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The most common definition of jidoka is “autonomation”. It is Japanese in origin, as are many specialized words in Lean. The term traces its roots back to the early 1900’s at Toyota in Japan, then a textile manufacturing company. Sakichi Toyoda, an inventor and the founder of Toyota, developed a Read more…
Job descriptions exist for nearly every position in nearly every company. They outline the overview of the job, responsibilities, work activities. They should also list job requirements, and clearly spell out which are mandatory, and which are “like-to-haves”. Job descriptions are most commonly used for recruiting purposes or during annual Read more…
Job rotation is an important concept in Lean. Simply put, it is the act of periodically moving people around to different tasks, accounts, or workstations. The rotation may be on a set schedule, or on an ad hoc basis. Cross-training is a prerequisite for successful job rotation. Job rotation is Read more…
Job satisfaction is a relatively simple concept. You have expectations about your work. When those expectations are met you are satisfied. When there is a gap between what you expect and the reality of your job, dissatisfaction creeps in. Job satisfaction plays a critical and often overlooked role in continuous Read more…
Job security is the feeling of safety that one’s job will be there in the future. Because job security is so closely linked to basic needs, like shelter and food, people react with strong emotions when their job security is threatened. In fact, job security falls into the first level Read more…
A job shop is a flexible production operation that builds to order. They specialize in (but are not limited to) low volume, high-mix work. They often do custom production rather than manufacture standard parts. A job is a discrete unit of work—same product, same setup—of a specified quantity. A job Read more…
Daniel T. Jones is one of the pioneers in Lean thinking. He co-authored The Machine That Changed the World and Lean Thinking. Jones is the founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy, part of the Lean Global Network that also includes the Lean Enterprise Institute.
Juran, formerly the Juran Institute, was founded by Joseph Juran in 1979. It is a training and consulting company that supports quality management, business process improvement, Lean manufacturing, and Six Sigma. Unlike many of the other organizations, it is a for-profit company. It is included in this list because of Read more…
Dr. Joseph M. Juran (December 24, 1904 – February 28, 2008) is well known for his work in managing to produce better quality, specifically in post-World War II Japan. Because of the timing and his area of expertise, he is closely associated with Deming. Deming, however, emphasized statistics in his Read more…
Just-in-case is a play on words of just-in-time manufacturing. Contingencies are one of the main reasons why people do many of the non-Lean activities that hurt an organization. Holding inventory just-in-case a shipment is late Batching some extra just-in-case there is a problem Buying an extra machine just-in-case it breaks Read more…
Just-in-time manufacturing is the method of producing products with only a minimal amount of raw material and component parts on hand. The concept of just-in-time manufacturing is nothing new. Henry Ford saw value in having a minimal amount of stock on hand—a concept which Taiichi Ohno took to heart as Read more…