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In today's companies, new catch phrases and ideas are being developed each and every day. One of the more popular ideas that is circulating around these days is the idea of just-in-time manufacturing. Many magazines and newspapers have documented the efforts of companies to develop and implement just-in-time processes. The question can be asked, though, what does just-in-time mean? How does a company implement just-in-time processes, and what are the results of implementation? Just-in-time manufacturing is basically the idea that companies should

the beginning of the manufacturing process and shipment to the customer.

of these strategies are some of the most difficult tasks in just-in-time manufacturing.

One key idea that must be understood about just-in-time manufacturing is throughput time. This is the time between the start of the manufacturing process and the end, where the product is ready to be shipped. Five key elements are involved in throughput time. The first element is processing time, or the time actually spent working on the product. Next is inspection time and moving time. Moving time is simply the amount of time spent moving the product from one production department to another, as

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An example of this kind of report is shown in Table II.

American