MB0044 Roll No
MBA SEMESTER II
MB0044 – Production & Operations Management
(Book ID: B1137)
Assignment Set- 1 (60 Marks)
Q1. Explain in brief the origins of Just In Time. Explain the different types of wastes that
can be eliminated using JIT
Ans. Just in Time (JIT) is a management philosophy aimed at eliminating waste and
continuously improving quality. Credit for developing JIT as a management strategy goes to
Toyota. Toyota JIT manufacturing started in the aftermath of World War II.
Although the history of JIT traces back to Henry Ford who applied Just in Time principles to
manage inventory in the Ford Automobile Company during the early part of the 20th Century,
the origins of the JIT as a management strategy traces to Taiichi Onho of the Toyota
Manufacturing Company. He developed Just in Time strategy as a means of competitive
advantage during the post World War II period in Japan.
The post-World War II Japanese automobile industry faced a crisis of existence, and companies
such as Toyota looked to benchmark their thriving American counterparts. The productivity of
an American car worker was nine times that of a Japanese car worker at that time, and Taiichi
Onho sought ways to reach such levels.
Two pressing challenges however prevented Toyota from adopting the American way:
1. American car manufacturers made “lots” or a “batch” of a model or a component before
switching over to a new model or component. This system was not suited to the Japanese
conditions where a small market required manufacturing in small quantities.
2. The car pricing policy of US manufacturers was to charge a mark-up on the cost price. The
low demand in Japan led to price resistance. The need of the hour was thus to reduce
manufacturing costs to increase profits.
To overcome these two challenges, Taiichi Onho identified waste as the primary evil. The
categories of waste identified included
overproduction
inventory or waste associated with keeping dead stock
time spent by workers waiting for materials to appear in the assembly line
time spend on transportation or movement
workers spending more time than necessary processing an item
waste associated with defective items
Taiichi Onho then sought to eliminate waste through the just-in-timephilosophy, where items
moved through the production system only as and when needed.