Unit -6

JIT PHILOSOPHY

Just-in-Time (JIT) is not just a manufacturing technique but a philosophy of

manufacturing that influences a company's relationship with its suppliers,
customers, and employees. The two basic underpinnings of this philosophy are
elimination of anything that does not add value for the customer, and
continuous improvement. Thus, the emphasis is on efficient utilization of
resources, where resources can include time, material, and people. JIT activities
include setup and lead time reduction, minimization of inventory, employee
involvement in the decision making process, cooperative arrangements with
suppliers, and a focus on meeting the needs of the customer.

The JIT philosophy fosters an environment, where continuous improvements

are sought in waste reduction and quality. Another important aspect of the JIT
philosophy is that improves the relationships with employees, and employees
are given broad problem-solving and decision-making authority.

JIT Just-in-Time manufacturing

`Just-in-time' is a management philosophy and not a technique.

It originally referred to the production of goods to meet customer demand exactly, in time, quality
and quantity, whether the `customer' is the final purchaser of the product or another process further
along the production line.

It has now come to mean producing with minimum waste. "Waste" is taken in its most general sense
and includes time and resources as well as materials. Elements of JIT include:

 Continuous improvement.
o Attacking fundamental problems - anything that does not add value to the product.
o Devising systems to identify problems.
o Striving for simplicity - simpler systems may be easier to understand, easier to manage
and less likely to go wrong.
o A product oriented layout - produces less time spent moving of materials and parts.
o Quality control at source - each worker is responsible for the quality of their own output.
o Poka-yoke - `foolproof' tools, methods, jigs etc. prevent mistakes
o Preventative 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:
o waste from overproduction.
o waste of waiting time.
o transportation waste.
 o processing waste.
o inventory waste.
o waste of motion.
o waste from product defects.
 Good housekeeping - workplace cleanliness and organisation.
 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.
 Levelled / 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.

JIT - Background and History

JIT is a Japanese management philosophy which has been applied in practice since the early 1970s
in many Japanese manufacturing organisations. 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 marketplace 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 ethic involves the following concepts.

 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 fulfilment of
company goals.
Differences Between JIT & Lean Manufacturing

The terms lean manufacturing and "just in time," or JIT, are often used as if they're the same thing,
but they aren't identical concepts. Just-in-time manufacturing is focused on efficiency, while lean
manufacturing is focused on using efficiency to add value for your customer. It's not a question of
either-or: Just-in-time manufacturing can be practiced on its own, or as one step in your lean
manufacturing process.

Just-in-Time Manufacturing

Before JIT was introduced by Toyota, most manufacturers kept large amounts of inventory available
just in case they needed it. Taiichi Ohno of the Toyota corporation developed a production system of
ordering parts in small quantities, based on short-term production cycles. The process was designed
to ensure that a part would arrive just in time to be used, eliminating the need to keep it in inventory.
Toyota found that the just-in-time system reduced lead time on orders by one third and reduced
production costs by 50 percent, and the system eventually spread to many other companies.

Lean Manufacturing Principle

Lean manufacturing takes the concept of JIT and reexamines in the light of customer value. The first
step in the lean manufacturing process is to consider what the real value of your product is for the
customer. For instance, if your customer is buying a stereo speaker, he might be looking for sound
quality, durability and affordability. The first principle of lean manufacturing is that every step in the
production process must add something of value that the customer actually wants.

The Value Stream

The next step in the lean process is to examine every activity involved in manufacturing your
product, to understand which activities add value and which don't. Then, redesign your
manufacturing process to remove activities that don't add value, as far as it's possible.

For instance, if your stereo speaker customer is looking for affordability, sound quality and durability,
using high-quality parts would add value by improving the durability and sound quality of the product.
Transporting parts from a distant warehouse to the manufacturing plant would not. Switching to a
just-in-time manufacturing process would reduce transportation and warehousing costs, making the
speakers more affordable. The new process adds value by increasing efficiency.
Flow and Pull

Once everything that does not add value has been removed from the value stream, your
manufacturing process should flow more efficiently. At this stage in the process, lean manufacturing
and just in time are identical. The next step in leaning manufacturing is to only manufacture what
your customer orders or requests, so that customer demand or "pull" drives your production. This is
similar to just in time in that new parts are ordered based on short-term requirements, but the driving
force behind the efficiency of the process is customer value rather than cost reduction.

As you learn more about what customers really want, You'd repeat the process over and over again,
with the goal of creating the perfect product at the perfect price.