Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • discuss the origin of the “just-in-time” (JIT) philosophy;
  • apply continuous quality improvement strategies to improve organization processes;
  • categorize non value-adding activities into eight types of waste:
    • defects
    • overproduction
    • waiting
    • non-utilized talent
    • transportation
    • inventory
    • motion, and
    • extra-processing;
  • explain the use of “kanbans” in JIT pull systems; and
  • describe the strategic elements in Lean for the use in manufacturing and service organizations.