptom. He has started implementing his version. The team lead is on holiday for a week and there is no other senior developer. Customers are hitting the bug daily. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let Tomas finish his two-hour fix and start building your two-day fix alongside it, so both approaches exist and the team can choose when the lead is back.
   2. Implement your own two-day fix in parallel without telling Tomas, since it addresses the real cause and the better solution will speak for itself when it is finished.
   3. Ask Tomas to stop and wait for the team lead to return, since a two- day structural fix should not be ruled out by a decision taken while nobody senior is available.
   4. Agree with Tomas that his two-hour fix goes out now to stop customers hitting the bug, and that you write up the underlying cause for the team lead to decide on next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Agree with Tomas that his two-hour fix goes out now to stop customers hitting the bug, and that you write up the underlying cause for the team lead to decide on next week.

   Least effective: B. Implement your own two-day fix in parallel without telling Tomas, since it addresses the real cause and the better solution will speak for itself when it is finished.

   A: Splits effort so nothing finishes: two people building two fixes for one bug doubles the work and leaves the codebase carrying a symptom patch and a half-finished rewrite for a week.

   B: Personalises the conflict: it answers a technical disagreement by working secretly against a colleague on the same codebase, which wastes two days, risks conflicting changes and destroys the trust the team runs on.

   C: Delays the decision: it leaves customers hitting the bug every day for a week in order to protect a decision that can perfectly well be taken later, after the immediate harm has been stopped.

   The most effective response is to agree with Tomas that his two-hour fix goes out now to stop customers hitting the bug, and that you write up the underlying cause for the team lead to decide next week: customers are being harmed daily, so the fastest safe fix should go out now, and the deeper question does not have to be lost, it has to be documented and decided by the person who owns that call. Separating the urgent from the important resolves both. It beats asking him to stop and wait for the team lead to return, because holding everything for a week leaves customers hitting the bug every day to protect a decision that keeps perfectly well. It beats letting him finish while you build your two-day fix alongside it, because that doubles the effort and leaves the code carrying two competing changes with nobody senior to arbitrate. The least effective response is implementing your own fix in parallel without telling him: it works secretly against a colleague on shared code, which risks conflicting changes, wastes two days and damages the trust a small team depends on. That is worse than the other two, which handle the disagreement badly but openly. The principle: stop the harm with the quickest sound fix, and route the deeper disagreement to whoever owns it, in writing.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a sales administrator at a car dealership, responsible for recording confirmed orders. Monthly sales figures close at 5pm today, and staff bonuses are based on them. Priya, a salesperson you get on well with, asks you to record one of her deals as a confirmed order even though the customer has not signed, saying the customer will definitely sign early next week and that the deal would take her past her monthly target. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the deal as a confirmed order, reasoning that the customer is very likely to sign next week and a few days' difference is unlikely to be noticed by anyone.
   2. Tell Priya directly that you cannot record an unsigned deal as confirmed, and suggest she asks the sales manager whether the almost-completed sale can be recognised another way.
   3. Put Priya off by saying you are too busy to update the system this afternoon, hoping the 5pm deadline passes without you having to refuse her outright.
   4. Report Priya to the sales manager for attempted fraud straight away, on the basis that she has probably inflated her figures in previous months as well.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell Priya directly that you cannot record an unsigned deal as confirmed, and suggest she asks the sales manager whether the almost-completed sale can be recognised another way.

   Least effective: A. Record the deal as a confirmed order, reasoning that the customer is very likely to sign next week and a few days' difference is unlikely to be noticed by anyone.

   A: Falsifies a business record: entering an unsigned deal as confirmed misstates figures that bonuses are paid on, and makes you personally complicit in dishonesty, a different kind of wrong from the weaker but honest alternatives.

   C: Prioritises harmony over honesty: inventing an excuse to avoid refusing a friend dodges the falsification but never addresses the request, and leaves Priya free to ask someone else before 5pm.

   D: Acts on assumptions without checking: escalating a single request as probable repeated fraud treats suspicion as fact. The immediate situation needs a clear refusal and a legitimate route, not an accusation built on guesswork.

   The most effective response is to tell Priya directly that you cannot record an unsigned deal as confirmed: it refuses the request honestly, explains the real reason, and points her to a legitimate route by suggesting she ask the sales manager whether an almost-completed sale can be recognised another way, so the record stays true without wrecking the working relationship. It beats putting her off with a claim that you are too busy this afternoon, because that hides behind an invented excuse, never addresses the request, and leaves her free to try someone else before the 5pm close. It beats reporting her for attempted fraud straight away, because that turns one improper request into an unevidenced accusation of repeated dishonesty when a proportionate refusal resolves the situation. The least effective response is recording the deal as a confirmed order: unlike stalling, which falsifies nothing, and unlike going straight to the sales manager, which is heavy-handed but honest, it makes the record itself false and misstates figures that pay is based on. The category failure here is dishonesty, and it makes you complicit. The principle: when loyalty or convenience pulls against honest records, decline clearly and point to a legitimate route instead.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a production coordinator at an events company. It is 2pm on the day of a conference. Three things need you: the client’s keynote speaker has arrived and cannot find the green room, the audio-visual crew report a microphone fault in the main hall where the keynote begins at 3pm, and your manager wants tomorrow’s crew rota confirmed by 4pm. You have one runner available to help. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Deal with the speaker and the rota yourself and leave the microphone to the audio-visual crew, since they are the specialists and it is their equipment to fix.
    2. Take the speaker to the green room yourself since the client will judge the company on how she is looked after, then deal with the microphone and the rota afterwards.
    3. Send the runner to collect the speaker, go to the main hall yourself to get the microphone fault resolved before 3pm, and confirm the rota after the keynote starts.
    4. Confirm the rota first since your manager has set a 4pm deadline, then help with the microphone and ask the runner to find the speaker.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Send the runner to collect the speaker, go to the main hall yourself to get the microphone fault resolved before 3pm, and confirm the rota after the keynote starts.

    Least effective: A. Deal with the speaker and the rota yourself and leave the microphone to the audio-visual crew, since they are the specialists and it is their equipment to fix.

    A: Fails to escalate a genuine risk: the crew have reported the fault rather than fixed it, which is the signal that they need a decision or a replacement. Treating a reported problem as somebody else's job means the keynote starts without a working microphone.

    B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: escorting a guest is the one task on the list that anyone can do, and doing it personally spends the coordinator on the job the runner exists for while a keynote microphone stays broken.

    D: Delays the decision: the rota has two hours and no audience, while the microphone has one hour and a keynote behind it. Doing the administrative task first spends the only hour that matters.

    The most effective response is to send the runner to collect the speaker, go to the main hall yourself to get the microphone fault resolved before 3pm, and confirm the rota after the keynote starts: the microphone is the only item with a hard deadline and a public failure attached, the speaker needs collecting rather than coordinating, and the rota has until 4pm. That puts each person on the job matching what they can do. It beats taking the speaker to the green room yourself, because escorting a guest is exactly what the runner is there for, and doing it personally leaves the microphone unattended. It beats confirming the rota first to meet your manager’s 4pm deadline, because the rota has two hours and no audience while the keynote has one. The least effective response is leaving the microphone to the audio-visual crew as the specialists: they have reported a fault rather than resolved it, so a decision or a replacement is needed, and treating it as theirs alone risks a keynote starting without sound in front of the client. That is worse than the other two, which misallocate the time but keep the fault in view. The principle: delegate what anyone can do, take personally the thing with the closing window and the visible consequence.