the manufacturing process must be eliminated. These characteristics are as follows (Maskell, 1986b):
1. WIP is eliminated by reducing batch sizes (pre ferably to just one).
2. Raw materials inventories are eliminated by requiring suppliers to deliver directly to the shop floor just in time for use in the manufacturing process. 4
3. Scrap and rework are eliminated by an emphasis on total quality control of design, of the manufacturing pro cess, and of materials.
4. Finished goods inventories are eliminated by reducing lead times, so that, in effect, all products are made to order.
5. Materials handling costs are eliminated by redesign of the shop floor to permit materials to move directly between adjacent work centers.
The accent on quality was lost in American industry in the post World War II era, when the country's industry could sell almost anything that it made, at a
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