Just In Time Manufacturing: How the JIT System Can Decrease Costs, Increase Productivity, and Enhance Quality

Just-in-time production (JIT) is receiving widespread recognition among U.S. executives as the manufacturing system that helped make Japan our major competitor. With its proven capacity to streamline the manufacturing process, lower inventory, and improve product quality and ROI, JIT may be the basis for a renaissance in American manufacturing. This book details exactly what JIT is, how to implement it, and how to make it work in the context of American business and culture. In clear, practical terms, it discusses how to assess opportunities for change with JIT, how to develop and plan the necessary changes in production and management, and ways of motivating middle management and other employees in a JIT system. Relying on examples of companies that have implemented JIT--including cutting-edge firms such as Hewlett-Packard--The Just-in-Time Breakthrough clears up several misconceptions about the process while providing managers with models for putting it into action.

"Just in Time" (JIT) is a Japanese-perfected manufacturing philosophy that can be successfully borrowed by North American organizations. This volume is a primer in that technique written by a specialist at Rath & Strong (Lexington, Mass.). Hay breaks down JIT into its waste-reducing key dimensions, treating the most technical aspects of "production flow" in Chapters 3-6. This section evokes some of the efficiency-oriented arguments of Kiyoshi Suzaki's technically competent but disappointing The New Manufacturing Challenge ( LJ 9/15/87). What makes Hay's volume special is its emphasis on employee involvement and instilling company-wide dedication to quality. The final chapters provide a detailed framework for implementing JIT. Recommended for production specialists. Gene R. Laczniak, Marquette Univ., Milwaukee
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.