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Heijunka production, a core element of Toyota Motor Company's well-known Just-in-Time production methodology, was developed to deliver vehicle orders in the shortest lead time, with minimum inventory and maximum production efficiency. It achieves this by averaging (“leveling out”) production quantity and model. Adaptable to any production environment, the Heijunka production is an effective tool for industries with low-mix/low-volume production systems. In our case study, a manufacturer of interior subassembly items for commercial jets implemented Heijunka production and achieved significant improvement in inter-process inventory, lead time and productivity. Most notably, inter-process inventory was reduced to 20% in just five years.

The Kanban system is an essential tool for implementing a Just-in-Time (JIT) production process, which enabled Toyota Motor Company to achieve the highest productivity in the automotive world. Furthermore, it can be also a useful management method in other types of industries as well. In future, many organizations and business other than the automobile industry will discover the benefits of the Kanban system in achieving what we call “lean operation”. The Kanban system is an integral part of an overall Kaizen (“continuous improvement”) undertaking, acting as a visual control tool. Any JIT production process incorporating a Kanban system requires Heijunka (“leveled production”). This report includes an overview of an actual Kaizen operation incorporating a Kanban system at a sub-assembly process for aircraft components. After implementing the Kanban system, the average inventory cost was reduced by approximately 42% in one year.

For a 1997 model year passenger car, Honda has released an all-new 3.0 liter, transversely mounted, SOHC VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) V6 engine. This compact, light-weight, state-of-the-art V6 engine achieves 147 kW @ 5500 rpm, improves fuel economy, and uses regular unleaded fuel. This is the world's first SOHC VTEC V6 engine, and the first V6 to be manufactured in the United States by Honda.