Principle 4
Level Out the Workload, Like the Tortoise, Not the Hare (Heijunka)
In general, when you try to apply the TPS, the first thing you have to do is to even out or level the production. And that is the responsibility primarily of production control or production management people. Leveling the production schedule may require some front-loading of shipments or postponing of shipments and you may have to ask some customers to wait for a short period of time.
—Fujio Cho, President, Toyota Motor Corporation
Following the early lead of Dell Computer and other successful companies, many businesses in America rushed to a build-to-order model of production. In the on-demand world we live in, they seek to make exactly what the customers want ...
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