How can companies uncover production problems Why is it impo

How can companies uncover production problems? Why is it important that companies uncover production problems before embarking on JIT/Lean Manufacturing? Provide an example of what might happen if this is not done

Solution

Production problems can be uncovered through various means:

1. Frequency quality checks during the production process:

2. Planned Preventive maintenance.

3. Total Quality management by involving cross functional teams, to get customer feedback, solve the problems and sustain the same.

4. Being proactive about any upcoming problem through probable symptoms that are observed in the process.

Few reasons why companies need to uncover production problems before embarking on JIT/Lean Manufacturing are given below;

1. Lean Manufacturing is a risky process with minimum tolerance. If you don\'t solve the existing problem, maintaining a lean system or JIT will cause more trouble. For e.g.: If you have an existing problem, your system may breakdown without any indication and hence when the system resumes, JIT won\'t help. Since you don\'t have backup inventory your customer has already suffered loss and you have already lost a part of your business.

2. With Lean Manufacturing in place, you don\'t have any space for doing unplanned maintenance. Thus a breakdown due to some existing problem, will harm the system deliverables and finally the system will revert back to its normal one. In that case all the investment made for the JIT process will be a waste.