Just in Time

“Must have JIT experience”, “What?” I did not know what it was, or meant. Just In Time (JIT) is the production process rooted on the basis of the system working just when and as it is needed, while attempting to eliminate waste. JIT is designed to keep inventory costs down, by eliminating large inventory. The concept is to have manufacturing parts arrive just in time to be picked then assembled, and arrive just in time for the customer’s use.

Just In Time production concepts originated in Japan, and are generally associated with the Toyota motor company. JIT was initially known as the “Toyota Production System” and its originator was Taiichi Ohno. Ohno examined American manufacturing and devised a new system of production based on the elimination of waste.

What did Ohno mean by the elimination of waste? As a general term waste refers to time, resources, and material. Over production wastes resources, a worker who spent time idle, waiting on the next item wastes time, and wastes associated with keeping stocks were identified as areas of waste to be eliminated. The concepts consisted of Just In Time meaning that the production system moves items only when and, as they are needed. Autonomation the automating of production systems for inspection sped up this process of eliminating waste by automatically detecting defects.

The JIT production hit the West in the 1980’s. It was basically the same concepts as Ohno's,