Enna is now offering our Just in Time (JIT) Factory Flow Kit to help train employees in the basics of Just in Time Manufacturing. If your company is serious about implementing a Lean Transformation, every employee should go through this training. This hands-on simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of Just in Time manufacturing compared to normal manufacturing; it shows how much easier job functions can be and how efficient all employees can become if the simple and easy rules of JIT are followed.

Videos about JIT vs Mass Production

The simulation takes approximately 90 minutes from start to finish. The first round is performed in the traditional manufacturing process (batch production). The participants operate in isolated departments and material is moved from department to department by the material handler. Since quality inspection is extremely important in this type of manufacturing environment, all work is routed through a quality inspector. Measurements of lead-time, quality, production, work-in-process inventory, number of changeovers, and profitability are measured through each of the three rounds of the simulation. Between the first and second rounds of this exercise there is a brief presentation on the elements of JIT.

In the second round batch sizes are cut in half while the participants stay in the traditional layout. The outcome of the second round proves that smaller batch sizes actually promote faster throughput without negatively affecting output. In the third round, the simulation is run with a batch size of one unit. During this the participants learn the concept of 'pull' from person to person and are encouraged to change the manufacturing layout to best promote flow. The concept of flow is extremely powerful and this round is where the participants learn how to flow and pull inventory from one process to the next. All the measurements drastically improve in the third round and this clearly cements the benefits of JIT and Lean. Measurements taken at the end of the simulation show remarkable improvements over traditional batch processing in lead-time, quality, production, work-in-process, flexibility of changeovers, and of course, overall profitability.

Use this simulation exercise to train all employees. It is dynamic enough for high-level management training, yet has enough detail for production staff as well. We at Enna encourage all our customers to purchase this product as it provides the "Ah-ha, I get it!" factor for all your employees. In less than two hours you will have all your staff agreeing to move to a Lean Production System.

Ranjula Bali Swain is Visiting Professor and Research Director at the Center for Sustainability Research (CSR), Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. She is also Professor of Economics at Södertörn University, Sweden.

Uma Kambhampati is Head of School in the School of Politics Economics and International Relations and Professor, Department of Economics, University of Reading, UK.