Briefly compare a traditional manufacturing environment with a lean production and just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing environment

In a traditional environment, inventories of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods are accumulated in order to act as buffers in the event of unexpected demand. Typically, there is a "push" approach where the manufacturing process is started before the customer order is taken and inventory is subsequently pushed through the manufacturing process. In addition, the factory is organized where similar machines are grouped together. Machine operators do not need to be highly trained because they use very few different machines.

In a lean production and just-in-time (JIT) environment, there is a "pull" approach where the manufacturing process is not started until a customer order is taken. Buffers of inventory are not accumulated. In addition, the factory is laid out in manufacturing cells where all the machinery needed to make a product is available in one area. There is usually a limited number of highly reliable suppliers used and employees need to be highly trained and reliable as well. Emphasis is placed on reducing waste by not producing more product than is needed, not over-processing a product, not moving products or people more than is needed, and eliminating down time caused by people waiting for work to do and products waiting in mid-assembly.