World Class Manufacturing in the 1990s: Integrating JIT, TQC, FA, and TPM with Worker Participation

In the 1980s, we have witnessed revolutionary changes in the concepts and practices of the management of manufacturing systems. Numerous unconventional production management techniques, mostly tributed to such well respected Japanese production management pioneers as Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo, have been not only taught but also applied in many American firms. Technical terms originated in Japan such as JIT (Just-in-Time), Kanban, SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Die), and Poka-yoke have already become terms frequently used in the United States by practitioners in industries and faculty and students in academic institutes as well. There is no doubt that Japanese production management experts and their innovative concepts and techniques have greatly facilitated productivity improvements in many American plants. However, the most important lesson we can learn from Japan, in our opinion, is their attitude of “never satisfying with the status quo”. We believe that “continuous improvement” is the real key to gain competitiveness in the 1990s. American companies should not simply dwell on what they have learned from their Japanese competitors and be content with the productivity improvements they have managed to gain so far. Facing an increasingly dynamic international markets, American firms cannot afford to overlook any potential means for “continuous improvement” [21].