Module

The Management of Lean and Agile

Organisations
6ME015

Dr Jose Reyes

Week 14

JIT and Push – Pull Control

Systems
Week 14

1
 Lean Manufacturing
Temple

One Piece Full Work

Flow Lean Philosophy System
Pull • Elimination of waste Poka
System • Involve everyone Yoke
Takt • Continuous Improvement
Time (Kaizen) Andon

JIT Jidoka

5s Standardised
TPM & QCO
Visual Factory Work

Contents

• What is Just-in-Time?
• Establishing the different between the traditional
approach to manufacturing (inventory) and JIT
• JIT approaches to reduction of inventory
¾ Continuous flow processing – one piece flow
¾ Pull system
¾ Takt time

2
 What is Just-in-Time (JIT)?

• JIT is one of the columns that support the whole Lean

Manufacturing philosophy. Therefore, JIT IS NOT Lean
Manufacturing

• JIT means producing goods and services exactly when they are
needed: not before they are needed so that they wait as
inventory, nor after they are needed so that it is the customer
who have to wait – quality and efficiency are implicit elements
of JIT

• Contrast between the JIT approach and the traditional “inventory

approach” to manufacturing

(a) Traditional approach – buffers separate stages

Buffer Buffer
Stage A Inventory Stage B Inventory Stage C

System’s
throughput

(b) JIT approach – deliveries are made on request

Orders Orders

Stage A Stage B Stage C

System’s
Deliveries throughput
Deliveries

3
• Traditional vs. JIT approach - characteristics

Traditional approach JIT approach

• Stations are isolated from each
other – the bigger the inventory
the bigger the isolation is
• If a machine breaks, the next
station will keep working for a
while – the bigger the inventory
the longer the next stations can
work
• It helps to get a high individual
capacity utilization
• Inventory needs to be paid for
• When a problem occurs it is not
apparent for the whole system.
Only people in that station gets
involved with it (analogy)
• Stations fully depend from each
other
• If a machine breaks, the whole
systems tends to break too
• It promotes high capacity
utilization of the whole system
by involving everyone if a
problem occurs
• This considerably improves the
chances of the problem to be
solve and remove it from its root
cause (analogy)
• No inventory cost needs to be
paid

• Reducing the level of inventory (JIT) allows to see the problems

in the operations and work to reduce them

The JIT Pond Analogy

The “sea” of inventory

Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
WIP Scrap Level 4
Defective Downtime Rework
deliveries Off-standards
Unstable Poor floor
Untrained
demand layout
operators

Adapted from Slack et al. (2004), “Operations Management” and Paul Forrester (2005)

4
 Less Inventory
Exposes Problems

Source: Russell & Taylor (2006), “Operations Management”

• Traditional vs. JIT approach – capacity utilization context

(a) Traditional approach (b) JIT approach

Focus on high Focus on producing

capacity utilization only when needed

High inventory Fewer stoppages

means less chance
More production at of problems being Lower capacity
each stage exposed and utilization, but
solved
Low inventories so
problems are
exposed an solved
More stoppages
because of
Extra production problems No surplus
goes into inventory production goes
because of into inventory
continuing
stoppages at
stages

5
 Just-in-Time and Inventory
• Inventory under JIT is commonly seen not as an asset, but as
waste because it brings costs such as
¾ Transportation
¾ Space
¾ Obsolescence
¾ Damage
¾ Not correcting defects on time
¾ Tides capital

• Excessive inventory levels and buffer stocks are seen as an

unnecessary excess, hiding underlying causes of root problems
in the manufacturing system

Lean Manufacturing
Temple

One Piece Full Work

Flow System
To accomplish the
Pull Poka
reduction of inventories
System to a minimum, JIT is Yoke
supported by these
Takt approaches
Andon
Time

JIT Jidoka

5s Standardised
TPM & QCO
Visual Factory Work

6
 Continuous Flow Processing
(One Piece Flow)

Streamlined Production
Traditional Flow vs. JIT Flow

Lead Time

Traditional Flow
Production Process
(stream of water)

Suppliers Customers

Inventory
Flow with JIT (stagnant ponds) Material
(water in stream)
Suppliers

Customers
Source: NHS Wales

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 Benefits of steady flow processing

Source: Neil Westwood, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

Lead time is made up of:

Process time

Storage time

Validation time

Waiting time

Transport time

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Lead time example:
Order

Sub Assy Final Assy

What does the customer pay for?:

Order
Sub Final
Assy Assy

Continuous Flow Processing (One piece flow): Definition

The ability to produce and convey

one piece at a time
from release of raw material
through to delivery of a completed component
to the customer

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Continuous Flow Processing (One piece flow): Objective

• Necessitates one at a time production by elimination

of all stagnation of work between processes
• Reduce manufacturing lead-time
• Simplify the control of production line balancing
• Increase responsiveness to quality concerns
• Reduce material handling

“Traditional” Batch Flow Production

Computer base department

Computer monitor department

Computer test department

One Piece Flow vs. Batch Production - Example

• Complete processing of first batch of 10 takes 30 min One Piece Flow

• First good computer ready in 21 min (plus transport time) Production
• There are at least 21 sub-assemblies in process at time

• First part ready in 3 min

• 10 completed in 12 min
• Only 2 sub-assemblies in process at time
……….

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Workshop type arrangement – batch flow
Stock of
finished
WIP1 WIP2 Stage 3
Stage 1 Stage 2 goods
Computer monitor Computer test
Computer base
D D+M
D+M+T

D M T
D D+M D+M+T

D D D M M D+M T T D+M+T

Cell type arrangement – one piece flow

Cell 1 Stock of Cell 2 Stock of Cell 3 Stock of
finished finished finished
Monitor Monitor
goods goods Monitor goods

M M M
Base Test Base Test Test
Base

D T D T D T D+M+T
D+M+T D+M+T

Improve flow in the value stream

• Geographically concentrate equipment and
staff to perform tasks into a “Cell” or “Line”

Before After

Product completed Starting production

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 Lean Manufacturing
Temple

One Piece Full Work

Flow Lean Philosophy System
• Elimination of waste
Pull Poka
System • Involve everyone Yoke
Takt • Continuous Improvement
(Kaizen) Andon
Time

JIT Jidoka

5s Standardised
TPM & QCO
Visual Factory Work

Lean Manufacturing Traditional

Pull System vs. Push System

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 Pull System: Definition

A mechanism for ensuring that the correct parts

are produced and conveyed

• at the right time

• in the right quantity

Pull System vs. Push System

(a) Push System

Buffer Buffer
Stage A Inventory Stage B Inventory Stage C
?

(b) Pull System – deliveries are made on request

Customer’s order
Orders Orders

Stage A Stage B Stage C

Deliveries Deliveries

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 • In order to produce ONLY what it is required for the customer (pull
system) at the time when it is needed, Lean Manufacturing uses a

KANBAN SYSTEM
Kanban is a Japanese
word for signal. Kanban
uses cards or empty
containers to authorise
the previous stage of
production to make more
parts. If there is no
Kanban (signal) then the
work should stop

A case without KANBAN

Starting Position

Material Input Design & Build Paint Shop Test Flight &
C/T 5 secs / unit C/T 12 secs / unit C/T 20 secs / unit Despatch
C/T 5 secs / unit

Typically after 10 minutes

Material Input Design & Paint Shop Test Flight &

Build Despatch

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 A Case with Kanban
Starting Position

Material Input Design & Build Paint Shop

C/T 5 secs / unit C/T 12 secs / unit C/T 20 secs / unit Test Flight &
Despatch
Typically after 10 minutes C/T 5 secs / unit

Material Input Design & Paint Shop Test Flight &

Build Despatch

Improved Kanban case

Starting Position

Material Input Design & Build Paint Shop Test Flight &
C/T 5 secs / unit C/T 12 secs / unit C/T 20 secs / unit Despatch
C/T 5 secs / unit

Paint Shop

Material Input Test Flight &

Despatch
Design &
Build

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 Lean Manufacturing
Temple

One Piece Full Work

Flow Lean Philosophy System
• Elimination of waste
Pull Poka
System • Involve everyone Yoke
Takt • Continuous Improvement
(Kaizen) Andon
Time

JIT Jidoka

5s Standardised
TPM & QCO
Visual Factory Work

How do we know the

frequency of “Pull”
required ?

16
 Takt time: Definition

The rate of production required to meet the

Customers demand.

TOTAL MANUFACTURING TIME AVAILABLE

Takt time =
TOTAL CUSTOMER DEMAND

Work balance table

Total work content (ops 1 to 5)

Manpower allocation=
Takt time

Takt time Takt time

Time
Time

Operators 1 2 3 4 5 Operators 1 2 3

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Questions

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