- The Just-in-time is a management strategy that aligns raw-material orders from suppliers directly with production schedules.
- Companies use this strategy to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving goods only as they need them for the production process, which reduces inventory costs.
- JIT method requires producers to forecast demand accurately.
- The main objective of JIT manufacturing is to reduce manufacturing lead times, and this is primarily achieved by drastic reductions in WIP.
- Just-in-time (JIT) is easy to grasp conceptually; everything happens just-intime.
- For example consider you are entering the bus stop just before the bus arrives, reaching the training just before the session start.
- After the training session, you get on the bus/train just before the rain started.
- But, in reality, it is not true, so it can’t happen this way. So a minimal amount of buffer has to be kept.
- Minimizing the buffer and the variation is the key.
-
JIT does not come for free – it
requires certain changes to
the factory and the way it is
managed must occur before
the benefits can be realized.
Among these changes are:
- Stabilize production schedules
- Increase production capacities of manufacturing work centers
- Improve product quality
- Cross-train workers so that they are multi-skilled and competent in several job works.
- Reduce equipment breakdowns through preventive maintenance
- Develop long-term supplier relations that avoid interruptions to material flows