Heijunka

Concept

A lean method that levels production by volume and mix over time, so a plant follows a steady, repeating pattern instead of swings in orders, which reduces stock, overtime and lead time.

Title graphic: Heijunka (Concept)

Descrizione

Heijunka is the Japanese word for levelling. In production it means smoothing the schedule over time, both in volume and in mix, so that the plant follows a steady, repeating pattern instead of following every swing in orders. Instead of building all of product A in the morning and all of product B in the afternoon, it builds small amounts of both in a repeating sequence.

Levelling reduces peaks in workload, overtime and stock, and it makes the demand on suppliers calmer. It needs short changeovers and reliable processes, which is why it is linked to SMED and standard work. Heijunka is often used together with kanban and a pull system, and it is one of the foundations of the Toyota Production System.

Tipo	Concept
Noto anche come	Production leveling, Level scheduling, Produktionsglättung

Articles about Heijunka (1)

Heijunka (Production Leveling): How It Works in Real Plants
2026-11-11 · Mirko Peters
Heijunka levels the type and quantity of production over a fixed period. Learn how leveling by volume and mix works, with a heijunka box example and numbers.

Relationship map of Heijunka: linked topics

Related to

iFAKT GmbH · Organization
Polaris Optimizer · Product
Finite capacity scheduling · Concept
Lean management · Concept
Just-in-time production · Concept
Setup time · Concept
Batch size · Concept

Glossario

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Esperti e aziende per questo argomento

Mirko Peters · Microsoft MVP

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Maintained by Mirko Peters (Microsoft MVP) · Last updated: 2026-11-11