Just-in-Time/ Lean Manufacturing

Sam Herrick

History

Originated in post-WWII Japan.

Japan needed to strengthen industrial base. ◦ Full-time work

◦ Healthy trade balance

Developed by Taiichi Ohno of Toyota.

The 5 Steps of Lean Thinking

1. Specify Value from the Perspective of the Customer

2. Identify the Value Streams

3. Flow

4. Pull

5. Perfection

Just-in-Time vs. Theory of Constraints

TOC JIT

Goal Increase Profit by increasing Throughput

Increase Profit by adding value from customers’

perspective

Measures •Throughput •Inventory

•Operating Expense

•Cost •Lead Time

•Value-Added Percentage

What to Change? Constraints: The weakest link in the system

Eliminate Waste and Add Value considering the entire

system

How to Implement Change: Five-Step, Continuous Process emphasizing acting

locally

Five-Step, Continuous Process emphasizing thinking globally

Time

Both can achieve immediate results, but require a long term (about five year) effort to sustain the results

Basic Principles

Viewed as a philosophy, not a technique.

Based on continuous improvement and eliminating waste.

Does not accept ANY manufactured defects.

Prefers to find quality issues at the source.

Types of Waste

Waste from overproduction.

Transportation waste.

Processing waste.

Inventory waste.

Waste of motion.

Waste of production defects.

Implementing JIT

JIT

Over the past two decades the “Just-in-Time” (JIT) manufacturing philosophy has increasingly influenced operation and production companies

Describes the experience of a sample of firms in Europe who were respondents to a specially designed questionnaire which was sent out as part of a major study.

Problems Implementing JIT

Transitioning from a traditional manufacturing approach to a just-in-time manufacturing approach has a number of problems and benefits for employees.

Need to change policies and procedures.

Many people do not like to change, this can be stressful to employees.

Problems Implementing JIT

Just-in-time manufacturing is far more demanding of employees than the regular approach.

Instead of having time to get the product right, employees are rushing to get orders sent out.

employees can be under a great deal of stress to maintain production.

Problems Implementing Issues

Set up times and costs must be greatly reduced.

Employees have to come up with new approaches to setups.

Discovering quality problems is critical for success of the overall system.

Problems Implementing JIT

Employees have to be capable of troubleshooting and correcting problems very rapidly.

Keeping the employees engaged when they are idled is a challenge.

Employees feel rushed to produce perfect quality products each time.

Benefits implementing JIT

potential to become much more involved in their jobs

Have the opportunity to problem solve

With a successful implementation, the quality of the products produced should increase

Benefits of Implementing JIT

Reliability of manufacturing should also increase.

guaranteed to give your company major cost reductions.

Has improvements in nearly every industry.

Benefits of Implementing JIT

Reduced setup time, Cutting the setup time allows the company to reduce or eliminate inventory.

Increased supplier relationships.

By getting products faster to the consumer creates a greater satisfaction.