Just In Time

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Just-In-Time (JIT) is a Japanese manufacturing management method that was developed in the 1970’s. It was first adopted by Toyota manufacturing plants by Taiichi Ohno. One motivated reason for developing JIT was a need of a better production technique after World War II. Japanese people had a very strong incentive to develop a good manufacturing technique to help them rebuild the economy. They also had a strong working ethnic which was concentrated on work that caused continuous improvement. These kinds of motivation had driven Japanese economies to succeed. Because of the natural constraints and the economy constraints after World War II, Japanese Manufacturers looked for a way to gain the most efficient use of limited resources. The Toyota Company implemented this into their plant and turned the management and accounting principles around to effectively and efficiently move inventory in and out very quickly while also concentrating on the manufacturing aspects of their cars. After the first introduction of JIT by Toyota, many companies followed up and around mid 1970s’and it gained extended support and widely used by many companies around the world.

Just in Time is an inventory strategy implemented to improve the return on investment of a business by reducing in-process inventory and its associated carrying costs. JIT can lead to dramatic improvements in a manufacturing organization's return on investment, quality, and efficiency. Just-in-time means, quite literally, that an assembler on a line receives his consignment of parts "just in time" to use them. The system is based on an ideal situation in which a part arrives just in time to be used. The system also operates on the strength of very small lot quantities of replacement parts. This type of system produces only quantities necessary to fulfill the demands of the next operation. The quantity is pulled when it is needed, where it is needed, and in the exact quantity which is needed. The company will also need to ensure that the process has adequate response time to maintain an uninterrupted schedule. Companies can make great strides in JIT by reducing setup and changeover times for machinery. JIT recognizes that any motion which does not add value to a product increases the no value added cost of the product. Reduction of setup and changeover time reduces the no value added costs attached to a product.

With Just in Time management, a company can dramatically improve its product quality.

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