Chapter-8

JIT and Lean Operations

• Features of Japanese Operation Management
• Elements of JIT System
• Stabilizing Schedule
• Elimination of Waste
• JIT Implementation Requirement
• Flexible Manufacturing System
• Concept of Kanban and Kaizen
#Features of Japanese Operations Management
The special features of Japanese operation management
can be summarized as:
• Scientific selection process
• Lifetime employment
• Seniority system
• Continuous training
• Emphasis on group work
• Decision making
• Complicated performance evaluation
• Good benefit for employees
• Simple and flexible organization
# Element of JIT System
Shigeo shingo (1909), a Japanese was the JIT
authority and an engineer at Toyota Motor Co.,
emerged the concept of JIT.
Just-in-time production is defined as a “philosophy
that focuses attention on eliminating waste by
purchasing or manufacturing just enough of the
right items just in time”.
JIT stands for producing necessary units in
necessary quantities at the necessary time.
Components/elements of JIT
Stockholders and owners
Employees and unions 1. People
Management involvement
government

Plant layout
Multifunction workers
2. Plant JIT
Kanbans
Demand pull production

MRP
Production Smoothing
3. System
Standardization
Total Quality Control
# JIT Implementation
Requirement:
1. Uncontrollable 2. Mainly controllable
requirement for JIT requirement for JIT
• Training • Management understanding
• Long term planning and support of the system
• Stockholder’s • Management and labor
• Labor organizations responsibility
• Government support • Cellular layout and work
flow
• Department function
• Supplier management
• Reduce setup time
LEAN MANUFACTURING:
• The basic ideas behind the lean manufacturing system, which have
been practiced for many years in japan, are waste elimination, cost
reduction, and employee empowerment.

• The term ‘lean’ as Womack and his colleagues defines, it denotes a

system that utilizes less, in term of all inputs, to create the same
output as those created by a traditional mass production system,
while contributing varieties for end customer.
• Lean focuses on abolishing or reducing wastes (or “muda”, the
Japanese word for waste) and on maximizing or fully utilizing
activities that add value from the customer’s perspective. It has
enabled companies to achieve continual gains in productivity (low
unit costs), which satisfy customer expectations for superior quality
and prompt delivery.
# Principles of Lean Manufacturing
The key principles behind lean manufacturing can be summarized as
follows:
• Recognition of waste: recognize what does and does not create value
form the customer’s perspective. Any materials, process or feature
which is not required for creating value from the customer’s
perspective is waste and should be eliminated. Eg. Transporting
materials between workstations is waste because it can potentially be
eliminated.

• Standard processes: lean requires the implementation of very detailed

production guidelines, called “standard work”, which clearly state the
content, sequence, timing, and outcome of all actions by workers.

• Continuous Flow: lean usually aims for the implementation of a

continuous production flow free of bottlenecks, interruption, detours,
backflows or waiting. It help to reduce production cycle time
• Pull-Production: also called Just-in-time, pull production
aims to produce only what is needed, when it is needed.

• Quality at the source: lean aims for defects to be

eliminated at the source and for quality inspection to be
done by the workers as part of the in-line production
process.

• Continuous Improvement: lean necessitates striving for

perfection by continually removing layers of waste as they
are uncovered. This, in turn, requires a high level of
worker involvement in the continuous improvement
process.
Eliminating waste and adding value:
Shigeo shingo, identified Seven Wastes they are:
1. Waste of overproduction: make only what is needed now.
2. Waste of waiting: balance uneven loads by flexible workers and
equipment.
3. Waste of transportation: rationalize transport and materials
handling.
4. Waste of processing itself: extend thinking beyond of scale or
speed.
5. Waste of stocks: reducing all the other wastes reduces the waste
of stocks.
6. Waste of motion: first improve the motions, then mechanize or
automate.
7. Waste of making defective products: develop the production
process to prevent defects from being made so as to eliminate
inspection.
Techniques for the elimination of waste:
1. Focus on the factory network
2. Quality in the source
3. Group technology
4. JIT production
5. Uniform plant loading
6. Kanban production control
7. Minimization of set up time
Advantages of Lean manufacturing:
• Reduction of manufacturing time
• Help to keep business going
• Help to reduce floor space
• Increase manufacturing productivity
• Help to boost profit
• Help to achieve good customer relations
• Cultures are standardized
• Makes the differences between management
and personnel.
# stabilizing schedule
• Just-in-time
• Level scheduling
• Freeze window refers
• Underutilization of capacity

# Kanban System:
A kanban control system uses a signaling device to
regulate JIT flows. Kanban means “sign” or
“instruction card” in japanese. It is a simple system of
inventory control used in JIT system of production.
Kanban is applicable in pull manufacturing system.
There are two kinds of KANBAN they are:
• Withdrawl KANBAN
• Production ordering KANBAN
The withdrawal KANBAN shows the quantity of item
that subsequent process should withdrawal from the
preceding process. The production ordering KANBAN
shows the quantity that the preceding process should
produce.
The two cards KANBAN is most efficient inventory
control tools under JIT production system, single card
KANBAN is most often used in Japanese industries.
Single card KANBAN system uses, only withdrawal
KANBAN and no production KANBAN.
 Withdrawal Kanban

Storage Storage
Part A Part B
Machine Assembly
Centre Line

Production Kanban Material Flow

The process begins by the Assembly Line Card (Single Flow)

people pulling Part A from Storage

Figure: Kanban Production Control System

Some factors that make the KANBAN difficult, they are:
• Fluctuation of demand
• Lack of material
• Lack of facilities
• Management labor relationship etc.

# Determining the number of Kanban Card or

Containers
Number of Kanbans (containers)
 Determining Number of
Kanbans
average demand during lead time + safety stock
No. of Kanbans =
container size

dL + S
N =
C
where

N = number of kanbans or containers

d = average demand over some time period
L = lead time to replenish an order
S = safety stock
C = container size
JIT Inventory
Q=
Where;
D = Annual Demand S = Setup cost
H = Holding Cost d = Daily demand
P = Daily production

Example: Determine the desired setup time.

D = Annual demand = 400,000 units
D = Daily demand = 400,000/250 = 1,600 per day
P = Daily production rate = 4,000 units
Q = EOQ desired = 400
H = Holding cost = $20 per unit
S = Setup cost (to be determined)
# Kaizen System
“ if you are content with the best you have done, you
will never do the best you can do” _Anon

“KAIZEN” is Japanese word that combines two

different word viz. KAI and ZEZ. KAI refers to
change and ZEN refers to goodness. Thus KAIZEN
refers to “change towards betterment or gradual
improvement”.
There are two contrasting approaches to progess:
• The gradualist approach.
• The great-leap-forward approach.
 Country KAIZEN Innovation
Japan Strong Weak
West Weak Strong

KAIZEN can be defined in various ways:

• A selection of better means for a better method of
achieving an objective.
• An accumulation of small changes.
• A corrective action under constraints.
• There must be the best way
• There may be other ways to make my work easier,
faster and more efficient.
The following steps are recommended for
continuous improvement:
• Problem recognition. (Problem identification)
• Problem solving: fish bone/ Ishikawa diagram is
quite useful for identifying the cause and effect.
• Implementation.

Component Nature Solution

Cup Easy to break Plastic Cup
Man Careless Caution
Method Easy to slip Wear rubber gloves
Sink Solid surface Place rubber mat
“S” practice
The 5-S practice is a technique used to establish and
maintain quality environment in an organization. The name
stands for five Japanese words: seri, seiton, seiso, seikestsu
and shitsuke. The english equivalent, their meaning and
typical example are shown in the following tables.

Japanese English Meaning Typical example

Seri Structurise organization Throw away rubbish
Seiton Systemise orderliness 30 second retrieval of
document
seiso Sanitise cleaning Individual cleaning
responsibility
seiketsu Standardize standardization Transparency of storage
Shitsuke Self-discipline Discipline Do 5-s daily
*Seiton – orderliness
There are four steps in achieving neatness:
Step1: analyze the status quo
Step2: decide where things belongs
Step3: decide how things should be put away
Step4: obey the put-away rule
The 5 S promises
• I will not get things dirty
• I will not spill
• I will not scatter things around
• I will clean things right away
• I will not re-write things that have erased
• I will not tape of things that have come down.
# Quality Control Circles (QCC) or Quality Circle (QC)
“Quality circle’ is a small group of employees who work in same
work area or doing a similar type of work, who voluntarily meet
regularly for about an hour every week to identify, analyze and
resolve work related problems, leading to improvement, in their
total performance, and enrichment of their work life”.

Basic idea behind QC activities:

• Display human capability fully and eventually draw out
infinite possibilities
• Respect humanity and build a worthwhile to live and happy
bright workshop.
• Contribute to the improvement and development of the
enterprise.
# characteristics of QC
• It is a philosophy as against technique: (it harmonize the
work, makes workplace meaningful, shows concern for the
total person)
• It is voluntary
• It is participative
• It is group activity
• It has management’s support
• It involves task performance
• It is not a forum to discuss demand or grievances
• It is not a forum for management to unload all their problems
• It is not a substitute for joint-plant councils or work
committees
# Advantages of quality circle
• Improvement of quality.
• Increase in productivity.
• Better house-keeping.
• Cost reduction.
• Increase safety.
• Working without tension.
• Better communication
• Effective team-work.
• Better human-relations
• Greater sense of belongingness.
• Better mutual trust
• Development of participative culture.
Organization of QC
• QC steering committee
• QC facilitators
• QC leader
• QC members

# ZERO defect programme:

Zero defect is a performance standard. It mean
that no defect should be allowed to occur in the
production/service. ………..**
….**
• Is error inevitable?
• Implementing a programme
• Quality measurement
• Quality awareness
• Corrective action
• Zero- defect planning
# Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS):
Flexible manufacturing system is use to meet changing
variety product by overcoming the weaknesses of job shop,
batch and continuous production system. Due to flexible in
nature production system can be use to produce different
variety and quantity of product in a same structure.

Flexibility refers to:

• Design change
• Reduction in inventory
• Short production lead time
• Reduction of defective items
• Schedule change
Characteristics of FMS
• Produce moderate variety of products in moderate
volume
• Produce quickly and high quality
• Lower manufacturing cost
• Large capital in technology and HRD

Advantages of FMS
• Reduce direct labor
• Reduce investment in inventory
• Low set up time
• Consistent quality due to removed error.
• Better computerize controlled of work.
Disadvantages of FMS
• All facilities cannot be made flexible.
• It cannot produce moderate varieties of products
in all situations.
• It requires a long planning cycle and long-term
development cycle to ensure its success.

…..........chapter end”