Best Practice

Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

By Richard Bird, Jerry Durant, Michele Tomasicchio, Lonnie Wilson Contents Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Best Practices Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Delegate responsibility to workers on the floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Ensure that line employees are properly trained. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Information systems must give employees a holistic view of operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A flexible work force and flexible machines are both important to achieving JIT production. . . . . . . . . 3 Visual controls are an important element to managing JIT production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Accountability and governance are key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Stability in production operations is a requirement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Contributing Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 About this Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About Ziff Davis B2B Ziff Davis B2B is a leading provider of research to technology buyers and high-quality leads to IT vendors. As part of the Ziff Davis family, Ziff Davis B2B has access to over 50 million in-market technology buyers every month and supports the companys core mission of enabling technology buyers to make more informed business decisions. Copyright 2012 Ziff Davis B2B. All rights reserved.

Contact Ziff Davis B2B 100 California Street, 4th Fl., San Francisco, CA 94111 Tel: 415.318.7200 | Fax: 415.318.7219 Email: b2bsales@ziffdavis.com www.ziffdavis.com

Ziff Davis | Best Practice | Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

Executive Summary
Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing is not procrastination, but making a commitment once the scales are tipped in the favor of certainty, explains Focus Expert Jerry Durant. How do you keep your company from falling prey to the deer-in-the-headlights syndrome and suffering from decision failures? In this guide, Jerry and fellow Focus Experts Richard Bird, Michele Tomasicchio, Lonnie Wilson share their top 7 best practices for deftly managing JIT manufacturing. After reading this guide, be sure to check out the entire discussion and join the conversation: http://www.focus.com/questions/operations/best-practices-just-in-time-jit-management/.

Best Practices Checklist

1. Delegate responsibility to employees on the floor. 2. Ensure that line employees are properly trained. 3. Information systems must give employees a holistic view of operations. 4. A flexible work force and flexible machines are both important to achieving JIT production. 5. Visual controls are an important element to managing JIT production. 6. Accountability and governance are key. 7. Stability in production operations is a requirement.

ziffdavis.com

Page 2 of 5

Ziff Davis | Best Practice | Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

Delegate responsibility to workers on the floor.

On-floor activities must be managed by the folks there on the floor, and this means a new style of delegating that many companies find very difficult to attain. They typically have all the necessary resources to accomplish it, yet they struggle with how to give up the reins. (Wilson)

Ensure that line employees are properly trained.

Make sure people know what to do, when to do it and how to do it, including being skilled at problem-solving. This is largely a function of training, standard work and an escalation process. (Wilson) The JIT journey includes the development of the right organizational culture and capable team/people/leaders. (Tomasicchio)

Information systems must give employees a holistic view of operations.

Production capabilities to enable JIT must include highly reliable production and information systems. (Tomasicchio) Information systems must be in place that give line employees the facts they need to understand and respond to the plant status and needs. This is first and foremost a set of meaningful goals, well-understood and well-deployed -- as well as a sound system of transparency. (Wilson)

A flexible work force and flexible machines are both important to achieving JIT production.
As end customer demand and product mix can vary considerably, it is important to quickly adjust what you are producing to match the demand. This requires creativity in machine design, comprehensive training on the standardized work developed, and a work force that is open and willing to be involved in making it happen. (Bird)

Visual controls are an important element to managing JIT production.

If operations can be arranged such that they can see each other, small inventory buffers between operations can be used to provide visual production signals. The upstream operation

ziffdavis.com

Page 3 of 5

Ziff Davis | Best Practice | Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

then only produces parts if there is an empty space in the inventory buffer. (Bird)

Accountability and governance are key.

JIT requires decisions made based on certainty or time threshold requirements; it requires an understanding of what these decision elements are and must involve governance/ accountabilities. (Durant)

Stability in production operations is a requirement.

To achieve stability, reduce or eliminate variability in manufacturing operations and in delivery processes. Standardized work, SMED, 6 sigma, and other lean tools can be used to help eliminate variability. (Bird)

Read the entire discussion, and join the conversation:

http://www.focus.com/questions/operations/best-practices-just-in-time-jit-management/

Contributing Experts
Richard Bird Manager, Material Conveyance & Information Systems, Presstran Industries, Inc. www.focus.com/profiles/richard-bird/public/ Jerry Durant Chairman Emeritus, The International Institute for Outsource Management (IIOM) www.focus.com/profiles/jerry-durant/public/ Michele Tomasicchio Supply Chain & Manufacturing Manager, P&G www.focus.com/profiles/michele-tomasicchio/public/ Lonnie Wilson Owner, Principal Consultant, Quality Consultants www.focus.com/profiles/lonnie-wilson/public/

ziffdavis.com

Page 4 of 5

Ziff Davis | Best Practice | Best Practices for Managing Just-in-Time (JIT) Production

About this Report

Focus Best Practices Reports are designed to help professionals understand business and technology Best Practices for particular topic areas. The Best Practices forcluded in each report are sourced from Focus Experts who have exhibited expertise in the particular topic. Best Practices Reports are designed to be practical, easy to consume and actionable.

About Ziff Davis

Ziff Davis, Inc. is a leading digital media company specializing in the technology market, reaching over 40 million highly engaged in-market buyers and influencers every month. Ziff Davis sites, which feature trusted and comprehensive evaluations of the newest, hottest products, and the most advanced ad targeting platform. Ziff Davis B2B is a leading provider of online research to enterprise buyers and high-quality leads to IT vendors. More information on Ziff Davis can be found at ziffdavis.com.

ziffdavis.com

Page 5 of 5