Lean Manufacturing/Jit Production
Lean Manufacturing/JIT Production
“Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well - that's work. Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about.” ~Bruce Hamilton
Continuous improvement is what makes companies profitable. Not only must they constantly innovate their product and services to satisfy the needs of their consumers, but also their processes that aren’t so efficient for the company. One way they do this is by cutting costs from manufacturing and production. There are many reasons as to why companies want cut costs. Companies want to create additional cash flow, reduce price of product or service, increase company and customer value, increase competitive advantage, and want to move costs between departments. As the competition grows between companies, many firms are forced to seek more innovative methods to reduce costs and cope with the competition. CEO’s must consider all options to do this, and two options that they have are lean manufacturing and just in time (JIT) production. Whereas there are similarities between the two, there are also fundamental differences between the two methodologies. That said, the two could also work perfectly well together, and there are many advantages of using both methods together. Just in time production is a production strategy that strives to improve a business’s return on investment by reducing inventory and carrying costs. JIT requires that processes show some level of stability and consistency. For this instance, stability means the reduction of systemic errors, and the results achieved, must remain consistent. The fundamental component of JIT is the elimination of waste while adding value. Dell is one company that implements this JIT method. While JIT focuses more on inventory management, Lean manufacturing focuses on manufacturing and operations management.
“Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well - that's work. Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about.” ~Bruce Hamilton
Continuous improvement is what makes companies profitable. Not only must they constantly innovate their product and services to satisfy the needs of their consumers, but also their processes that aren’t so efficient for the company. One way they do this is by cutting costs from manufacturing and production. There are many reasons as to why companies want cut costs. Companies want to create additional cash flow, reduce price of product or service, increase company and customer value, increase competitive advantage, and want to move costs between departments. As the competition grows between companies, many firms are forced to seek more innovative methods to reduce costs and cope with the competition. CEO’s must consider all options to do this, and two options that they have are lean manufacturing and just in time (JIT) production. Whereas there are similarities between the two, there are also fundamental differences between the two methodologies. That said, the two could also work perfectly well together, and there are many advantages of using both methods together. Just in time production is a production strategy that strives to improve a business’s return on investment by reducing inventory and carrying costs. JIT requires that processes show some level of stability and consistency. For this instance, stability means the reduction of systemic errors, and the results achieved, must remain consistent. The fundamental component of JIT is the elimination of waste while adding value. Dell is one company that implements this JIT method. While JIT focuses more on inventory management, Lean manufacturing focuses on manufacturing and operations management.