Imagine a world where materials and information appear just as you need them and are supplied in the correct sequence and quantity according to customer demand. No storage, no additional transportation or motion to manage, but flow of materials and information without interruptions, as needed, when needed, with the quantity and quality needed – this is just-in-time.

JIT is a specific form of logistics management, but the initial idea was based on practicing seamless cooperation between stakeholders. JIT systems are established by level pulling as close to takt time as can be and creating continuous flow, but this requires teamwork as many elements require alignment and engaged planning. Most often, when working to create JIT workflow, we start to see challenges between organizations and departments that we regularly live with as assumed normal business practices. While working to create the ideal logistics that result in the least waste, being able to clearly pinpoint our challenges in a value stream is one of the benefits of JIT.

Where did it come from?

Steaming from Toyota’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, who had a vision of creating just-in-time, and further developed by Taiichi Ohno’s drive to employ pull with Kanban(1). Kanban is a system to use visual queues (cards or similar) to prompt action to keep a process flowing. Ohno’s inspiration came from the way customers picked only the items they wanted from shelves at American supermarkets. JIT is one of the truest forms of practicing lean thinking and working together towards a waste-free flow of work. At Toyota, JIT is combined with built-in quality they call jidoka, as the two basic pillars of workplace organization.

It is critical to understand that Kanban is the tool that made just-in-time possible by helping logistics visualize the flow of information and materials throughout an operation at all times, while also providing a mechanism to see blockages and analyze why. It is also a tool to achieve pull.

Although JIT management is more of an ideal state for most, from a logistics perspective, JIT is about providing only what is needed, when it is needed, in the amount that is needed. For some organizations who are well on their lean journey, such as the manufacturing company Toyota, JIT conditions are practiced to emphasize teamwork, collaboration, and learning to reduce production waste. This is counter to the perception that JIT is merely a logistics mechanism.

JIT Tools

Some of the key tools that require JIT systems include mapping out the value stream to understand the parts and systems followed by tools such as takt and pull planning to set the flow of work. Once there is clarity of what needs to happen and when work or information is needed, we are now much more informed to be able to plan the logistical components of delivering work as needed, when needed, with the quantity and quality needed.

In complex systems like most of the projects we work in, other tools like built-in quality and Kanban drive improved flow and reduced waste. Even with the clearest and aligned plan, if the materials and work we produce have defects, JIT becomes less useful. This is why healthy quality programming with mockups, first-run studies and ensuring what we do is done right this first time. And without systems like Kanban to communicate when the customer is ready for more work, such as leveraging controlled staging areas or other inventory management systems that focus on pull, JIT becomes wasted effort.

JIT Principles

Successful implementation begins with clarity of purpose and value, cross-functional collaboration, and intentional learning. In the AEC industry, our project lifecycles are a lot shorter than a manufacturing setting which makes our organizational approach, as well as the partners we work with, even more important.

Our projects typically don’t afford the time for engrained implementation across the entire supply chain. This is why some level of planning, alignment, and learning must happen before the project starts to lead to a more successful flow of work and reduced waste JIT can create.

Selecting partners who are willing to practice JIT should be a driver of the best value and more importantly a project first approach. Learning together and even practicing on projects to learn what works better for various scopes of work will accelerate implementation and more importantly the results.

In the next blog post, I will go over how we can use JIT in the construction industry.

Additional resources /further reading.

[1] “Toyota Production System” by Taichi Ohno, 1987
[2] “Design for Operational Excellence” by Kevin Duggan, 2012.
[3] “Lean thinking” by James Womack & Daniel Jones, 1996
[4] Discovering Hidden Profit by Peter Marks and Robert Martichenko, 2016