Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing – Doing More With Less

7 Principles of Toyota Production System (TPS)

1. Reduced Setup Times:

2. All setup practices are wasteful because they add no value and they tie up labor and equipment. By organizing procedures, using carts, and training workers to do their own setups, Toyota managed to slash setup times from months to hours and sometimes even minutes.

3. Small-Lot Production: Producing things in large batches results in huge setup costs, high capital cost of high-speed dedicated machinery, larger inventories, extended lead times, and larger defect costs. Because Toyota has found the way to make setups short and inexpensive, it became possible for them to economically produce a variety of things in small quantities.

4. Employee Involvement and Empowerment:

Toyota organized their workers by forming teams and gave them the responsibility and training to do many specialized tasks. Teams are also given responsibility for housekeeping and minor equipment repair. Each team has a leader who also works as one of them on the line.

5. Quality at the Source: To eliminate product defects, they must be discovered and corrected as soon as possible. Since workers are at the best position to discover a defect and to immediately fix it, they are assigned this responsibility. If a defect cannot be readily fixed, any worker can halt the entire line by pulling a cord (called Jidoka).

6. Equipment Maintenance: Toyota operators are assigned primary responsibility for basic maintenance since they are in the best position to defect signs of malfunctions. Maintenance specialists diagnose and fix only complex problems, improve the performance of equipment, and train workers in maintenance.

7. Pull Production:

To reduce inventory holding costs and lead times, Toyota developed the pull production method wherein the quantity of work performed at each stage of the process is dictated solely by demand for materials from the immediate next stage. The Kamban scheme coordinates the flow of small containers of materials between stages. This is where the term Just-in-Time (JIT) originated.

8. Supplier Involvement: Toyota treats its suppliers as partners, as integral elements of Toyota Production System (TPS). Suppliers are trained in ways to reduce setup times, inventories, defects, machine breakdowns etc., and take responsibility to deliver their best possible parts.

Five Ss

The Five Ss refer to the five dimensions of of workplace optimization: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain).

The 7 Wastes To Be Eliminated

Overproduction; Waiting, Transportation; Inventory; Motion; Over-processing; Defective Units.

Just-In-Time (JIT)

In Kaizen, JIT is a is a collection of concepts and techniques for improving productivity. JIT is a process aimed at increasing value-added and eliminating waste by providing the

environment to perfect and simplify the processes..

"Overproduction is the central evil that leads to waste in other areas of the production process."

– Masaaki Imai

Why JIT?

In Kaizen, JIT is a is a collection of concepts and techniques for improving productivity. JIT is a process aimed at increasing value-added and eliminating waste by providing the environment to perfect and simplify the processes.

What is JIT?

Just-in-time manufacturing means producing the necessary items in necessary quantities at the necessary time. It is a philosophy of continuous improvement in which non-value-adding activities (or wastes) are identified and removed.

Putting this concept into practice means a reversal of the traditional thinking process. In conventional production processes, units are transported to the next production stage as soon as they are ready. In JIT, each stage is required to go back to the previous stage to pick up the exact number of units needed.

Benefits

Reduced operating costs Greater performance and throughput Higher quality Improved delivery Increased flexibility and innovativeness

JIT Components

Production Leveling Pull System Kamban (label or signboard) system Good Housekeeping Small Lot Production Setup Time Reduction Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM) Total Quality Control (TQC) JIT Purchasing Line Balancing Flexible Manufacturing Small-group Activities (SGA)

Kamban – a Communication Tool in JIT Production System

Being a very important tool for just-in-time production, kamban has become synonymous with the JIT production system.

Kamban, meaning label or signboard, is used as a communication tool in JIT system. A kamban is attached to each box of parts as they go to the assembly line. A worker from the following process goes to collect parts from the previous process leaving a kamban signifying the delivery of a given quantity of specific parts. Having all the parts funneled to the line and used as required, the same kamban is returned back to serve as both a record of work done and an order for new parts. Thus kamban coordinates the inflow of parts and components to the assembly line, minimizing the processes.

Case in Point Canon

The objectives of Canon Production System (CPS) are to manufacture better quality products at lower cost and deliver them faster.

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The three basic parts of CPS are Quality Assurance (QA), Production Assurance (PA) and Personnel Training (PT).

Production Assurance (PA) System is aimed to achieve just-in-time manufacturing, fast delivery, low cost, and also adopt the "visual control" philosophy. Canon has devised two subsystems to attain these PA goals: Canon's HIT System (equivalent to just-in-time) and Signal System. The HIT System means making parts and products only when needed and only in the quantity needed. Canon uses either HIT cards or signals for this purpose... More

JIT-Style Learning and Training

The best kind of quality oriented learning (and training) is just-in-time-style learning, that is, learning that happens on the job and knowledge which is applied immediately as needed. The sooner you can apply the material you learned, the better you will understand it and the longer it will be retained. Instead of training masses of employees for long periods, in JIT-style training, education is implemented as an ongoing series of short sessions (just a few hours a week) during which employees are taught only what they can apply soon, without suffering information overload.

Kaizen & Lean Production ▼10 Lessons ► Glossary

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1 Kaizen and Job Functions

2 Japanese-style Suggestion System

3 Mini-Kaizen: Quick and Easy Kaizen

4 Lean Production: Doing More With Less

5 7 Wastes To Be Eliminated

6 Lean Production: an Overview

7 Toyota Production System (TPS)

8 7 Principles of Toyota Production System

9 Canon Production System (CPS)

10 Just-In-Time (JIT) Manufacturing

Kaizen and Lean Production

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Kaizen and Lean Production

What is Lean Production?

Lean is about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, labor, and money. "Lean manufacturing", a shorthand for a commitment to eliminating waste, simplifying procedures and speeding up production. Lean Manufacturing (also known as the Toyota Production System) is, in its most basic form, the systematic elimination of waste – overproduction, waiting,

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transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, defective units – and the implementation of the concepts of continuous flow and customer pull. Five areas drive lean manufacturing/production: cost; quality; delivery; safety; and morale. Just as mass production is recognized as the production system of the 20th century, lean production is viewed as the production system of the 21st century. A Management Philosophy Toyota perfected lean manufacturing in the 1990s, and now the concept is being put to use in other areas, such as organizational, distribution and logistics. Though books have been written detailing the steps to achieving lean manufacturing and many manufacturers have tried to emulate Toyota's success, few have actually done so. Why? Because they have failed to adopt lean manufacturing as a management philosophy that encompasses the entire organization. Instead, they see it only as a departmental solution. Selected Key Terms of Lean Production

Autonomation – a form of automation in which machinery automatically inspects each item after producing it, ceasing production and notifying humans if a defect is detected.

Baka-yoke – a manufacturing technique of preventing mistakes by designing the manufacturing process, equipment, and tools so that an operation literally cannot be performed incorrectly; an attempt to perform incorrectly, as well as being prevented, is usually met with a warning signal of some sort.

5S – refers to the five words seiri, seiton, seison, seiketsu, shitsuke. These words express principles of maintaining an effective, efficient workplace: seiri – eliminating everything not required for the work being performed; seiton – efficient placement and arrangement of equipment and material; seison – tidiness and cleanliness; seiketsu – ongoing, standardized, continually improving seiri, seiton, seison; shitsuke – discipline with leadership.

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen means "improvement". Kaizen strategy calls for never-ending efforts for improvement involving everyone in the organization – managers and workers alike. Kaizen and Management Management has two major components: (1) maintenance, and (2) improvement. The objective of the maintenance function is to maintain current technological, managerial, and operating standards. The improvement function is aimed at improving current standards. Under the maintenance function, the management must first establish policies, rules, directives and standard operating procedures (SOPs) and then work towards ensuring that everybody follows SOP. The latter is achieved through a combination of discipline and human resource development measures. Under the improvement function, management works continuously towards revising the current standards, once they have been mastered, and establishing higher ones. Improvement can be broken down between innovation and Kaizen. Innovation involves a drastic improvement in the existing process and requires large investments. Kaizen signifies small improvements as a result of coordinated continuous efforts by all employees. Kaizen's Starting Point: Setting the Right Mindset & Business Environment

not a single day should go by without an improvement being made in the company customer-driven strategy for improvement – any management activity should eventually lead to increased

customer satisfaction quality first, not profit first – an enterprise can prosper only if customers who purchase its products or services are

satisfied recognition that any corporation has problems and establishing a corporate culture where everyone can freely

admit these problems and suggest improvement problem solving is seen as cross-functional systemic and collaborative approach emphasis on process – establishing a way of thinking oriented at improving processes, and a management

system that supports people's process-oriented efforts for improvement


Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen

What is Kaizen?

Kaizen means "improvement". Kaizen strategy calls for never-ending efforts for improvement involving everyone in the organization – managers and workers alike.

Kaizen and Management

Management has two major components: (1) maintenance, and (2) improvement. The objective of the maintenance function is to maintain current technological, managerial, and operating standards. The improvement function is aimed at improving current standards.

Under the maintenance function, the management must first establish policies, rules, directives and standard operating procedures (SOPs) and then work towards ensuring that everybody follows SOP. The latter is achieved through a combination of discipline and human resource development measures.

Under the improvement function, management works continuously towards revising the current standards, once they have been mastered, and establishing higher ones. Improvement can be broken down between innovation and Kaizen. Innovation involves a drastic improvement in the existing process and requires large investments. Kaizen signifies small improvements as a result of coordinated continuous efforts by all employees.

Kaizen's Starting Point: Setting the Right Mindset & Business Environment

not a single day should go by without an improvement being made in the company

customer-driven strategy for improvement – any management activity should eventually lead to increased customer satisfaction





quality first, not profit first – an enterprise can prosper only if customers who purchase its products or services are satisfied

recognition that any corporation has problems and establishing a corporate culture where everyone can freely admit these problems and suggest improvement

problem solving is seen as cross-functional systemic and collaborative approach

emphasis on process – establishing a way of thinking oriented at improving processes, and a management system that supports people's process-oriented efforts for improvement


Kaizen, Lean Production, Japanese Suggestion System, Kaizen, Lean Production, Japanese Suggestion System

Kaizen and Continuous Improvement Firm (SIF): Japanese-style Suggestion System

Employee Empowerment: the Suggestion System

The suggestion system is an integral part of an established management system that aims at involving employees in Kaizen. The number of worker's suggestions is regarded as an important criteria in reviewing the performance of the worker's supervisor and the manager of the supervisor.

The Japanese management encourages employees to generate a great number of suggestions and works hard to consider and implement these suggestions, often incorporating them into the overall Kaizen strategy. Management also gives due recognition to employee's efforts for improvement. An important aspect of the suggestion system is that each suggestion, once implemented, leads to an upgraded standard.

Quality control (QC) circles can be viewed as a group-oriented suggestion system for making improvements. QC circle is a small group that voluntarily performs quality-control activities in the workplace.

Total quality control (TQC) involves everyone in the organization and is aimed at improvement of managerial performance at all


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Three Stages of the Suggestion System

1. Encouragement. In the first stage, management should make every effort to help the workers provide suggestions, no matter how primitive, for the betterment of the worker's job and the workshop. This will help the workers look at the way they are doing their jobs.

2. Education. In the second stage, management should stress employee education so that employees can provide better suggestions. In order for the workers to provide better suggestions, they should be equipped to analyze problems and the environment. This requires education.

3. Efficiency. Only in the third stage, after the workers are both interested and educated, should management be concerned with the economic impact of the suggestions.

You'll encounter difficulties if you try to skip stages one and two and move straight to the third stage.


Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen

Mini-Kaizen: Quick and Easy Kaizen

Quick and Easy Kaizen

Quick and easy Kaizen is aimed at increasing productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction, all from a very grassroots level. It empowers employees, enriches the work experience and brings out the best in every person. It improves quality, safety, cost structures, delivery, environments, throughput and customer service.

Quick and Easy Kaizen recognizes that the person doing a job is the best expert on that job. It encourages everyone to make small improvements that are within their power to implement. Over time, these thousands of small improvements result in major effects.





Every company employee is encouraged to come up with ideas – however small – that could improve his/her particular job activity, job environment or any company process for that matter. The employees are also encouraged to implement their ideas as small changes can be done by the worker him or herself with very little investment of time.

Quick and easy Kaizen helps eliminate or reduce wastes, promotes personal growth of employees and the company, provides guidance for employees, and serves as a barometer of leadership. Each kaizen may be small, but the cumulative effect is tremendous.

Three Key Characteristics

1. Permanent method changes. Change the method. Once the change is made, you can’t go back to the old way of doing things.

2. Continuous flow of small ideas. The smaller ideas, the better. Kaizen is small ideas. Innovation takes time and is costly to implement, but kaizen is just day-to-day small improvements that when added together represent both enormous savings for the company and enormous self-esteem for the worker.

3. Immediate local implementation. Be realistic. Kaizen is done within practical constraints.

Case in Point: Japan Human Relations Association (JHRA)

The Japan Human Relations Association (JHRA) is leading the quick and easy kaizen efforts throughout Japan with its training programs, workshops, and publications. JHRA only promotes quick and easy kaizen. They dropped all of the other HR functions for they believe that quick and easy kaizen is the best way to develop human resources within a company.






Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Lean Manufacturing


Lean is about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, labor, and money. "Lean manufacturing", a shorthand for a commitment to eliminating waste, simplifying procedures and speeding up production. Lean Manufacturing (also known as the Toyota Production System) is, in its most basic form, the systematic elimination of waste – overproduction, waiting, transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, defective units – and the implementation of the concepts of continuous flow and customer pull. Five areas drive lean manufacturing/production: cost; quality; delivery; safety; and morale. Just as mass production is recognized as the production system of the 20th century, lean production is viewed as the production system of the 21st century.

A Management Philosophy

Toyota perfected lean manufacturing in the 1990s, and now the concept is being put to use in other areas, such as organizational, distribution and logistics. Though books have been written detailing the steps to achieving lean manufacturing and many manufacturers have tried to emulate Toyota's success, few have actually done so. Why? Because they have failed to adopt lean manufacturing as a management philosophy that encompasses the entire organization. Instead, they see it only as a departmental solution.

Selected Key Terms of Lean Production





Lean Manufacturing, Lean Production, Toyota Production System (TPS)

The Seven Wastes To Be Eliminated

1. Overpoduction and early production – producing over customer requirements, producing unnecessary materials / products

2. Waiting – time delays, idle time (time during which value is not added to the product)

3. Transportation – multiple handling, delay in materials handling, unnecessary handling

4. Inventory – holding or purchasing unnecessary raw materials, work in process, finished goods

5. Motion – actions of people or equipment that do not add value to the product

6. Over-processing – unnecessary steps or work elements / procedures (non added value work)

7. Defective units – production of a part that is scrapped or requires rework.

Applications

Lean techniques are applicable not only in manufacturing, but also in service-oriented industry and service environment. Every system contains waste, i.e. something that does not provide value to your customer. Whether you are producing a product, processing a material, or providing a service, there are elements which are considered 'waste'. The techniques for analyzing systems, identifying and reducing waste, and focusing on the customer are applicable in any system, and in any industry.

Lean thinking may also be applied for getting rid of bureaucracy in your home office. To run your home office more effectively and faster you may need just as little as 10% of its current staff. Only executives who have a direct involvement with finding, keeping, or growing customers as well as key support staff – accountants, tax, legal and human resources people – should stay. Others can be rehabilitated by sending to an operating unit.

Case in Point: IBM

IBM regularly compare part counts, bills of materials, standard versus custom part usage, and estimated processing costs by tearing down competitor products as soon as the latter are available. Through such tear-downs during the heyday of the dot matrix printer, IBM learned that the printer made by the Epson, its initial supplier, was exceedingly complicated with more than 150 parts. IBM launched a team with a simplification goal and knocked the part count down to 62, cutting assembly from thirty minutes to only three.







Lean Production: an Overview

Basic Elements of Lean Manufacturing

The basic elements are waste elimination, continuous one piece workflow, and customer pull. When these elements are focused in the areas of cost, quality and delivery, this forms the basis for a lean production system. The lean production concept was to a large extent inspired by the Kaizen – the Japanese strategy of continuous improvement. Employee empowerment and promotion among them of a way of thinking oriented at improving processes, imitation of customer relationships, fast product development and manufacturing, and collaboration with suppliers are the key strategies of leading lean companies.

Characteristics

Integrated single piece continuous workflow

Close integration of the whole value chain from raw material to finished product through partnership oriented relations with suppliers and distributors.

Just-in-time processing: a part moves to a production operation, is processed immediately, and moves immediately to the next operation

Short order-to-ship cycles times; small batch production capability that is synchronized to shipping schedules

Production is based on orders rather than forecasts; production planning is driven by customer demand or "pull" and not to suit machine loading.

Minimal inventories at each stage of the production process

Quick changeovers of machines and equipment allow different products to be produced with one-piece flow in small batches

Layout is based on product flow





Active involvement by workers in problem solving to improve quality and eliminate wastes.

Defect prevention rather than inspection and rework by building quality in the process and implementing real time quality feedback procedures.

Team based work organizations with multi skilled operators empowered to make decisions and improve operations with few indirect staff.

Lean Production or Lean Manufacturing


Lean is about doing more with less: less time, inventory, space, labor, and money. "Lean manufacturing", a shorthand for a commitment to eliminating waste, simplifying procedures and speeding up production. Lean Manufacturing (also known as the Toyota Production System) is, in its most basic form, the systematic elimination of waste – overproduction, waiting, transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, defective units – and the implementation of the concepts of continuous flow and customer pull. Five areas drive lean manufacturing/production: cost; quality; delivery; safety; and morale. Just as mass production is recognized as the production system of the 20th century, lean production is viewed as the production system of the 21st century.

A Management Philosophy

Toyota perfected lean manufacturing in the 1990s, and now the concept is being put to use in other areas, such as organizational, distribution and logistics. Though books have been written detailing the steps to achieving lean manufacturing and many manufacturers have tried to emulate Toyota's success, few have actually done so. Why? Because they have failed to adopt lean manufacturing as a management philosophy that encompasses the entire organization. Instead, they see it only as a departmental solution.

Selected Key Terms of Lean Production




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Kaizen & Lean Production


Toyota Production System (TPS): Lean Manufacturing

Toyota’s Global Competitive Advantage

Toyota’s global competitive advantage is based on a corporate philosophy known as the Toyota Production System. The system depends in part on a human resources management policy that stimulates employee creativity and loyalty but also on a highly efficient network of suppliers and components manufacturers. The fundamental reason for Toyota's success in the global marketplace lies in its corporate philosophy - the set of rules and attitudes that govern the use of its resources. Toyota have successfully penetrated global markets and established a world-wide presence by virtue of its productivity. The company's approach to both product development and distribution is very consumer-friendly and market-driven. Toyota's philosophy of empowering its workers is the centrepiece of a human resources management system that fosters creativity and innovation by encouraging employee participation, and that likewise engenders high levels of employee loyalty. Knowing that a workplace with high morale and job satisfaction is more likely to produce reliable, high-quality products at affordable prices, Toyota have institutionalized many successful workforce practices. Toyota has done so not only in its own plants but also in supplier plants that were experiencing problems. Although many car manufacturers have earned a reputation for building high-quality cars, they have been unable to overcome Toyota's advantages in human resource management, supplier networks and distribution systems in the highly competitive car market. Much of Toyota's success in the world markets is attributed directly to the synergistic performance of its policies in human resources management and supply-chain networks. Specific Factors Underlying Toyota's Success

Lean manufacturing system. An effective and efficient human resources management system, the cornerstone of which is a high level of employee

loyalty and commitment to quality. A state-of-the-art assembly system incorporating the latest robotic technology. A well-coordinated network of world-class suppliers. A highly effective and efficient just-in-time (JIT) inventory system.

Lean Production: Toyota Production System (TPS) 7 Principles of Toyota Production System

1 Reduced Setup Times

2 Small-Lot Production

3 Employee Involvement and Empowerment

4 Quality at the Source

5 Equipment Maintenance

6 Pull Production

7 Supplier Involvement



Lean Manufacturing: 7 Principles of Toyota Production System

1. Reduced Setup Times: All setup practices are wasteful because they add no value and they tie up labor and equipment. By organizing procedures, using carts, and training workers to do their own setups, Toyota managed to slash setup times from months to hours and sometimes even minutes.

2. Small-Lot Production: Producing things in large batches results in huge setup costs, high capital cost of high-speed dedicated machinery, larger inventories, extended lead times, and larger defect costs. Because Toyota has found the way to make setups short and inexpensive, it became possible for them to economically produce a variety of things in small quantities.

3. Employee Involvement and Empowerment: Toyota organized their workers by forming teams and gave them the responsibility and training to do many specialized tasks. Teams are also given responsibility for housekeeping and minor equipment repair. Each team has a leader who also works as one of them on the line.

4. Quality at the Source: To eliminate product defects, they must be discovered and corrected as soon as possible. Since workers are at the best position to discover a defect and to immediately fix it, they are assigned this responsibility. If a defect cannot be readily fixed, any worker

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can halt the entire line by pulling a cord (called Jidoka).

5. Equipment Maintenance: Toyota operators are assigned primary responsibility for basic maintenance since they are in the best position to defect signs of malfunctions. Maintenance specialists diagnose and fix only complex problems, improve the performance of equipment, and train workers in maintenance.

6. Pull Production: To reduce inventory holding costs and lead times, Toyota developed the pull production method wherein the quantity of work performed at each stage of the process is dictated solely by demand for materials from the immediate next stage. The Kamban scheme coordinates the flow of small containers of materials between stages. This is where the term Just-in-Time (JIT) originated.

7. Supplier Involvement: Toyota treats its suppliers as partners, as integral elements of Toyota Production System (TPS). Suppliers are trained in ways to reduce setup times, inventories, defects, machine breakdowns etc., and take responsibility to deliver their best possible parts.


Kaizen, Lean Production, Japanese Suggestion System, Kaizen, Lean Production, Japanese Suggestion System

Canon Production System (CPS): 9 Wastes To Be Eliminated and 3 Benefits



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6 Guidelines of Canon's Suggestion System

1. Always show a positive response to suggestions for improvement.

2. Help workers to write easily and give them helpful suggestions about their work.

3. Try to identify even the slightest inconvenience for the workers. (This requires very good superior-subordinate communication.)

4. Make the target very clear. Example: How many suggestions do we need this month? Which area (quality, delivery, manpower, etc.) do we need to work on now?

5. Use competition an games to arouse interest, such as displaying individual achievement charts.

6. Implement accepted suggestions as soon as possible. Give awards before payday.

Award System

Canon employees are offering around 50 improvement ideas per year per employee.

Canon provides awards for individuals, small groups and workshop units. These awards are intended to show management's appreciation for the efforts and the results.

A unique feature of Canon's suggestion system is the lifetime cumulative award system. Each suggestion is given a certain number of points, and every year President's Awards are given to the 20 people who have accumulated the most points since the system's inception. Each recipient receives a certain amount of money and a gold medal. Since this can get a bit repetitious, there are also Presidential Awards for the most points in a given year, the top 30 people receiving a smaller amount of money and silver medals.

The list of Annual Awards provided at Canon includes: Model Workshop Award, Runner-up Model Workshop Award, Award for Eliminating 9 Wastes, CPS Performance Award, Excellent Small-Group Activities Award, Cumulative-Point Presidential Award, Annual-Points Presidential Award, Special Presidential Award.

Canon gives also Gold, Silver, and Special awards to their suppliers that have built promising systems for Quality, Cost, and Delivery.


Kaizen, Lean Production, Kaizen, Lean Production, Kaizen, Lean Production, Kaizen, Lean Production

Just-In-Time Manufacturing: Benefits and HP Case Study

Why JIT?

In Kaizen, JIT is a is a collection of concepts and techniques for improving productivity. JIT is a process aimed at increasing value-added and eliminating waste by providing the environment to perfect and simplify the processes.

What is JIT?

Just-in-time manufacturing means producing the necessary items in necessary quantities at the necessary time. It is a philosophy of continuous improvement in which non-value-adding activities (or wastes) are identified and removed. Putting this concept into practice means a reversal of the traditional thinking process. In conventional production processes, units are transported to the next production stage as soon as they are ready. In JIT, each stage is required to go back to the previous stage to pick up the exact number of units needed.

JIT Components

Production Leveling; Pull System; Kamban (label or signboard) system; Good Housekeeping; Small Lot Production; Setup Time Reduction; Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM); Total Quality Control (TQC); JIT Purchasing; Line Balancing; Flexible Manufacturing; Small-group Activities (SGA)

Kamban – a Communication Tool in JIT Production System

Being a very important tool for just-in-time production, kamban has become synonymous with the JIT production system. Kamban, meaning label or signboard, is used as a communication tool in JIT system. A kamban is attached to each box of parts as they go to the assembly line. A worker from the following





process goes to collect parts from the previous process leaving a kamban signifying the delivery of a given quantity of specific parts. Having all the parts funneled to the line and used as required, the same kamban is returned back to serve as both a record of work done and an order for new parts. Thus kamban coordinates the inflow of parts and components to the assembly line, minimizing the processes.

Barriers to Successful JIT

Lack of long-term commitment and leadership for management.

Insufficient empowerment of workers.

Documents

Lean Manufacturing