Just-in-time: a timely opportunity for small manufacturers.

Just-In-Time: A Timely Opportunity for Small Manufacturers

Just-in-time production, or JIT, has probably received more attention than any other "new" manufacturing concept or technique. This attention can be attributed to the credit the JIT philosophy has received for much of Japan's

In the United States, manufacturers traditionally viewed inventory as a means to protect or buffer the company against all manufacturing and demand related disruptions. This approach was based on the assumption that managers had little or no control over such occurrences and thus inventory was held "just-in-case." In addition, large production batches were used to help amortize the cost of long set-up times and expensive equipment. Moreover, major manufacturers specialized in building support staff instead of relying on line workers. There was little interest in getting production workers involved in problem-solving, decision-making and cross-training.

In the 1970s major U.S. manufacturers, primarily of consumer goods, began to feel the pressure generated by Japanese competition. After the initial shock and the outcries for government intervention, corporate America started to rediscover manufacturing as an integral part of business operations and began to examine ways to improve its competitive position.

Initially, significant skepticism arose because Japan was thought to possess cultural, governmental, and geographic advantages uniquely required for successful JIT operation. Although it is true that the Japanese approach to implementation integrates such factors, evidence in this country and other Western economies support the idea that successful JIT implementation is not significantly culturally or government-based.

Since the initial shock, U.S. manufacturers have been exploring the possible utilization and adoption of JIT concepts to their operations. Both academic and professional journals in the production and inventory management area have presented much discussion on the characteristics and adaptability of JIT. Although there is no universal definition of what constitutes JIT, the followings are generally accepted as four of its more important components:

* Flexible workers who are more involved in the decision-making process.

* Equipment flexibility, which includes switching to smaller, simpler, more standardized equipment and/or reducing set-up times on existing or new equipment.