A FRAMEWORK AND MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT FOR JUST-IN-TIME MANUFACTURING

While Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing has emerged as one of the major tools to enhance manufacturing competitiveness, no attempt has been made to develop a reliable and valid measurement instrument for empirical research in JIT. Without such an instrument, generalization beyond the immediate sample is difficult or misleading. We have proposed a JIT framework and developed a valid and reliable instrument with 16 summated scales for dimensions that capture essential aspects of JIT useful in assessing its impact in manufacturing environments. In addition, we discuss in detail the interactive nature of JIT practice. And, we propose a step-by-step approach to reliability and validity testing. Four JIT practices (equipment layout, pull system support, supplier quality level, and Kanban) are identified as major contributing factors to JIT performance.