Just-In-Time (JIT) Manufacturing: What? Where? When?

Rahul Iyer, ASQ CQEOctober 2015Mesa AZ USA

Introduction to Just-In-Time (JIT) Manufacturing

What is JIT?History of JITApplication of JIT

What is JIT? JIT-Just In Time Manufacturing-a methodology aimed

primarily at reducing flow times within production as well as response times from suppliers and to customers

Can be attributed to Toyota Production Systems (TPS), and Lean Manufacturing methodology

Can include the use of kanban: a Japanese manufacturing system in which the

supply of components is regulated through the use of a card displaying a sequence of specifications and instructions, sent along the production line.

Components and goods do not “sit around” too long in holding area waiting for next step in process

What is JIT? (Cont'd)

Graphical Description of a Kanban

Diagram of a JIT Manufacturing

Operation

History of JIT

Not exactly clear as to when developedTraditionally Attributed to Post WW II Japan: developed &

implemented at Toyota --Ohno, Taiichi (1988), Just-In-Time for Today and Tomorrow, Productivity Press, ISBN 0-915299-20-8.

Could be argued that it was developed in 1890 in Bombay by Mahadeo Havaji Bachche, when he setup the Dubbawallah System--Ravichandran, N (2005), World Class Logistics Operations: The Case Of The Bombay Dubbawallahs, Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management.

History of JIT

What is a Dubbawallah?

– is a person in India, most commonly in Mumbai, who is part of a delivery system that collects hot food in lunch boxes from the residences of workers in the late morning, delivers the lunches to the workplace, predominantly using bicycles and the railway trains, and returns the empty boxes to the worker's residence that afternoon. They are also made use of by meal suppliers in Mumbai where they ferry ready, cooked meals from central kitchens to the customers and back.

Application of JIT Assembly of automobiles

(Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Harley Davidson)

Assembly of Computers (Dell)

Meal Delivery Systems (Mumbai Dubbawallah, Airline meals)

Conclusion

JIT-Just In Time Manufacturing is a methodology that has been adopted across many industries

It helps to reduce waste & many techniques have been applied for it

It is not a new idea, dating back to the 1890s in India, or Post WW II in Japan

It is increasingly becoming part of our lives each day.