We’ve all heard that Lean and the Just in Time System are the Same.  And, while there are some similarities, the two systems are in fact, different.  Generally speaking, the Just In Time System makes up one pillar of a Lean Organization and although the principles and techniques can be applied to service environments, the Just In Time philosophy is mainly used in manufacturing.  The philosophy helps an organization achieve three main focuses:

• Produce only what your customers want.
• Produce when your customers want.
• Produce only the amount your customers want.

  Jidoka is a term that describes one of the key pillars of the Toyota Production System.  Sakichi Toyoda first invented Jidoka or Autonomation back in the mid 1890's.  He created a stop so that when a broken thread occurred the machine would detect the abnormality and stop the loom from spinning, saving material.  The phrase jidoka can be defined as "automation" with a human touch.  The automation of machines gives operators the unique ability to run more than one machine while ensuring if anything goes wrong the machine will stop giving someone an opportunity to remove the cause and contain the abnormality.  There are four critical stages involved in Jidoka:
  1.  Detect the abnormality.
  2. Contain or stop the abnormality.
  3. Fix the abnormality.
​  4. Solve the root cause and ensure it does not happen again.