JIT Manufacturing Essay Research Paper JustInTime Systems

JIT Manufacturing Essay, Research Paper

Just-In-Time Systems

In today’s companies, new catch phrases and ideas are being developed each and every day. One of the more popular ideas that is circulating around these days is the idea of just-in-time manufacturing. Many magazines and newspapers have documented the efforts of companies to develop and implement just-in-time processes. The question can be asked, though, what does just-in-time mean. How does a company implement just-in-time processes, and what are the results of implementation. Just-in-time manufacturing is basically the idea that companies should

the beginning of the manufacturing process and shipment to the customer.

of these strategies are some of the most difficult tasks in just-in-time manufacturing.

One key idea that must be understood about just-in-time manufacturing is throughput time. This is the time between the start of the manufacturing process and the end, where the product is ready to be shipped. Five key elements are involved in throughput time. The first element is processing time, or the time actually spent working on the product. Next is inspection time and moving time. Moving time is simply the amount of time spent moving the product from one production department to another, as well as back and forth from storage areas. The last two elements of throughput

time are waiting, or queue, time and storage time. Queue time is the amount of time a product is waiting at a production department before being worked on, while storage time is the amount of time raw materials, finished goods, and works-in-progress actually stay in storage. Just-in-time philosophy says that the first element, processing time, actually adds value to the product,

while the last four key elements do not.1 Thus, there are value-added activities and nonvalue-added activities. Just-in-time manufacturing tries to decrease the amount of time spent on nonvalue added activities as much as possible. Just-in-time philosophy was first used by Toyota in Japan. Since that time, many companies around the world have begun to successfully implement just-in-time processes, including several companies in the United States. The implementation of just-in-time processes have taken on a familiar pattern in these companies. Usually it is begun by training everyone in the company about the just-in-time philosophy. The basic just-in-time concepts that employees would be trained in and made to follow as guidelines are listed in Table I.

Table I

* Visualize the process in as few steps as possible.

* View inventory as moving, not static.

* Emphasis should be placed on the synchronization of each process.

* Simplify, combine, eliminate

* Wastes are: over and under production, unnecessary steps, and excessive

inventory and motion.2

These basic ideas are not unique to just-in-time, but are crucial in training employees about the just-in-time philosophy. Most companies have realized now that the just-in-time philosophy is an important component in the idea of total quality management. Total quality management has the same goals as just-in-time, but also seeks as few errors as possible between each stage of production. Just-in-time philosophy is a tool that top-level managers use to implement total quality management. Most companies today seek this implementation, and follow the following steps.

The first step to implementing TQM/JIT manufacturing is to train the top management in the basic concepts of these ideas. Once this is accomplished, the next step is to form a top-level team. This team’s responsibilities include deciding upon an organizational structure and

developing a plan to implement TQM/JIT within the company. This plan should include the company’s goals concerning production, as well as how to establish this plan among all employees (i.e. motivation and discipline). This plan should then be used to establish the overall philosophy of the

company concerning TQM/JIT.3 Next, the system should be implemented to every aspect of the company from supplier to distributors. First, each department should establish its goals and a specific problem to attack. Then, a team should be chosen by each department and team leaders established. The teams should focus on the reduction of costs and the elimination of wastes. Data must then be collected on the teams’ problems. This data should be plotted in order to find excess waste or costs. Once this is done, measurements should be made as far as average costs, cycle times, and error rates. Manipulation of this data should show at least some apparent problems in the current system. Further analysis should help in the implementation of TQM/JIT by showing problem areas. In addition, the data could be used to show the effects of implementing TQM/JIT into the company.4 After the beginning of implementation, it is crucial that every employee believe in the concepts listed in Table I. Otherwise, the system could fail. Once implemented, though, just-in-time systems must be continually monitored and preventative actions performed. For instance, if a fault in a product is discovered because of a faulty wire, that roll of wire is removed. In a complete just-in-time system, however, the process does not stop there. The manager would check the warehouse and determine if th

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