Here at last is the first-ever encyclopedic picture book of JIT. With 218 pages of photos, drawings, and diagrams, this unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at actual production and assembly plants illustrates exactly how JIT looks and functions. It shows the way each area of a JIT plant is set up and provides hundreds of useful ideas you can implement, including: Multiprocess handling Cell technology manufacturing One-piece flow Quick changeovers Visual control systems Kanban and andon If you've made the crucial decision to run production using JIT and want to show your employees what it's is all about--this book is a must. The photographs, from various Japanese production and assembly plants, provide vivid depictions of what work is like in a JIT environment. And the text, simple and easy to read, makes all the essentials crystal clear. Truly, a picture is worth a thousand words. You won't find a more accessible or enjoyable introduction to JIT anywhere. It's obvious why this is already one of our most popular books.

"It is a book for manufacturing companies that are fighting desperately for survival and that will go to any length to improve their factories and overcome the obstacles to success. One could even call this book a bible for corporate survival."Hiroyuki Hirano Known as the JIT bible in Japan, JIT Implementation Manual The Complete Guide t

Written in clear, straightforward language, Just-in-Time Manufacturing: An introduction discusses in-depth the implementation of JIT manufacturing. The objectives are twofold: firstly, to acquaint the reader with the overall JIT concept and the factors necessary for its implementation, and secondly to reinforce this with an actual case study of JIT implementation in a manufacturing company.

The concrete tools manufacturing enterprises need to thrive in today's global environment For a manufacturing enterprise to succeed in this current volatile economic environment, a revolution is needed in restructuring its three main components: product design, manufacturing, and business model. The Global Manufacturing Revolution is the first book to focus on these issues. Based on the author's long-standing course work at the University of Michigan, this unique volume proposes new technologies and new business strategies that can increase an enterprise's speed of responsiveness to volatile markets, as well as enhance the integration of its own engineering and business. Introduced here are innovations to the entire manufacturing culture: An original approach to the analysis of manufacturing paradigms Suggested methods for developing creativity in product design A quantitative analysis of manufacturing system configurations A new manufacturing "reconfigurable" paradigm, in which the speed of responsiveness is the prime business goal An original approach to using information technology for workforce empowerment The book also offers analysis and original models of previous manufacturing paradigms' technical and business dimensions—including mass production and mass customization—in order to fully explain the current revolution in global manufacturing enterprises. In addition, 200 original illustrations and pictures help to clarify the topics. Globalization is creating both opportunities and challenges for companies that manufacture durable goods. The tools, theories, and case studies in this volume will be invaluable to engineers pursuing leadership careers in the manufacturing industry, as well as to leaders of global enterprises and business students who are motivated to lead manufacturing enterprises and ensure their growth.

The one manual that every corporate executive should read again and again re-released for the first time in an affordable paperback version Known as the JIT bible in Japan, this six-volume set present the genius of Hiroyuki Hirano who leaves no detail to chance in explaining ho

Our economy and future way of life depend on how well American manufacturing managers adapt to the dynamic, globally competitive landscape and evolve their firms to keep pace. A major challenge is how to structure the firms environment so that it attains the speed and low cost of high-volume flow lines while retaining the flexibility and customization potential of a low-volume job shop. The books three parts are organized according to three categories of skills required by managers and engineers: basics, intuition, and synthesis. Part I reviews traditional operations management techniques and identifies the necessary components of the science of manufacturing. Part II presents the core concepts of the book, beginning with the structure of the science of manufacturing and a discussion of the systems approach to problem solving. Other topics include behavioral tendencies of manufacturing plants, push and pull production systems, the human element in operations management, and the relationship between quality and operations. Chapter conclusions include main points and observations framed as manufacturing laws. In Part III, the lessons of Part I and the laws of Part II are applied to address specific manufacturing management issues in detail. The authors compare and contrast common problems, including shop floor control, long-range aggregate planning, workforce planning and capacity management. A main focus in Part III is to help readers visualize how general concepts in Part II can be applied to specific problems. Written for both engineering and management students, the authors demonstrate the effectiveness of a rule-based and data driven approach to operations planning and control. They advance an organized framework from which to evaluate management practices and develop useful intuition about manufacturing systems.