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Just in Time: What Is It?
Just in Time production is a system of production that only makes and delivers what is needed, when it is needed. Simple in theory, it requires in practice a handful of lean elements to come together for successful Just in Time.
The Five main elements of Lean that can be used to create Just in time production are:
- Takt time, which is knowing the rate of demand of product from your customer.
- Continuous Flow, which is the opposite of batch processing.
- A pull system, often facilitated with Kanban triggers and a FIFO Lane or supermarket.
- Line balancing, which is combining shorter processes into longer processes to eliminate queues and other wastes.
- Removing any or all of the Eight Wastes to improve flow.
All of these things work together in harmony to assist in creating only product that is actually requested.
By David McLachlan
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