A simple, low-risk approach to JIT

The movement to just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing philosophies and techniques will be critical to the survival of many manufacturing entities that compete in the world-wide marketplace. Unfortunately, the process of converting to JIT can be a survival-threatening experience in itself, but this need not be the case. This paper will describe several simple, low-risk, and low-cost approaches used at the Lake Stevens Instrument Division of Hewlett-Packard to successfully achieve a work-orderless JIT manufacturing environment. In particular, the paper will describe how to gain most of the benefits of JIT in a low-volume, high-mix environment without incurring the complexities and risks associated with a complete post-deduct (backflush) JIT implementation. Three phases of implementation will be described: a pull process with work-orders, a work-orderless pull process with distinct stores and WIP inventories, and a partial implementation of a post-deduct process with online storage of combined stores and WIP inventory. The paper will also discuss the risks and trade-offs associated with implementing a post deduct process and present the results that can be achieved with a less complex strategy for achieving JIT manufacturing.