Just In Time Strategy
Advanced
扩展学习音频 2
Marco: Hello English learners, welcome back to EnglishPod. My name is Marco.
Erika: And I'm Erika.
Marco: And we're bringing you a very advanced lesson today.
Erika: That's right. We're talking about another business topic, aren't we?
Marco: It's a topic that's kind of popular these days, all about efficiency and reducing costs. So we're going to be talking about the just-in-time philosophy.
Erika: I don't know much about this philosophy, so good thing we've got Marco here.
Marco: Well, what we are going to be looking at is not really in-depth. We're just going to be looking at some basic points of what a just-in-time philosophy would be like in a company. But what we're really going to be looking at is the language to do with this philosophy, right?
Erika: Exactly. We're going to be looking at some technical terms and some other useful phrases that you can use when you are talking in a business setting.
Marco: Okay. Well, why don't we get started with the language then?
Erika: Okay. Let's take a look at vocabulary preview.
Marco: Vocabulary preview. On vocabulary preview today, we have the word "lead time". Lead time. L-E-A-D, lead. Lead time.
Erika: Right. Like lead. This is something that factories usually would use.
Marco: Yeah. Yeah. I guess lead time is the time in between point A and point B on a production schedule, right?
Erika: Right. So you could have, for example, production lead time. So that's the time between when you make an order and when the product is finished.
Marco: Exactly. And you could also have delivery lead time. So the time between when you place an order and when the product gets delivered to you. So depending on the companies, you have different lead times. Some are three days, other are five days, other are 45 days.
Erika: And we at EnglishPod have a two week lead time for our podcast, right? But our delivery lead time is every other day.
Marco: That's true. Nice. Okay. That's all we're going to be previewing today. So why don't we just listen to the dialogue and then we'll come back and explain some of these tricky vocabulary words that we'll see.
Speaker: I called this meeting today in order to discuss our manufacturing plan. As I'm sure you're all aware, with the credit crunch and the global financial crisis, we're obligated to look for more cost-efficient ways of producing our goods. We don't want to have to be looking at redundancies, so we've outlined a brief plan to implement the just-in-time philosophy. We have two basic points that we want to focus on. First of all, we want to reduce our lead time.
我今天召集这个会议是为了讨论我们的生产计划。相信大家都清楚，受信贷紧缩和全球金融危机的影响，我们不得不寻找更有成本效益的产品生产方式。我们不想走裁员这一步，因此我们拟定了一个简要计划，准备推行准时化生产（JIT）理念。我们要重点抓两个基本点。首先，我们要缩短交付周期。Employee: Why would we want to do that? I think this is not an area that really needs to be
walkedon.我们为什么要这么做？我觉得这个环节其实并不需要怎么改动啊。Speaker: Well, we want to reduce production and delivery lead times for better overall efficiency.
这个嘛，我们希望缩短生产和交付周期，以提高整体效率。Employee: Right.
明白。Speaker: Production lead times can be reduced by moving workstations closer together, reducing queue length like, for example, reducing the number of jobs waiting to be processed at a given machine, and improving the coordination and cooperation between successive processes. Delivery lead times can be reduced through close cooperation with suppliers, possibly by inducing suppliers to locate closer to the factory, or working with a faster shipping company.
缩短生产周期可以通过以下方式实现：拉近各工位之间的距离、缩短排队等待长度（例如减少某台特定机器上等待加工的工件数量），以及加强后续工序之间的协调与配合。而缩短交付周期，则可以通过与供应商紧密合作来实现，比如引导供应商搬到距离工厂更近的地方，或者与速度更快运输公司合作。Employee: I see. That makes sense.
我懂了，这很有道理。Speaker: The second point is that we want to require supplier quality assurance and implement a zero-defects quality program. We currently have far too many errors that lead to defective items, and therefore, they must be eliminated. A quality control at the source program must be implemented to give workers personal responsibility for the quality of the work they do, and the authority to stop production when something goes wrong.
第二点是，我们要要求供应商提供质量保证，并推行“零缺陷”质量计划。我们目前有太多的失误导致次品产生，因此必须消除这些失误。必须推行“源头质量控制”计划，让工人对自己所做工作的质量承担个人责任，并赋予他们在出现问题时停止生产的权力。Employee: I'm with you on this one. It's essential that we reduce these errors. We've got to force our suppliers to reduce their mistakes.
这一点我完全赞同。我们必须减少这些失误。我们必须强制供应商减少他们的错误。Speaker: Exactly. Well, let's look at how we're going to put this plan into action. First...
一点没错。好了，我们来看看具体该如何把这个计划付诸行动。首先……
Erika: Okay, so they're going to implement just in time in their company.
Marco: Yes.
Erika: Yeah, I guess they're putting in some cost control measures. So, Marco, there's some great language in here. Why don't we look at it now in Language Takeaway?
Marco: Language Takeaway. Okay, the first word today: "Redundancies". Redundancies. Redundancies. Redundancies.
Erika: So this is kind of a strange word because usually a redundancy is when you're speaking, right?
Marco: Yeah, maybe when you say something that's already been said.
Erika: Exactly. You say something that has already been said, but we also use it in the business world.
Marco: Right, and it comes from the base word "redundant", right?
Erika: Okay. Meaning extra, more than what's needed.
Marco: Okay. So when a person or position is made redundant, basically it means they get laid off, right?
Erika: Right. So redundancies are a synonym of layoffs.
Marco: Exactly.
Erika: Okay. All right, let's take a look at our next word: "Workstations". Workstations. Workstations. Workstations.
Marco: So workstation could be anything from your desk.
Erika: Yeah, or maybe a workbench.
Marco: A workbench. Or even a place on a production line.
Erika: Right. So you're a certain machine or something like that. So basically a workstation is the area where you work.
Marco: Okay. So you can say, "Can we get a new workstation for the new team member?" Or I could say, "I want to move my workstation closer to my employees." All right. So workstation.
Erika: Okay, let's take a look at our next word: "At a given machine". At a given machine. At a given. At a given.
Marco: This is an interesting way to say "at any machine".
Erika: Exactly. Okay. So this is operating exactly the same as here, the word "given" is operating exactly the same way as "any".
Marco: As any. Yeah.
Erika: Okay. So let's listen to some examples of how we can change it up a little bit and we can use this "given" word.
Example 1: In this factory, how many cars are in production at any given time?
在这个工厂里，任意特定时刻有多少辆汽车在生产线上？Example 2: On any given day, about 40 million people use the internet.
在任何寻常的一天，大约有 4000 万人使用互联网。Example 3: Firefighters have to be ready to attend an emergency at any given moment.
消防员必须随时准备应对突发紧急情况。
Marco: All right. So "any given time", "at any given moment".
Erika: Yep. Um, "any given day".
Marco: Okay. Now let's take a look at our last word today: "Defective". Defective. Defective. Defective. Defective. Defective.
Erika: So if something is defective...
Marco: It has a problem with it.
Erika: It has a problem. Yeah. We can say defective is an adjective.
Marco: Right. And the noun is "defect". Defect.
Erika: Yep. So if something has a defect, it is defective.
Marco: Right. So for example, maybe you produce chairs and you make one and this chair is missing a wheel. Okay. So it's defective.
Erika: Yes. The defect is the missing wheel.
Marco: The defect is the missing wheel. Okay. And before we listen to our dialogue again, I want to take a look at this phrase: "I'm with you on this one." I'm with you on this one. I'm with you on this one. I'm with you on this one.
Erika: So what is that? What does that mean exactly?
Marco: "I'm with you on this one." I agree with you. I agree with you on this point. Exactly.
Erika: Okay. So if you agree with somebody on a certain point, you would say, "Oh, I'm with you on this one. I agree with you." Exactly.
Marco: Okay. So now, let's listen to our dialogue again and we'll come back and talk a little bit more about the history of this just in time.
Speaker: I called this meeting today in order to discuss our manufacturing plan. As I'm sure you're all aware, with the credit crunch and the global financial crisis, we're obligated to look for more cost-efficient ways of producing our goods. We don't want to have to be looking at redundancies, so we've outlined a brief plan to implement the just-in-time philosophy. We have two basic points that we want to focus on. First of all, we want to reduce our lead time.
我今天召集这个会议是为了讨论我们的生产计划。相信大家都清楚，受信贷紧缩和全球金融危机的影响，我们不得不寻找更有成本效益的产品生产方式。我们不想走裁员这一步，因此我们拟定了一个简要计划，准备推行准时化生产（JIT）理念。我们要重点抓两个基本点。首先，我们要缩短交付周期。Employee: Why would we want to do that? I think this is not an area that really needs to be worked on.
我们为什么要这么做？我觉得这个环节其实并不需要怎么改动啊。Speaker: Well, we want to reduce production and delivery lead times for better overall efficiency.
这个嘛，我们希望缩短生产和交付周期，以提高整体效率。Employee: Right.
明白。Speaker: Production lead times can be reduced by moving workstations closer together, reducing queue length like, for example, reducing the number of jobs waiting to be processed at a given machine, and improving the coordination and cooperation between successive processes. Delivery lead times can be reduced through close cooperation with suppliers, possibly by inducing suppliers to locate closer to the factory, or working with a faster shipping company.
缩短生产周期可以通过以下方式实现：拉近各工位之间的距离、缩短排队等待长度（例如减少某台特定机器上等待加工的工件数量），以及加强后续工序之间的协调与配合。而缩短交付周期，则可以通过与供应商紧密合作来实现，比如引导供应商搬到距离工厂更近的地方，或者与速度更快运输公司合作。Employee: I see. That makes sense.
我懂了，这很有道理。Speaker: The second point is that we want to require supplier quality assurance and implement a zero-defects quality program. We currently have far too many errors that lead to defective items, and therefore, they must be eliminated. A quality control at the source program must be implemented to give workers personal responsibility for the quality of the work they do, and the authority to stop production when something goes wrong.
第二点是，我们要要求供应商提供质量保证，并推行“零缺陷”质量计划。我们目前有太多的失误导致次品产生，因此必须消除这些失误。必须推行“源头质量控制”计划，让工人对自己所做工作的质量承担个人责任，并赋予他们在出现问题时停止生产的权力。Employee: I'm with you on this one. It's essential that we reduce these errors. We've got to force our suppliers to reduce their mistakes.
这一点我完全赞同。我们必须减少这些失误。我们必须强制供应商减少他们的错误。Speaker: Exactly. Well, let's look at how we're going to put this plan into action. First...
一点没错。好了，我们来看看具体该如何把这个计划付诸行动。首先……
Erika: All right, so Marco, I mentioned at the beginning of the lesson that I don't know much about just-in-time, but luckily you do, right?
Marco: Yeah, I know a little bit about it.
Erika: So tell me a little bit about where this philosophy came from. What are the origins of this idea?
Marco: It actually became really popular with Toyota, and it was called the Toyota Production System. So many people think it's Japanese, but in reality, the Japanese got it from the United States. It's a philosophy that was thought up by Ford Motor Company in order to improve their production line. But when the Japanese visited Ford Motor Company, it wasn't fully implemented yet, and oddly enough, they found this philosophy working already in a Piggly Wiggly.
Erika: What's a Piggly Wiggly?
Marco: Piggly Wiggly was a chain of grocery stores in the United States. I'm not sure if they're still around, but yeah, they were really big, and basically Piggly Wiggly was using this to improve their whole system of shipping and of stocking and everything.
Erika: Okay, so how does it work?
Marco: So basically what you try to do is make your processes more efficient, reduce the amount of space you're using, et cetera. And this was really important for Japanese because, of course, they don't have that much space in Japan to have these huge warehouses like in other countries.
Erika: So what you're saying is they're producing goods just for the time they need it, right?
Marco: Exactly.
Erika: So trying to not be overstocked or—
Marco: Or have a long lead time or something. Long lead times where you have to keep something in a warehouse, exactly. So that's why it's so efficient. And also it's about improving the efficiency between processes. So what's sometimes called a bottleneck. You can have really good processes in the beginning, but in the end, maybe you have only one workstation that's taking all these orders and everything gets bottled up and it causes delays.
Erika: It's slow, yeah.
Marco: So in the dialogue, they want to implement the just-in-time strategy as a way of avoiding redundancies. But it sounds to me like actually this might cause redundancies sometimes.
Erika: Well, yeah, sometimes it does. Sometimes when you make workstations more efficient or when you make all your processes work more fluidly, sometimes inevitably you will have to lay off some people that are redundant.
Marco: Okay. Have you ever worked in a company where they've implemented just-in-time?
Erika: No, actually, I've never really worked at a place where this philosophy was working, but I did used to work at a place where we had Six Sigma, which is a little bit similar.
Marco: Well, I guess we'll need a lesson on Six Sigma in the future.
Erika: Yeah, we'll see if we come up with Six Sigma and what it means. It's kind of interesting, but we want to hear what you think.
Marco: Yes. Have you guys worked in a place where they use just-in-time? Exactly. Or if you have any quality control measures or how does your company avoid having defective items or defective services?
Erika: So visit our website, EnglishPod.com. And Marco and I are always around to respond to your comments and answer your questions.
Marco: Exactly. So until then, it's—
Erika: Goodbye.
Marco: It's a nice day.
