I could go on for pages and pages with more of these
“myths.” There seems to be an inexhaustible supply of “why
it’s got to be done this way” myths at every factory.
The people who still subscribe to these myths have little
idea how outdated they became when the “whatever you
make will sell” era came to a close. They may hear consumers
complain, but they don’t really listen to the complaints and
think about them.
It is amazing how many factories are still like that.
When visiting such factories to discuss the JIT production
system, I have sometimes gotten the impression that
introducing JIT improvement programs at factories so firmly
rooted in shish-kabob production is like praying to a horse
or giving a penny to a cat.
As I said earlier, we have to begin with the awareness
revolution. It is a good idea to somehow make the need for a
change in consciousness a topic on everyone’s mind at both
the start and end of the workday routine. It is also a good
idea to make the adoption of the JIT production system
a theme for QC circles and other small group activities.
Another effective device is to invite outside experts to give
employee seminars.
If the 5S’s are the foundation for improving the factory, then
we could say that the awareness revolution is the premise
for JIT production. If we can change people’s minds, we can
do anything.
JIT production system concepts should be used to overhaul
conventional thinking and cannot simply be used to
supplement the old philosophy. Hard as this is, JIT awareness
revolution means discarding work methods that are the
result of years of study and experience, and long-accumulated
know-how. It even goes beyond that and requires everyone
to consider the present way of doing things as the worst
possible way.
The kind of “improvements” called for by the JIT production
system are not the easy kind of minor improvements that