Heijunka

The Leveling Art of the Japanese Auto Industry

De: Mohammed Hamed Ahmed Soliman

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Heijunka (Japanese for “production leveling” or “production smoothing”) is a key technique in achieving Just-In-Time (JIT) production. Its purpose is to smooth production across all departments and suppliers, ensuring a steady and predictable workflow while minimizing inventory.

Heijunka works by leveling both production volume and product mix. Instead of producing strictly according to fluctuating customer orders, it distributes the total demand over a period, maintaining a consistent daily output. This steady pace supports upstream and downstream operations, reduces waste, and helps teams consistently meet the defined takt time.

By implementing Heijunka, organizations can stabilize operations, improve flow, and maximize value throughout the production system.

Don't bother

It is supposed to be focused on Heijunka (which is consistently mispronounced throughout) but it is not. Also, aside from the computer voice that doesn't know when to put inflections in the sentences, there are a ton references to graphs and illustrations that you can't picture mentally.