JIT in Construction Industry Compared with Productions Industry

Abstract

As the industry becomes more competitive, all manufacturers attempt to produce items at the lowest feasible cost while maximizing resource utilization and reducing inventory waste. The concept JIT has been very well known since the mid-1980s when manufacturers endeavored to overcome competitive challenges by implementing newly developed management theories and procedures. Production JIT refers to the practice of shifting work from one process to the next "just-in-time," or when the succeeding process requires it, resulting in higher throughput. Manufacturing JIT reduces work-in-process inventory and, as a result, working capital. Even better, product development cycle times are lowered because materials spend less time in queues waiting to be processed. The most major benefit of manufacturing JIT, however, is that it forces a reduction in flow variation, resulting in steady, on-going improvement. Is it possible to employ this strategy in construction in this research project? How does "Construction JIT" function and what does it entail?