A manufacturer of auto parts has just learnt about the Toyota production system and is trying to implement JIT. Traditionally there has been no control on the amount of work in process inventory between stages (it has been known to exceed 500 parts between some stages). As a first step the amount of work in process inventory between stages is limited to a maximum of 20 parts. What, if any, impact does this have on the output from the factory on the short term?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Limiting the maximum size of the buffer to 20 parts is equivalent to limiting the queue capacity. Reducing the queue capacity reduces the throughput. Thus, limiting the work in process inventory will lead to a reduction in the output from the factory.

A Manufacturer of Auto Parts Has Just Learnt About the Toyota