Just in Time

When items are ready just in time, they don't

occupy so much space.
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Introduction
JIT is one of the tool of Lean manufacturing, which was first,
developed by the Japanese in the early 1970’s.

The Toyota manufacturer plant was the first to adopt the

technique, by its leader Taiichi Ohno.

Researchers have labeled JIT as a philosophy with three

main objectives:

1. reducing the inventories

2. making quality better and
3. providing on time production and shipment of products.

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Just-In-Time (JIT)
Defined

• JIT can be defined as an integrated set of activities

designed to achieve high-volume production using
minimal inventories (raw materials, work in process,
and finished goods)

• JIT also involves in the elimination of waste in

production effort

• JIT also involves in the timing of production

resources (i.e., parts arrive at the next workstation
“just in time”)
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 JIT and Lean Management
• JIT can be divided into two terms: “Big JIT” and “Little JIT”

• Big JIT (also called Lean Management) is a philosophy of

operations management that seeks to eliminate waste in all
aspects of a firm’s production activities: human relations,
vendor relations, technology, and the management of
materials and inventory.

• Little JIT focuses more narrowly on scheduling goods

inventory and providing service resources where and when
needed

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JIT – Pull system
It is dangerous to summarize JIT as a concept because of its breath but
most applicable definition is:

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Push and Pull
MRP is the classic push system. The MRP system
computes production schedules for all levels based on
forecasts of sales of end items. Once produced,
subassemblies are pushed to next level whether
needed or not.

JIT is the classic pull system. The basic mechanism is

that production at one level happens when initiated by a
request at the higher level. That is, units are pulled
through the system by request.

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MRP vs. JIT
These methods offer two completely different approaches to basic
production planning in a manufacturing environment. Each has
advantages over the other, but neither seems to be sufficient on its
own. Both have advantages and disadvantages, suggesting that both
methods could be useful in the same organization.

Main Advantage of MRP over JIT: MRP takes forecasts for end
product demand into account. In an environment in which substantial
variation of sales are anticipated (and can be forecasted accurately),
MRP has a substantial advantage.

Main Advantage of JIT over MRP: JIT reduces inventories to a

minimum. In addition to reducing inventory cost, there are substantial
side benefits, such as improvement in quality and plant efficiency.

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MRP - Merits & Demerits
Advantages Disadvantages
MRP  PUSH

Allows Managers to manage Can lead to large inventories

i.e. plan and control things
Requires maintenance of large
and complex databases

Allows for the planning and Can generate large quantities of

completion of complex scrap before errors are
assemblies as sub-components discovered
are delivered only by scheduled
need

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JIT - Merits & Demerits
Advantages Disadvantages
JIT  PULL

Limited and known final Every job is a ‘High Stress’

Inventory Rush order

Worker only consume their time Setup times will greatly impact
& raw Materials on what is throughput
actually needed

Each piece has a definite place Any problem will lead to

to go and immediate feedback is unhappy customers
given

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Kanban
Kanban is Japanese word for card or signboard. It is a technique for
building a control mechanism into the manufacturing system itself.
There are number of kanban techniques which can be employed. The
simplest form is known as Kanban Squares.

The squares are painted between the work centres for each item in
production. When a downstream kanban square is empty, this is the
signal for the material to be processed. The great virtue of this
technique is its simplicity.

There are several other methods of applying “pull” control in addition to

kanban squares (eg. Kanban cards).

In pull system, control is an integral part of the manufacturing

system while in push system (MRP), the control is a separate
entity controlled externally.

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Kanban

Upstream Downstream

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Two Card Kanban
This is a more sophisticated approach. This technique depends on
using production (P) and withdrawal (W) kanban cards and standard
containers. The kanbans contain simple information relating to the parts
to be produced. The cycle can be represented as five-stage procedure.

1. An empty container arrives at an output queue from a downstream

workcentre. Attached to this container is W kanban.

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Two Card Kanban
2. The W kanban authorizes material withdrawal and a full container is
sent to the workcentre downstream. The P kanban attached authorizes
the workcentre to manufacture product.

3. The workcentre completes a batch of product. The P kanban is now

attached to the full container at the output queue.

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Two Card Kanban
4. The empty container in the input queue is sent to the upstream
workcentre along with its attached W kanban.

5. The upstream workcentre is authorized to send a full container.

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Single Card Kanban
This technique is simpler as only withdrawal kanbans are used. The
five stage cycle is shown below. The process is similar to two card
kanban except production is controlled externally. This approach can
be considered to be a hybrid push-pull system.

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Other Kanban Techniques
There are number of other techniques available for implementing a pull
system. Some companies use signal kanbans. Here, when inventory
reaches a predetermined level a kanban is hung on a signal post where
it is highly visible.

Finally, some companies have

developed methods for transmitting
the signal to produce to a remote
location. This can be accomplished
in variety of ways;

1. Lights
2. Semaphore
3. Rolling coloured golf balls down
transparent tubing

Example of a Kanban Card

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Other Kanban Techniques

Semaphore flag signals

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 Determining the Number of
Kanbans Needed
 Setting up a kanban system requires determining
the number of kanbans cards (or containers)
needed

 Each container represents the minimum production

lot size

 An accurate estimate of the lead time required to

produce a container is key to determining how
many kanbans are required.

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 Kanban Calculation
Total Required Inventory (TRI) = Weekly Part Usage * Lead-
time of the supplier (weeks) * Number of locations for stock *
safety factor

Kanban Quantity = TRI / Container Capacity

Note: There are a number of other kanban calculations with

additional factors involved such as the variation of daily
demand etc

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Pre-requisites for Kanban
Kanban is a very simple yet efficient means of control. There are
however, a number of pre-requisites before Kanban can be employed
as the sole means of control.

 Repetitive Manufacture: Clearly, Kanban cannot be used in an

engineer to order (customized) environment.

 Machine Layout: Kanban cannot be used in a functional layout.

 Small lot sizes: In practice, for Kanban to be successful it is

essential that lot sizes are small. It means short changeover times.

 Stable Demand: Kanban cannot respond to highly fluctuating level

schedules.

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Traditional vs. JIT Approach
Traditionally, in the West, problems have been seen as
something to be avoided. In factories, problems such as
poor quality, unreliability of machines etc, have been
addressed by the use of safety stocks.

Sophisticated techniques have been developed to

determine the appropriate level of these stocks.

In addition to this, companies have invested in complex

computer systems for planning and control that help to
avoid such problems in manufacturing.

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Traditional vs. JIT Approach
This approach is sometimes likened to
a ship negotiating a river (river and
rocks analogy). The Western approach
is to increase the level of water to
allow the ship to pass. Where some
obstacles are too large to be covered,
radar is used to avoid the problems.

The JIT approach is fundamentally The Classical Approach

different. Here, the root causes of the
problems are attacked using a variety
of techniques (e.g. TQM, TPM and
SMED). Then, stock levels are
reduced and this reveals other
problems which themselves are
attacked. This process is repeated
indefinitely, leading to continuous
improvement (or Kaizen). The JIT Approach
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Examples of Successful
JIT Systems
Toyota is considered by many to be the poster child for JIT success.

The Toyota production strategy is highlighted by the fact that raw

materials are not brought to the production floor until an order is
received and this product is ready to be built.

No parts are allowed at a node unless they are required for the next
node, or they are part of an assembly for the next node.

This philosophy has allowed Toyota to keep a minimum amount of

inventory which means lower costs.

It also means that Toyota can adapt quickly to changes in demand

without having to worry about disposing of expensive inventory.
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Examples of Successful
JIT Systems
Dell has also used JIT principles to make its manufacturing process
a success.

Dell’s approach to JIT is different in that they leverage their suppliers

to achieve the JIT goal.

Dell is able to provide exceptionally short lead times to their

customers, by forcing their suppliers to carry inventory instead of
carrying it themselves and then demanding (and receiving) short
lead times on components so that products can be simply
assembled by Dell quickly and then shipped to the customer.

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Summary
While there is no generally accepted definition of JIT, it is best
thought of as a approach that attempts to reduce inventory and
eliminate waste.

It is a decentralised approach that means people at all levels in

the organisation are involved in decision-making.

JIT is the most influential idea in industry in the last twenty

years.

It is a philosophy that requires changes not only to plant and its

layout, but also attitudes throughout organizations.

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