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Quality Focus Paper Just-in-Time Production and Lean Manufacturing

Keller Graduate School of Management
Spring Semester, May 2010 Session
GM588: Managing Quality (online)
Instructor: Robert Lee
5 June 2010

Table of Contents
I. Introduction 3
What is it? 3
Background 5
History 7
II. Literature Review 9
Significance in Practice 9
JIT and Lean Thought Processes 10
JIT & Lean Thinking – General Principles 10
Advantages/Benefits of JIT/lean 10
Major Advantages/Benefits of JIT 11
Major Advantages/Benefits of Lean Productions 11
Relevance of JIT/lean in Today’s Businesses 11
Mistakes of Implementation 13
Additional Challenges 13
III. Demonstrations and Applications in the Business World 16
Survival Strategy for Business 16
List of Companies that use JIT/lean production techniques 18
Best Practices & Successful Implementation 18
IV. Conclusion and Reflection 20
References 22

Introduction * What is it?
Just-in-Time (JIT) production is a set of principles applied to manufacturing and inventory to control the purchase of materials to produce units on a need-basis. JIT is set on the philosophy that controlling raw materials purchased for production to bring them into the manufacturing process as they are needed leads to cost savings and production efficiencies. JIT focuses on realizing that holding little or no inventory has economic and quality values for the organization. Manufactures receive raw materials from suppliers only to be used immediately in production, using those materials in the production to promptly produce the final product quickly and efficiently, with a fast throughput to the customer. JIT production focuses on purchasing just enough materials to have on-hand only enough to fill the demands, seeking to keep production overhead material costs low. No inventory is