What trade-offs are involved in shifting from a traditional

Solution Summary

Shifting from a traditional operations system to a lean operations system in a manufacturing firm means a paradigm shift. The basic philosophy of manufacturing which involves the perceived safety of holding warehoused finished goods and inputs, to a philosophy of ordering Just in Time, requires confidence in the abilities of workers to produce on demand, equipment to be ready and operational, the market has some predictability, and suppliers to be reliable. Any one of these variable, not producing as anticipated can result in the collapse of the lean operating system because the leanness is in the reduction of time between the order and the delivery and in the overhead cost of holding and warehousing. The trade-offs are the los of jobs as the process becomes lean nad more ...