The traditional approach to manufacturing management promotes a strong focus on machine and labor utilization. The view was that if managers make sure that workers and machines are always busy, then surely the factory will be productive and efficient. This approach is called the “push” system of manufacturing, where raw material and work-in-process is continuously pushed through the factory in the pursuit of high utilization. The problem with this approach is that it usually produces high levels of inventories, long lead times, overtime costs, high levels of potential rework, and workers who are competing with one another rather than working cooperatively.
In contrast to the push system, JIT espouses a “demand-pull” system that operates on the rule that work should flow to a work center only if that work center needs more work. If a work center is already occupied with work activity, the upstream work center should stop production until the downstream work center communicates a need for more material. The emphasis on maintaining high utilization is removed in a JIT environment. The focus of a JIT environment is on addressing the challenges that affect the overall effectiveness of the factory (setup time reduction, quality improvement, enhanced production techniques, waste elimination, etc.) in meeting its strategic goals, rather than allowing excess inventory to cover up inefficiencies that reduce the factory’s competitiveness.
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