Just-In-Time Systems

History and Philosophy of Just-In-Time

• A philosophy that seeks to eliminate all types of

waste, including carrying excessive levels of
inventory and long lead times.
• Takes its name from the idea of replenishing material
buffers just when they are needed and not before or
after.
• Developed by Toyota Motor Company in mid-1970s
• Best applied to a production system, such as
automobile assembly, that would be considered
repetitive, such as a flow shop.
History and Philosophy of Just-In-Time
• Three Tenets
– minimize waste in all forms: avoid waste of materials, space, and
labor. They pay significant attention to identifying and correcting
problems that could potentially lead to such waste. Operation and
procedures are constantly being improved and fine-tuned to increase
productivity and yield, further eliminating waste (Overproduction,
waiting time, unnecessary transportation, processing waste, inefficient
work methods, product defects, waste of motion).
– continually improve processes and systems: JIT is considered not
simply a means of converting the transformation system from a
sloppy, wasteful form to an efficient, competitive form, but also as
producing continuing improvements throughout the system to keep
the firm competitive and profitable in the future
– maintain respect for all workers: equal respect is paid to all workers,
and the trappings of status are minimized so that respect among all
can be maintained.
Characteristics of Lean Systems:
Just-in-Time
 Pull method of materials flow
 Consistently high quality
 Small lot sizes
 Uniform workstation loads
 Standardized components and work
methods
 Close supplier ties
 Flexible workforce
 Line flows
 Automated production
 Preventive maintenance
Three Elements of JIT

© Wiley 2010 5
 What is JIT ?

 Producing only what is needed, when it is needed (not

early, not late; not less, not more)
 Achieving high volume production using minimal
inventories
 An integrated but simplified
system
 JIT’s mandate:
Elimination of all waste
in production effort
 Just-in-Time
Just-in-time (JIT): A highly coordinated processing
system in which goods move through the system,
and services are performed, just as they are needed
 Supplies and components are ‘pulled’ through the
system to arrive where they are needed when they
are needed (just-in-time)
 A management philosophy of continuous and forced
problem solving by attacking the root causes
 Lean Production
JIT   lean production
Lean Production supplies customers with exactly
what the customer wants, when the customer
wants, without waste, through continuous
improvement
JIT operates with very little fat
 Sources of Waste
 Overproduction
 Waiting
 Unnecessary transportation
 Inventory
 Inefficient work methods
 Inefficient processing
 Unnecessary motions
 Product defects
 JIT Means …
• Keeping work flows moving
• Eliminating inventories
• Reducing travel distances
• Eliminating defects and scrap
• Maximizing usage of space
 Kaizen Philosophy (1 of 3)
 Continuous improvement
 Requires total employee involvement
 Essence of JIT is willingness of workers to
Spot quality problems
Halt production when necessary
Generate ideas for improvement
Analyze problems
Perform different functions
 Kaizen Philosophy (2 of 3)
 Waste is the enemy
 Improvement should be done gradually and
continuously
 Everyone should be involved
 Built on a cheap strategy
 Can be applied anywhere
 Kaizen Philosophy (3 of 3)
 Supported by a visual system
 Focuses attention where value is created
 Process oriented
 Stresses main effort of improvement should
come from new thinking and work style
 The essence of organizational learning is to learn
while doing
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Just-In-Time Production
 Quality Improvement (1 of 4)

 JIT exposes quality problems by reducing inventory

 JIT eliminates number defects with small lots
 JIT requires quality by suppliers
 Team approach and continuous improvement are
important for ensuring quality
 Quality is maintained by the following procedure:
Find the root cause of the problem, solve permanently and
use team approach in solving the problems
 Quality Improvement (2 of 4)

JIT requires TQM

Statistical process control
Continuous improvement
Worker involvement & empowered employees
Inspect own work
Quality circles
Immediate feedback
Failsafe methods such as poka-yoke (prevents defectives)
Quality at the source
 Quality Improvement (3 of 4)
JIT requires
1) Quality within the firm
– Autonomation (jidoka): automatic detection of defects
during production
2) Quality by suppliers
 Quality Improvement (4 of 4)

 Jidoka assures quality at the source

 Andon lights signal quality problems
 Visual control makes problems visible
Traditional Systems Compared to
JIT
 Priorities
• Traditionally
– Accept all customer orders
– Provide a large number of options from which customers
may order
• JIT
– low cost/high quality within limited market

Engineering
• Traditional
– design custom outputs
• JIT
– design standard outputs
– incremental improvements
– design for manufacturability (DFM)
 Capacity
• Traditional
– excess capacity designed into system just-in-case
problem arises
– highly utilized
– inflexible
• JIT
– minimize waste of having extra capacity
– flexible capacity
– moderately utilized
 Transformation System
• Traditional
– job shop
– materials handling equipment
– lots of space to store inventory
• JIT
– mostly used in repetitive production situations
– job shops often converted to cellular
manufacturing
 Transformation System continued
• Traditional-long lead times are often thought to allow
more time to make decisions and get work performed.

• JIT
– short lead times mean easier, more accurate forecasting and planning.
– If lead times are reduced, there is less time for things go awry, to get
lost, or to be changed
– “Don’t let the parts touch the floor” (the parts have to be kept on the
machines and thus be worked on until completed)
– Smaller batches result in shorter lead times and less inventory, at the
same time. With smaller batches, engineering changes get to the
customer sooner, problems with quality are corrected more quickly,
rework is reduced, there is less obsolete inventory, and new products
get to market more promptly.
 Transformation System continued
• JIT

– Employing Kanban (Toyota’s materials management

system)
– Pull system: System for moving work where a workstation
pulls output from the preceding station as needed
(control-based systems that signals the requirement for
parts as they are needed in reality).

– Push system: System for moving work where output is

pushed to the next station as it is completed (planning-
based systems that determine when workstations will
probably need parts if everything goes according to plan)
Sequential Production System with
Two Machines
 Kanban
• Kanban: Card or other device that communicates demand for
work or materials from the preceding station
• Kanban is the Japanese word meaning “signal” or “visible
record”
• Paperless production control system
• The idea behind this system is to authorize materials for
production only if there is a need for them.
• Through the use of Kanban authorization cards, production is
“pulled” through the system, instead of pushed out before it
is needed and then stored.
 A Kanban System
Kanban authorizing Kanban authorizing move from
production at workstation A workstation A to workstation B

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 Layout
• Traditional
– job shop approach of using widely spread-out equipment with space
for stockrooms, tool cribs, and work-in-process inventories between
the equipment
– To handle and move all this inventory, automated or semi automated
materials handling equipment (conveyors, forklifts) is required, which
takes even more space.
• JIT
– Equipment is moved as close together as possible so that parts can be
actually handed from one worker or machine to the next.
– Use of cells, and flow lines dictates small lots of parts with minimal
work-in-process and material-moving equipment.
– manual transfer
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 Workforce
• Traditional
– competitive attitude between workers and managers
– status symbols and privileges
– much of the employees’ time is nonworking time: looking for parts,
moving materials, setting up machines, getting instructions, and so on.
When actually working, they tend to work fast.

• JIT
– broadly skilled flexible workers who can uncover and solve problems
– workteams
– cooperative attitudes
 Inventories Suppliers
• Traditional • Traditional
– used to buffer – suppliers treated as
adversaries
operations
– multiple sourcing
– large WIP buffers
• JIT
• JIT – supplier considered part
– inventory is seen as an of team
evil – single-sourcing
agreements
– small WIP buffers – supplier certification
programs
 Planning and Control
• Traditional
– focus is on planning
– planning complex and computerized
• JIT
– focus is on control
– procedures kept simple and visual
– Response to what actually happens in real time with
flexible, quick operations.
Quality
• Traditional
– inspect goods at critical points
– scrap rates tracked
• JIT
– goal is zero defects
– workers themselves inspect parts
 Maintenance
• Traditional
– corrective maintenance, repairing a machine when it
breaks down
– done by experts who do nothing but repair broken
equipment
– equipment run fast
• JIT
– preventive maintenance, conducting maintenance before
the machine is expected to fail, or at regular intervals.
– done by equipment operators
– equipment run slow (minimizes their chance of breakdown
while maximizing their output)
Comparison of JIT and Traditional Systems
Factor Traditional JIT
Inventory Much to offset forecast Minimal necessary to operate
errors, late deliveries
Deliveries Few, large Many, small

Lot sizes Large Small

Setup; runs Few, long runs Many, short runs

Vendors Long-term relationships Partners

are unusual
Workers Necessary to do the Assets
work
 Value Stream Mapping
• A qualitative lean tool for eliminating waste
that involves a current state drawing, a future
state drawing, and an implementation plan.
 Typical Benefits of JIT
• Cost savings: inventory reductions, reduced scrap, fewer
defects, fewer changes due to both customers and
engineering, less space, decreased labor hours, les rework.
• Revenue increases: better service and quality to the
customer.
• Investment savings: less space, reduced inventory, increased
the volume of work produced in the same facility.
• Workforce improvements: more satisfied, better trained
employees.
• Uncovering problems: greater visibility to problems that JIT
allows, if management is willing to capitalize on the
opportunity to fix these problems.
 Potential Problems Implementing JIT
• Applicable primarily to repetitive operations
• Requires discipline
• Based on cooperation and trust
• Requires change of philosophy
Interaction of JIT Elements