Just in time production (JIT)

Just in time is a pull system of production, so actual orders provide a signal for when a product should be manufactured. Demand-pull enables a firm to produce only what is required, in the correct quantity and at the correct time. This means that stock levels of raw materials, components, work in progress and finished goods can be kept to a minimum. This requires a carefully planned scheduling and flow of resources through the production process. Modern manufacturing firms use sophisticated production scheduling software to plan production for each period of time, which includes ordering the correct stock. Information is exchanged with suppliers and customers through EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to help ensure that every detail is correct. Supplies are delivered right to the production line only when they are needed. For example, a car manufacturing plant might receive exactly the right number and type of tyres for one days production, and the supplier would be expected to deliver them to the correct loading bay on the production line within a very narrow time slot. Advantages of JIT Lower stock holding means a reduction in storage space which saves rent and insurance costs As stock is only obtained when it is needed, less working capital is tied up in stock There is less likelihood of stock perishing, becoming obsolete or out of date Avoids the build-up of unsold finished product that can occur with sudden changes in demand Less time is spent on checking and re-working the product of others as the emphasis is on getting the work right first time

Disadvantages of JIT There is little room for mistakes as minimal stock is kept for re-working faulty product Production is very reliant on suppliers and if stock is not delivered on time, the whole production schedule can be delayed There is no spare finished product available to meet unexpected orders, because all product is made to meet actual orders however, JIT is a very responsive method of production

JIT Just-in-Time manufacturing

`Just-in-time' is a management philosophy and not a technique. It originally referred to the production of goods to meet customer demand exactly, in time, quality and quantity, whether the `customer' is the final purchaser of the product or another process further along the production line. It has now come to mean producing with minimum waste. "Waste" is taken in its most general sense and includes time and resources as well as materials. Elements of JIT include:

Continuous improvement.
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Attacking fundamental problems - anything that does not add value to the product. Devising systems to identify problems. Striving for simplicity - simpler systems may be easier to understand, easier to manage and less likely to go wrong. A product oriented layout - produces less time spent moving of materials and parts.

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Quality control at source - each worker is responsible for the quality of their own output. Poka-yoke - `foolproof' tools, methods, jigs etc. prevent mistakes Preventative maintenance, Total productive maintenance - ensuring machinery and equipment functions perfectly when it is required, and continually improving it. waste from overproduction. waste of waiting time. transportation waste. processing waste. inventory waste. waste of motion. waste from product defects.

Eliminating waste. There are seven types of waste:

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Good housekeeping - workplace cleanliness and organisation. Set-up time reduction - increases flexibility and allows smaller batches. Ideal batch size is 1item. Multi-process handling - a multi-skilled workforce has greater productivity, flexibility and job satisfaction. Levelled / mixed production - to smooth the flow of products through the factory. Kanbans - simple tools to `pull' products and components through the process. Jidoka (Autonomation) - providing machines with the autonomous capability to use judgement, so workers can do more useful things than standing watching them work. Andon (trouble lights) - to signal problems to initiate corrective action.

JIT - Background and History

JIT is a Japanese management philosophy which has been applied in practice since the early 1970s in many Japanese manufacturing organisations. It was first developed and perfected within the Toyota manufacturing plants by Taiichi Ohno as a means of meeting consumer demands with minimum delays . Taiichi Ohno is frequently referred to as the father of JIT. Toyota was able to meet the increasing challenges for survival through an approach that focused on people, plants and systems. Toyota realised that JIT would only be successful if every individual within the organisation was involved and committed to it, if the plant and processes were arranged for maximum output and efficiency, and if quality and production programs were scheduled to meet demands exactly. JIT manufacturing has the capacity, when properly adapted to the organisation, to strengthen the organisation's competitiveness in the marketplace substantially by reducing wastes and improving product quality and efficiency of production. There are strong cultural aspects associated with the emergence of JIT in Japan. The Japanese work ethic involves the following concepts.

Workers are highly motivated to seek constant improvement upon that which already exists. Although high standards are currently being met, there exist even higher standards to achieve. Companies focus on group effort which involves the combining of talents and sharing knowledge, problem-solving skills, ideas and the achievement of a common goal. Work itself takes precedence over leisure. It is not unusual for a Japanese employee to work 14-hour days.

Employees tend to remain with one company throughout the course of their career span. This allows the opportunity for them to hone their skills and abilities at a constant rate while offering numerous benefits to the company.

These benefits manifest themselves in employee loyalty, low turnover costs and fulfilment of company goals.

Kaizen is
a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership.
We'll look at Kaizen by answering three questions: What is Kaizen? What are the benefits of Kaizen? What do you need to do to get started using Kaizen principles? Kaizen was created in Japan following World War II. The word Kaizen means "continuous improvement". It comes from the Japanese words ("kai") which means "change" or "to correct" and ("zen") which means "good". Kaizen is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employee per year are written down, shared and implemented. In most cases these are not ideas for major changes. Kaizen is based on making little changes on a regular basis: always improving productivity, safety and effectiveness while reducing waste. Suggestions are not limited to a specific area such as production or marketing. Kaizen is based on making changes anywhere that improvements can be made. Western philosophy may be summarized as, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Kaizen philosophy is to "do it better, make it better, improve it even if it isn't broken, because if we don't, we can't compete with those who do." Kaizen in Japan is a system of improvement that includes both home and business life. Kaizen even includes social activities. It is a concept that is applied in every aspect of a person's life. In business Kaizen encompasses many of the components of Japanese businesses that have been seen as a part of their success. Quality circles, automation, suggestion systems, just-in-time delivery, Kanban and 5S are all included within the Kaizen system of running a business. Kaizen involves setting standards and then continually improving those standards. To support the higher standards Kaizen also involves providing the training, materials and supervision that is needed for employees to achieve the higher standards and maintain their ability to meet those standards on an on-going basis.

What Are The Benefits Resulting From Kaizen?

Kaizen is focused on making small improvements on a continuous basis.
Kaizen involves every employee in making changein most cases small, incremental changes. It focuses on identifying problems at their source, solving them at their source, and changing standards to ensure the problem

stays solved. It's not unusual for Kaizen to result in 25 to 30 suggestions per employee, per year, and to have over 90% of those implemented. For example, Toyota is well-known as one of the leaders in using Kaizen. In 1999 at one U.S. plant, 7,000 Toyota employees submitted over 75,000 suggestions, of which 99% were implemented. These continual small improvements add up to major benefits. They result in improved productivity, improved quality, better safety, faster delivery, lower costs, and greater customer satisfaction. On top of these benefits to the company, employees working in Kaizen-based companies generally find work to be easier and more enjoyableresulting in higher employee moral and job satisfaction, and lower turn-over. With every employee looking for ways to make improvements, you can expect results such as: Kaizen Reduces Waste in areas such as inventory, waiting times, transportation, worker motion, employee skills, over production, excess quality and in processes. Kaizen Improves space utilization, product quality, use of capital, communications, production capacity and employee retention. Kaizen Provides immediate results. Instead of focusing on large, capital intensive improvements, Kaizen focuses on creative investments that continually solve large numbers of small problems. Large, capital projects and major changes will still be needed, and Kaizen will also improve the capital projects process, but the real power of Kaizen is in the on-going process of continually making small improvements that improve processes and reduce waste. Learn how Fleetwood benefited from implementing Kaizen in this article reprinted from Quality Digest. And read about how Sony, in Terra Haute, Indiana, used Kaizen to dramatically improve production in an article reprinted from Manufacturing & Technology News.

WHAT IS KAIZEN? DEFINITION The Kaizen method of continuous incremental improvements is an originally Japanese management concept for gradual, continuous (incremental) change (improvement).

Kaizen is actually a way of life philosophy. It assumes that every aspect of our life deserves to be constantly improved. The Kaizen philosophy lies behind many Japanese management concepts such as: Total Quality Control, Quality Control circles, small group activities, labor relations. Key elements of Kaizen are: quality, effort, involvement of all employees, willingness to change, and communication. Japanese companies distinguish between: Innovation, a radical form of change, and Kaizen, a continuous form of change. Kaizen means literally: change (kai) to become good (zen). THE FIVE FOUNDATION ELEMENTS OF KAIZEN 1. Teamwork. 2. Personal discipline. 3. Improved morale. 4. Quality circles. 5. Suggestions for improvement. OUT OF THIS FOUNDATION, THREE KEY FACTORS IN KAIZEN ARISE Elimination of waste (muda) and inefficiency. The Kaizen five-S framework for good housekeeping. 1. Seiri - tidiness 2. Seiton - orderliness 3. Seiso - cleanliness 4. Seiketsu - standardized clean-up 5. Shitsuke - discipline Standardization. When should the Kaizen philosophy be applied? Although it is difficult to give generic advice it is clear that it fits well in gradual, incremental change situations that require long-term change and in collective cultures. More individual cultures that are more focused on short-term success are often more conducive to concepts such as Business Process Reengineering. KAIZEN COMPARED TO BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING When Kaizen is compared with the BPR method it is clear the Kaizen philosophy is more people-oriented, more easy to implement, but requires long-term discipline and provides only a small pace of change. The Business Process Reengineering approach on the other hand is harder, technology-oriented, it enables radical change but it requires considerable change management skills.

Kanban is not an inventory control system. It is a scheduling system that helps determine what to
produce, when to produce it, and how much to produce. The need to maintain a high rate of improvement led Toyota to devise the Kanban system. Kanban became an effective tool to support the running of the production system as a whole. In addition, it proved to be an excellent way for promoting improvements because reducing the number of Kanban in circulation highlighted problem areas

kanban
Kanban is a visual signal thats used to trigger an action. The word kanban is Japanese. Roughly translated, it means card you can see. Toyota introduced and refined the use of kanban in a relay system to standardize the flow of parts in their production lines in the 1950s. Kanban was one of several tools Toyota developed to ensure that inventory was based on actual customer orders rather than managerial forecasts. (See lean production.) Kanban starts with the customers order and follows production downstream. Because all requests for parts are pulled from the order, kanban is sometimes referred to as a "pull" system. At its simplest, kanban is a card with an inventory number thats attached to a part. Right before the part is installed, the kanban card is detached and sent up the supply chain as a request for another part. A part is only manufactured (or ordered) if there is a kanban card for it. There are six generally accepted rules for kanban: 1. Downstream processes may only withdraw items in the precise amounts specified on the kanban. 2. Upstream processes may only send items downstream in the precise amounts and sequences specified by the kanban. 3. No items are made or moved without a kanban. 4. A kanban must accompany each item at all times. 5. Defects and incorrect amounts are never sent to the next downstream process. 6. The number of kanbans should be monitored carefully to reveal problems and opportunities for improvement.