Just In Time Manufacturing

Seminar 2004

ABSTRACT

JIT is a management philosophy that strives to eliminate sources of

manufacturing waste by producing the right part in the right place at the right time.
The Waste results from any activity that adds cost without adding value, such as
moving and storing. The idea of producing the necessary units in the necessary
quantities at the necessary time is described by the short term Just-in-time.
The implementation of this management philosophy in industries like the
automobile industry can bring about a see saw change in both quality & quantity
since in a JIT system, underutilized (excess) capacity is used instead of buffer
inventories to hedge against problems that may arise.
This seminar gives an over view of the JUST IN TIME technique by
considering the TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM in detail.

Dept Of ME 1
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

CONTENTS

CHAPTERS page
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. JIT-BACKGROUND AND HISTORY 3
3. ELEMENTS OF JIT 5
4. CASE STUDY BY ZENTEC 8
5. THE TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM 11
6. TOYOTA’S JIT AND WESTERN PHILOSOPHY 23
7. KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL JIT IMPLEMENTATION 25
8. CONCLUSION 27

LIST OF FIGURES
Fig.4 (a) 9
Fig.4 (b) 9
Fig.5 (a) 20

REFERENCES

Dept Of ME 2
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

JUST IN TIME (JIT) is a management philosophy that strives to eliminate

sources of manufacturing waste by producing the right part in the right place at the
right time. Waste results from any activity, which adds cost without adding value,
such as moving and storing. JIT (also known as stockless production) should
improve profits and return on investment by reducing inventory levels (increasing
the inventory turnover rate), improving product quality, reducing production and
delivery lead times, and reducing other costs (such as those associated with machine
setup and equipment breakdown).

The idea of producing the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the
necessary time is described by the short term Just-in-time. Just-in-time means, for
example, that in the process of assembling the parts to build a car, the necessary kind
of sub-assemblies of the preceding processes should arrive at the product line at the
time needed in the necessary quantities. If Just-in-time is realized in the entire firm,
then unnecessary inventories in the factory will be completely eliminated, making
stores or warehouses unnecessary. The inventory carrying costs will be diminished,
and the ratio of capital turnover will be increased.

The implementation of this management philosophy in industries like the

automobile industry can bring about a see saw change in both quality & quantity
since in a JIT system, underutilized (excess) capacity is used instead of buffer

Dept Of ME 3
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

inventories to hedge against problems that may arise. JIT applies primarily to
repetitive manufacturing processes in which the same products and components are
produced over and over again. The general idea is to establish flow processes (even
when the facility uses a jobbing or batch process layout) by linking work centers so
that there is an even, balanced flow of materials throughout the entire production
process, similar to that found in an assembly line. To accomplish this, an attempt is
made to reach the goals of driving all queues toward zero and achieving the ideal lot
size of one unit.
This new trend in engineering production, which originally refers to the
production of goods to meet customer demand exactly, in time, quality and quantity,
reduces wastage by nearly 55-75%. "Waste" in this context is taken in its most
general sense and includes time and resources as well as goods. This concept can
really change the phase of industrial production of goods like car & other important
utilities.

Dept Of ME 4
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 2

JIT – BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

JIT is a Japanese management philosophy, which has been applied in practice

since the early 1980s in many Japanese manufacturing organizations. 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 market place
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 ethics involves the following concepts.

Dept Of ME 5
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

 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
fulfillment of company goals.

Dept Of ME 6
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 3
ELEMENTS OF JIT

There are some very important elements in just in time manufacturing which
makes it a successful philosophy. They are
 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.
 Quality control at source - each worker is responsible for the quality of his
or her own output.
 Poka-yoke - `foolproof' tools, methods, jigs etc. prevent mistakes
 Preventive maintenance, Total productive maintenance - ensuring
machinery and equipment functions perfectly when it is required, and
continually improving it.
 Eliminating waste.
There are seven types of waste:
1. Waste from overproduction.
2. Waste of waiting time.
Dept Of ME 7
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

3. Transportation waste.
4. Processing waste.
5. Inventory waste.
6. Unnecessary movement of people.
7. Waste from product defects.
 Good housekeeping - workplace cleanliness and organization.
 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.
 Leveled / 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.

The poka yoke system and Andon or visual control system is very significant, so
are discussed in detail.

Poka yoke system:

Poka yoke or fool proofing is a method of 100% inspection. Poka yoke is
preferred option to SQC. In SQC one has a sampling plan. If the sample is ok the lot
is ok. However this does not mean that there are no defectives in the lot. When this

Dept Of ME 8
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

lot goes to the market if a customer finds a defect then for him it is 100% defect. He
is not concerned with batch or sample. Therefore SQC is “rationalization of method
of inspection”. It does not ensure defects are not produced at all. Poka yoke does
this. When a washing machine is packed an instruction manual is placed in the
carton. Packing takes place on a conveyer out of one million cartons packed per
month 7-8 customers complain that instruction booklets were not received. When a
complaint is received the packer was asked to be more cautious. For a few days there
were no complaints and then once again it would occur. Fool proofing was carried
out by providing an electric switch on the box from which the instruction booklet
was withdrawn. Now every time an instruction booklet was with drawn the electric
switch activated. This allowed the carton to move to the next stage of the conveyer
using an interlock no more customer complaints for missed instruction manuals.
This is a classical example of poka yoke in action.

Andon system:
JIT system puts emphasis on prevention of recurrence of a problem. Using
andon board a supervisor immediately comes to know where a problem occurs. All
employees are allowed to stop production when a problem occurs. Stopping of
machines or production lines with a view to permanently eliminate the problem. One
must not relieve pain by using pain killers, one must go to the root of the problem
and once and fro all eliminate it. By stopping machines or production lines
everyone’s energy is focused in finding a permanent solution. This in a way defines
management philosophy which does not look for short term gains but for long term
results. Very often when a problem occurs emergency measures are taken parts are
reworked or salvaged which then becomes a standard practice. This causes waste. If
Dept Of ME 9
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

a company management accepts this philosophy then it is advisable that it does not
attempt a JIT production system.

Chapter 4
CASE STUDY BY ZENTEC

Any production system must aim to produce at minimum cost. Cost reduction in
a normal production system is achieved through mass production on highly
productive machines with high capacity utilization. Components are produced using
tooling whose change over is time consuming, there fore common sense called for
large batches over which set up change time could be distributed . Large batches of
parts meant that all of them are not used at the same time .this resulted in large ware
houses. It also resulted in planning production, based on market fore cast.

Zentec process consulting and management made a case study, before & after the
implementation of the JIT philosophy on the change of Process Improvement
through Offsite Warehouse Removal

Dept Of ME 10
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Fig.4 (a)

Dept Of ME 11
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Fig.4 (b)
If the market is a large and a growing one and forecasts are correct, then this
would not be a problem. The American market was just that. So it is safe to state that
the American production system resulted from the characteristics of its market. For
example, a refrigeration company, making two sizes of refrigerators, one small and
one large would set up separate lines or plants, because the market justified it.

On the other hand the Japanese market is much smaller and fragmented.
Variety is large and volumes are low. Space is also a limitation. It was there fore a
fit situation for the evolution of a production system to cater to this kind of market.
So the philosophy of just in time evolved.

No study of JIT philosophy is complete without considering The Toyota

production system, a Case Study of Creativity and Innovation in Automotive
Engineering.

Dept Of ME 12
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 5
THE TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Automobile Manufacturing
Today, automobile manufacturing is the world's largest manufacturing
activity. After First World War, Henry Ford and General Motors' Alfred Sloan
moved world manufacture from centuries of craft production led by European firms
into the age of mass production. Largely as a result, the United States soon
dominated the world economy.

Toyota Production System

After Second World War, Eiji Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno at the Toyota motor
company in Japan pioneered the concept of Toyota Production System. The rise of
Japan to its current economic pre-eminence quickly followed, as other companies
and industries copied this remarkable system. Manufacturers around the world are
now trying to embrace this innovative system, but they are finding the going rough.
The companies that first mastered this system were all head-quartered in one
country-Japan. However, many Western companies now understand Toyota
Production System, and at least one is well along the path of introducing it.
Superimposing this method on the existing mass-production systems causes great
pain and dislocation.

Perhaps the best way to describe the Toyota production system is to contrast it
with craft production and mass production, the two other methods humans have
devised to make things.

Dept Of ME 13
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Craft Production methods

The craft producer uses highly skilled workers and simple but flexible tools to
make exactly what the customer ask for—one item at a time. Few exotic sports cars
provide current day examples. The idea of craft production is good, but the problem
with it is obvious: Goods produced by the craft method—as automobiles once were
exclusively—cost too much for most of us to afford. So mass production was
developed at the beginning of the twentieth century as an alternative.

Mass production methods

The mass-producer uses narrowly skilled professionals to design products

made by unskilled or semiskilled workers tending expensive, single-purpose
machines. These churn out standardized products in very high volume. Because the
machinery costs so much and is so intolerant of disruption, the mass-producer keeps
standard designs in production for as long as possible. The result: The customer gets
lower costs but at the expense of variety and by means of work methods that most
employees find boring and dispiriting.

The Toyota motor corporation, by contrast, combines the advantages of

craft and mass production, while avoiding the high cost of the former and the
rigidity of the latter. Toward this end, they employ teams of multi-skilled workers
at all levels of the organization and use highly flexible and increasingly automated
machines to produce volumes of products in enormous variety. .

Perhaps the most striking difference between mass and Toyota production
system lies in their ultimate objectives. Mass-producers set a limited goal for
themselves— "good enough," which translates into an acceptable number of defects,

Dept Of ME 14
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

a maximum acceptable level of inventories, a narrow range of standardized products.

Lean producers on the other hand, set their sights explicitly on perfection.

Basic idea and Framework

The Toyota production system is a technology of comprehensive production
management the Japanese invented a hundred years after opening up to the modern
world. The basic idea of this system is to maintain a continuous flow of products in
factories in order to flexibly adapt to demand changes. The realization of such
production flow is called Just-in-time production, which means producing only
necessary units in a necessary quantity at a necessary time. As a result, the excess
inventories and the excess work-force will be naturally diminished, thereby
achieving the purposes of increased productivity and cost reduction.

The basic principle of Just-in-time production is rational; that is, the Toyota
production system has been developed by steadily pursuing the orthodox way of
production management. With the realization of this concept, unnecessary
intermediate and finished product inventories would be eliminated. However,
although cost reduction is the system's most important goal, it must achieve three
other sub-goals in order to achieve its primary objective. They include:

1. Quantity control, which enables the system to adapt to daily and monthly
fluctuations in demand in terms of quantities and variety;

2. Quality assurance, which assures that each process will supply only good
units to the subsequent processes;

3. Respect-for-humanity, which must be cultivated while the system utilises the

human resource to attain its cost objectives.
Dept Of ME 15
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

It should be emphasized here that these three goals cannot exist independently or
be achieved independently without influencing each other or the primary goal of cost
reduction. All goals are output of the same system; with productivity as the ultimate
purpose and guiding concept, the Toyota production system strives to realize each of
the goals for which it has been designed. Before discussing the contents of the
Toyota production system in detail, an overview of this system is in order. The
outputs or result side as well as the inputs or constituent side of the production
system are depicted.

A continuous flow of production, or adapting to demand changes in quantities

and variety, is created by achieving two key concepts: Just-in-time and
Autonomation. These two concepts are the pillars of the Toyota production
system.

Just-in-time basically means to produce the necessary units in the necessary

quantities at the necessary time. Autonomation ("Jidoka" in Japanese) may be
loosely interpreted as autonomous defects control. It supports Just-in-time by never
allowing defective units from the preceding process to flow into and disrupt a
subsequent process. Two concepts also key to the Toyota production system include
Flexible work force ("Shojinka" in Japanese) which means varying the number of
workers to demand changes, and Creative thinking or inventive ideas ("soikufu"), or
capitalizing on workers suggestions.

To realize these four concepts, Toyota has established the following systems and
methods:

1. Kanban system to maintain Just-in-time production

2. Production smoothing method to adapt to demand changes

Dept Of ME 16
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

3. Shortening of set-up time for reducing the production lead time

4. Standardization of operations to attain line balancing

5. Machine layout and the multi-function worker for flexible work force

6. Improvement activities by small groups and the suggestion system to

reduce the work force and increase the worker's morale.

7. Visual control system to achieve the Autonomation concept

8. Functional Management system to promote company-wide quality control.

Kanban system
A kanban is a card that is attached to a storage and transport container. It
identifies the part number and container capacity, along with other information.
There are two main types of kanban (some other variations are also used):
1. Production Kanban (P-kanban): signals the need to produce more parts
2. Conveyance Kanban (C-kanban): signals the need to deliver more parts to
the next work center (also called a "move kanban" or a "withdrawal kanban")

A Kanban system is a pull-system, in which the kanban is used to pull parts to the
next production stage when they are needed; a MRP system (or any schedule-based
system) is a push system, in which a detailed production schedule for each part is
used to push parts to the next production stage when scheduled. The weakness of a
push system (MRP) is that customer demand must be forecast and production lead
times must be estimated. Bad guesses (forecasts or estimates) result in excess
inventory and the longer the lead-time, the more room for error. The weakness of a

Dept Of ME 17
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

pull system (kanban) is that following the JIT production philosophy is essential,
especially concerning the elements of short setup times and small lot sizes.

A Withdrawal Kanban details the kind and quantity of product which the
subsequent process should withdraw from the preceding process, while a
Production Kanban specifies the kind and quantity of the product which the
preceding process must produce.

Concept of kanban is explained as a device which prevents over production. For

example on a single track line in the railways a key is given to the train driver as he
leaves the railway station. When he reaches the next station he gives this key to the
station master. The key now unlocks the signal allowing the train to move forward.
Another key is now given which the train driver hands over to the next station. The
key in this example is the kanban and the train is the quantity of material which
passes from one process to the next. The train in the opposite direction returns the
key or kanban. Please note it is only one train and therefore quantity is controlled
In case of factories a kanban is a document which controls the quantity
to be produced and in what time. Final assembly personnel are given the customer’s
order. As they draw the material they hand over a kanban to the proceeding process
to replace the material drawn. The proceeding process manufactures the product in
the quantity and time as per the kanban and delivers it to the succeeding process. In
turn it consumes the material while processing and releases a kanban to its
proceeding process. In this manner the chain continues throughout the factory to the
stage of raw material.
Kanban, which is a document, carries three types of information.
 It identifies the product or material.

Dept Of ME 18
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

 It indicates the stage of processing to be carried out, till when it is to be

carried out and in what amounts it is to be carried out.
 It indicates from where to where the material or products to be transported.
Since production is repetitive in an automobile industry, kanban can be re used.
By limiting the number of kanbans in circulation one can eliminate the waste of over
production and minimize stocks. A kanban indicates total time of delivery. This
means from the time kanban is released to the parts being physically available at the
required point. Say in an assembly 5 piece are consumed in an hour. Kanban time is
two hours. Then there may be two kanban of 5 pieces each in circulation.
Continuous improvement would be carried out to reduce the delivery time to one
hour and eliminate one kanban. Further improvements may reduce the quantity of
the kanban

Dual-card Kanban Rules

1. no parts made unless P-kanban authorizes production

2. exactly one P-kanban and one C-kanban for each container (the number of
containers per part number is a management decision)
3. only standard containers are used, and they are always filled with the
prescribed (small) quantity

Productivity Improvement with Kanban

1. deliberately remove buffer inventory (and/or workers) by removing kanban

from the system
2. observe and record problems (accidents, machine breakdowns, defective
products or materials, production process out of control)
3. take corrective action to eliminate the cause of the problems

Dept Of ME 19
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Many people think the Toyota production system a Kanban system: this is
incorrect. The Toyota production system is a way to make products, whereas the
Kanban system is the way to manage the Just-in-time production method.

In short, the kanban system is an information system to harmoniously control

the production quantities in every process. It is a tool to achieve just-in-time
production. In this system what kind of units and how many units needed are written
on a tag-like card called Kanban. The Kanban is sent to the people of the preceding
process from the subsequent process. As a result, many processes in a plant are
connected with each other. This connecting of processes in a factory allows for
better control of necessary quantities for various products.

The Kanban system is supported by the following:

 Smoothing of production

 Reduction of set-up time design of machine layout

 Standardization of jobs

 Improvement activities

 Autonomation

Autonomation
In order to realize Just-in-time perfectly, 100 per cent good units must flow to
the prior process, and this flow must be rhythmic without interruption. Therefore,
quality control is so important that it must coexist with the Just-in-time operation
throughout the Kanban system. Autonamation means to build in a mechanism a
Dept Of ME 20
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

means to prevent mass-production of defective work in machines or product lines.

Autonamation is not automation, but the autonomous check of abnormality in the
process. The autonomous machine is a machine to which an automatic stopping
device is attached. In Toyota factories, almost all the machines are autonomous, so
that mass-production of defects can be prevented and machine breakdowns are
automatically checked. The idea of Autonomation is also expanded to the product
lines of manual work. If something abnormal happens in a product line, the worker
pushes stop button, thereby stopping his whole line. For the purpose of detecting
troubles in each process, an electric light board, called Andon, indicating a line stop,
is hung so high in a factory that it can easily be seen by everyone. The Andon in the
Toyota system has an important role in helping this autonomous check, and is a
typical example of Toyota's "Visual Control System."

Just-in-time production
The idea of producing the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the
necessary time is described by the short term Just-in-time. Just-in-time means, for
example, that in the process of assembling the parts to build a car, the necessary kind
of sub-assemblies of the preceding processes should arrive at the product line at the
time needed in the necessary quantities. If Just-in-time is realised in the entire firm,
then unnecessary inventories in the factory will be completely eliminated, making
stores or warehouses unnecessary. The inventory carrying costs will be diminished,
and the ratio of capital turnover will be increased.

However, to rely solely on the central planning approach which instructs the
production schedules to all processes simultaneously, it is very difficult to realise
Just-in-time in all the processes for a product like an automobile, which consists of
thousands of parts. Therefore, in Toyota system, it is necessary to look at the
Dept Of ME 21
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

production flow conversely; in other words, the people of a certain process go to the
preceding process to withdraw the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the
necessary time. Then what the preceding process has to do is produce only enough
quantities of units to replace those that have been withdrawn.

So Toyota’s slogan in manufacturing would be to produce in as small lots

as possible with minimum cost as per market needs. If we look at parts that go
into an assembly line in an automobile industry like Toyota we find that
customisation is maximum at the final stage. For e.g. Customer would chose colour
seats etc. this happens at the assembly. However at the aggregate stage a particular
model would have a specific engine, transmission etc. many common parts go into
different models. Finally the same steel and pig iron goes into different parts.
Schematically it would as below.

Dept Of ME 22
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Fig 5. (a)

Planning system for materials can be based on the forecast where as planning
system for final assembly must be based on accepted orders and there is a transition
when one moves from raw material to finished product planning.

The result of Toyota’s planning process is as follows; if a special car is

ordered in Japan at Toyota dealer, it is immediately transferred to head office and
onwards to Toyota motors .through computers this information is sent to the
assembly plant. With in two days the required car is manufactured. It takes
maximum six days to transport it and another two days are kept as allowance. Thus a
customer’s special car can be delivered in ten days. In contrast if one wishes to
Dept Of ME 23
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

purchase a specific colour car in India the dealer does not have in stock or it can be
delivered when the company takes up a batch of that particular colour. In case the
colour is not a standard one, one may never get it at all. We have come some way
from Henry Fords “we can deliver all colours as long as they are black”.

How does Toyota assemble a special car in two days? Does it mean that
manufacture of car really take place in just two days? The answer to these questions
can be obtained by observing the planning and execution system in a little detail.

Planning

 Using strong marketing system an yearly plan is prepared. This consists

of assessment of market size and share of Toyota. Rough indication of
models and quantities.

 A tentative monthly production plan is prepared two months in

advance. This includes information on types of models and number of
sets.

 On the fifteenth day of previous month, manufacturing models, types

and other details are firmed up. At this stage leveling of production is
carried out and quantity of production per day model wise is decided
and informed to the production lines. This is again informed to venders.

 On twenty fifth day of previous confirmed plan of first ten days is

released. On fifth day of the month confirmed plan for next ten days
and on fifteenth day of the month final ten days plan is released. This is
what is called the T plan or ten day plan.

Dept Of ME 24
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Global adaptation
Since Toyota production system has been created from actual practices in the
factories of Toyota, it has a strong feature of emphasizing practical effects, and
actual practice and implication over theoretical analysis. This system can play a
great role in the task of improving the constitutions of the companies, world-wide
(especially those of the automobile industry).

Dept Of ME 25
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 6

TOYOTA’S JIT AND WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

There are striking differences between the Toyota’s just in time manufacturing
philosophy and the western philosophy. The major differences can be tabulated as
below.

Factors Toyota's JIT Western Philosophy

1. Inventory A liability. Every effort An asset. It protects against

must be extended to do away
with it.
forecast errors, machine
problems, and late vendor
deliveries.
More inventories are
“safer".

2. Lot sizes Immediate needs only. A Formulas. They’re

minimum replenishment is
desired for both
manufactured and purchased
parts.
always revising quantity
the optimum lot size with
some formula based on the
trade-off between the cost of
inventories and the cost of set
up.

3. Set ups Make them insignificant. Low priority. Maximum

This requires either
extremely rapid changeover
to minimize the impact on
production, or the
availability of extra
machines already set up.
Fast changeover permits
small lot sizes to be practical,
Dept Of ME 26
MESCE, Kuttipuram
output is the usual goal.
Rarely does similar
thought and effort go
similar thought and effort go
into achieving quick
changeover
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004
and allows a wide variety of
parts to be made frequently.
4. Queues Eliminate them. When
problems occur, identify the
causes and correct them.
The correction process is
aided when queues
are small. If the queues are
small, it surfaces the need to
identify and fix the cause.
5. Vendors Co-workers. They're part of
the team. Multiple
deliveries for all active items
are expected daily. The
vendor takes care of the
needs of the
customer, and the customer
treats the vendor as an
extension of his factory.
6. Quality Zero defects. If quality is
100%, production is in
jeopardy.
7. Equipment Constant and effective.
maintenance Machine break downs must
be minimal.
8. Lead times Keep them short. This
simplifies the job of
marketing, purchasing, and
manufacturing as it reduces
the need for expediting
9. Workers Management by consensus
Changes are not made until
Dept Of ME 27
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Necessary investment.
Queues permit succeeding
operations to continue in the
event of a problem with the
feeding operation. Also, by
providing a selection of jobs,
the factory management has
greater opportunity to match
up varying operator skills
and machine capabilities,
combine set ups
and thus contribute to the
efficiency of the operation
Adversaries. Multiple
sources are the rule, and it's
typical to play them off
against each other.
Tolerate some scrap. They
usually track what the actual
scrap has been and develop
formulae for predicting it.
As required. But not critical
because we have queues
available.
The longer the better. Most
foremen and purchasing
agents want more lead time,
not less
Management by edict. New
systems are installed in spite
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

consensus is reached, of the workers, not thanks to

whether or not a bit of arm
twisting is involved. The
vital ingredient of
"ownership" is achieved.
Chapter 7
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL JIT IMPLEMENTATION
the workers. Then they
concentrate on
measurements to determine
whether or not they're
doing it.

The following are some of the keys for successful JIT implementation
1. Stabilize and level the master production schedule (MPS) with uniform
plant loading: create a uniform load on all work centers through constant
daily production (establish freeze windows to prevent changes in the
production plan for some period of time) and mixed model assembly (produce
roughly the same mix of products each day, using a repeating sequence if
several products are produced on the same line). Meet demand fluctuations
through end-item inventory rather than through fluctuations in production
level.
2. Reduce or eliminate setup times: aim for single digit setup times (less than
10 minutes) or "one-touch" setup -- this can be done through better planning,
process redesign, and product redesign.
3. Reduce lot sizes (manufacturing and purchase): reducing setup times
allows economical production of smaller lots; close cooperation with suppliers
is necessary to achieve reductions in order lot sizes for purchased items, since
this will require more frequent deliveries.
4. Reduce lead times (production and delivery): production lead times can be
reduced by moving work stations closer together, applying group technology
and cellular manufacturing concepts, reducing queue length (reducing the

Dept Of ME 28
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

number of jobs waiting to be processed at a given machine), and improving

the coordination and cooperation between successive processes; delivery lead
times can be reduced through close cooperation with suppliers, possibly by
inducing suppliers to locate closer to the factory
5. Preventive maintenance: use machine and worker idle time to maintain
equipment and prevent breakdowns
6. Flexible work force: workers should be trained to operate several machines,
to perform maintenance tasks, and to perform quality inspections. In general,
the attitude of respect for people leads to giving workers more responsibility
for their own work.
7. Require supplier quality assurance and implement a zero defects quality
program: errors leading to defective items must be eliminated, since there are
no buffers of excess parts. A quality at the source (jidoka) program must be
implemented to give workers the personal responsibility for the quality of the
work they do, and the authority to stop production when something goes
wrong. Techniques such as "JIT lights" (to indicate line slowdowns or
stoppages) and "tally boards" (to record and analyze causes of production
stoppages and slowdowns to facilitate correcting them later) may be used.
8. Small-lot (single unit) conveyance: use a control system such as a kanban
(card) system to convey parts between workstations in small quantities
(ideally, one unit at a time). In its largest sense, JIT is not the same thing as a
kanban system, and a kanban system is not required to implement JIT (some
companies have instituted a JIT program along with a MRP system), although
JIT is required to implement a kanban system and the two concepts are
frequently equated with one another.

Dept Of ME 29
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

Chapter 8

CONCLUSION
From this study, it is understood that, in this modern competitive world, where
only those industries, which provide maximum customer satisfaction at attracting
prices can succeed, the JIT system plays an important role, as it reduces the
manufacturing time & wastage, during production. Thus it increases the amount of
goods produced and decreases the cost of production of these goods.
This seminar stresses the need to implement JIT technique in Automobile
industries &other modern industries where large-scale production takes place.

Dept Of ME 30
MESCE, Kuttipuram
Just In Time Manufacturing
Seminar 2004

References:

The Machine that changed the World - Womack, Jones and Roos

Toyota Production System - Yasuhiro Monden

Study of Toyota production system– Shigeo Shingo

Dept Of ME 31
MESCE, Kuttipuram