Dr A.K.Gupta et al.

/ International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology (IJEST)

A Conceptual JIT Model of Service Quality

Dr A.K.Gupta

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department

DCR University of Science & Technology
Murthal (Sonipat)-131039

Abstract

Just- in- Time (JIT) concepts have been successfully implemented in manufacturing organizations. There
is reasonable consensus among researchers that JIT is a useful and beneficial approach to reduce the
manufacturing costs while simultaneously improving the quality of a product. However, all reported
instances of successful and unsuccessful JIT practices lie with in manufacturing settings. However, these
JIT concepts and tools, originally developed in the manufacturing domain, can be identified, analyzed
and altered to fit and benefit service organizations. This paper proposes a framework to improve the
quality of services based on JIT concepts and practices that proved beneficial in manufacturing
organizations. A theoretical model of service quality is proposed based on the literature reviews in the
areas of service quality and JIT, field study, and the identified factors through initial analysis. A research
methodology to empirically test the model using actual data from service organizations to statistically test
the influence of JIT on service firms is outlined. Finally an architectural framework to support the
implementation of JIT in service organizations is provided.

Keywords: JIT, Service, quality

INTRODUCTION
There is a reasonable consensus among researchers that Just-In-Time (JIT) is a useful and beneficial approach
for reducing the manufacturing costs while simultaneously improving the quality of a product (Miltenberg,
1990). Numerous organizations have reported cost cutting and improved quality due to JIT practices (Crawford
et al). Most of the reported instances of successful and unsuccessful JIT practices lie within the manufacturing
domain. Some conceptual case studies of JIT applications in service sector (Inmam and Mehra, 1991; Savage-
Moore, 1988; Giunipero and Keiser, 1987) have reported the benefits of improved service to customers, reduced
response time/lead time, improved quality, reduced costs in different service organizations.
An expanding global competition, emerging new technologies and improved communications have
increased customers’ expectations for full satisfaction with the products and services they purchase.
Consequently, in recent years, many manufacturing and service companies have been challenged to increase
their focus on customer satisfaction and quality of products and services. Confronting the challenges of global
competition, companies worldwide are forced to find ways to reduce costs, improve quality, and meet the ever-
changing needs of their customers. One successful solution has been the adoption of JIT manufacturing
systems, which involve many functional areas of a company such as manufacturing, engineering, marketing, and
purchasing. JIT was developed in JAPAN in 1950s and subsequently achieved considerable success at Toyota.
JIT can be defined as a planning concept designed to eliminate waste. Waste is defined as anything other than
the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, space, and workers’ time, which are absolutely essential to
add value to the product or service.
Researchers (Bassett, 1992; Fitzsimmons, 1994; Norman, 1991) have realized that the challenges in service
organizations are not necessary of the same nature as manufacturing organizations. Services cannot be treated as
merely goods with some odd characteristics. As a matter of fact, the characteristics of most service firms differ
widely from those of manufacturing firms. However, some concepts and tools developed in the manufacturing
domain can be altered to fit and benefit service organizations. (Behara and Chase,1993) have adapted the
concept of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for service firms. Statistical Process Control (Apte and
Reynolds, 1995), just in time (Mehra and Inman, 1990), and Quality Circles (Lee and Dale, 1988) all originated
in manufacturing and then were adopted by SOM researchers to fit service organizations (Fitzsimmons, 1994).

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This paper is built on the premise that the service sector can also benefit from JIT philosophy. Our intent is to
develop a JIT model and a conceptual JIT architectural framework. While the model will explain the
relationship between JIT practices and service quality, the framework will provide an architectural support for
the service firms trying to implement JIT practices to improve service quality.
SERVICE PRODUCTION SYSTEM
Any discussion of service systems must look at how they differ from manufacturing systems. Prior studies and
analyses (Chase, 1981; Parasuraman, 1985; Ross, 1994) indicate the main features of a service, which
distinguishes it, form a product. These features include:
1. Inseparability of production and consumption
This involves the simultaneous production and consumption, which characterizes many services. Simultaneous
production and consumption also eliminates many opportunities for quality control intervention. Unlike
manufacturing, where the product can be inspected before delivery, services must rely on a sequence of
measures in order to ensure the consistency of output. This emphasizes the importance of process control in
services even more so than in manufacturing, since services at times do not deal with a physical product to
inspect.
2. The customer is a participant in the service process
Customer is always involved in service production process. Degree of customer involvement may vary. By
categorizing services on a continuum ranging from low to high contact; we can better appreciate the trade off
between flexibility and efficiency of operations (Chase, 1981). Generally high contact process technology is
more flexible to accommodate the unique needs of diverse customers. When the flexibility is high, efficiency is
often low because the conversion process can not be standardized.
At the low contact end of the continuum, the process technology can be less flexible, because customers are
absent during the conversion process, and consequently the operations can be oriented more towards
standardization and efficiency.
3. Intangibility
Because services are performances, ideas or concepts, rather than tangible objects, they often cannot be seen,
felt, etc., in the same manner in which goods can be sensed. When buying a product, the consumer may be able
to see, feel and test its performance before purchase. With services, the consumer must often rely on the
reputation of the service firm. These less measurable considerations have the potential to greatly influence
consumers’ perceptions and expectations of quality.
4. Perishability
This refers to the concept that a service cannot be saved or inventoried. The inability to store services is a
critical feature of most service operations. Vacant hotel rooms, empty airline seats and unfilled appointment
times for a doctor are all examples of opportunity losses. Perishability leads to the problem of synchronization
supply and demand, potentially causing customers to wait or not to be served at all.
5. Heterogeneity
Heterogeneity of services in consequences of explicit and implicit service elements relying on individual
preferences and perceptions.
6. Labor Intensiveness
Service operations are labor- intensive.
These features emphasize the essential uniqueness of service management and dispel the common belief
that manufacturing management principles can be applied to services without recognition of the uniqueness of
the service delivery system.
Service design is the determination of design specifications for a new service that fulfills the needs and
desires of a customer. These need and desires, customer wants, usually captured through customer surveys or
questionnaires performed by the marketing function of an organization. Customer wants are then translated by
management into performance specifications, which in turn will be translated by service designers into design
specifications. These design specifications are fed to the delivery function of a service firm to implement during
the delivery of the service. The process of service development and delivery, as described above, is depicted in
Figure 1.

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SERVICE QUALITY
Service quality can be defined as a measure of how well the service delivered matches the customer expectation
of the service (Lewis, 1989). Monitoring and measuring the quality of service is one of serious challenge facing
service firms. Various attempts have been made in this regard.
(Parsuraman et al., 1985) developed a service quality model shown in Figure 2 where service quality is
labeled as gap 5, the discrepancy between the expected and the perceived service. The model shows consumer’s
expectation of a service is influenced by communications with other consumers, personal needs, and past
experiences. On the other hand, four different types of gaps influence the consumer’s perception of a service
experience:
Gap 1: between consumer’s expectations and management perception of those expectations. This gap may be
due to the lack of understanding on the part of management what features connote high quality service to the
customers in advance.
Gap2: between the management perceptions of customer expectations and service quality specifications. Due to
the absence of total management commitment and due to certain constraints like lack of trained personnel,
fluctuations in demand etc. service quality specifications can not be met as per management perceptions of
customer expectations which may lead to gap2.
Gap 3: between service quality specifications and the level of fulfillment of these specifications during service
delivery. Employees play an important part in service delivery function. Their performance can not be
standardized which leads to variability in their performance and consequently gap3.
Gap 4: discrepancy between service delivery and the external communications to the customer. Lack of
customer awareness/visibility/information about certain service quality aspects during delivery may lead to gap
4.
Service quality as perceived by a consumer depends on the size and direction of Gap 5, which in turn,
depends on the nature of the gaps associated with the design, marketing, and delivery of services.
One of major disadvantages of the above development process is that it is sequential. Being sequential in
nature the voice of the customer passes through too many transformation procedures and filters before being
actually translated into an actual service. Thus, with every transformation point the gap, between the customer
and the delivery system grows bigger. Finally resulting in a great discrepancy between the customers’
expectation of a service and their perception of the service experience.
RELEVANCE OF JIT IN SERVICE QUALITY
Most people who think JIT as a system for reducing inventory do not consider the system to be applicable to
services. However it is observed that JIT consists of more than low inventory levels. It eliminates waste,
streamlines operations, promotes fast changeovers and close supplier relations, and adjusts quickly to changes in
demand. As a result, products and services can be provided quickly, at less cost, and in more variety.
JIT is a business approach/philosophy of supplying a product or service when it is needed, how it is needed
and in the exact quantity it is needed (Monden, 1983)]. JIT systems tend to have repetitive processes and
predictable material flow. Companies with JIT processes often focus on the elimination of waste, which is
defined broadly as anything that does not add value to a product. JIT emphasizes smooth and continuous process
flows where neither the goods/services supplied nor the receiver of those goods or services ever has to wait on
the other. This allows companies to minimize work-in-process (WIP) and finished goods inventories, and
identify process inefficiencies and bottlenecks so they can be reduced or eliminated.
JIT is a "pull" system, in which the status of a worker or workstation dictates the actions of others. This
differs from a "push" system, in which products are provided based on the supplier ability to provide them,
regardless of end users' needs. JIT system uses the pull method because of the closer control between inventory
levels and production/delivery needs.
Cost savings from JIT programs are a result of inventory reduction and associated holding costs (improved
cash flow), space for additional revenue generating activities, the transfer of labor costs to the distributor etc.
It is perceived by many that service industries operate in a different manner compared to manufacturing
industries. However, in recent years, it has been suggested that service industries can improve their operations
by using techniques and tools similar to the ones used in manufacturing. Services are much like manufacturing
in the sense that both employ processes that add value to the basic inputs used to create the final product. JIT
focuses on the process, not the product. It can therefore be applied (in theory) to any group of processes,
whether manufacturing or service. The philosophy behind JIT is to continuously seek ways to make processes
more efficient.
The service sector has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to improve productivity. As regards services,
the greatest productivity gains will come from defining the critical or value-added service activities and
eliminating what does not need to be done. Services are generally considered in humanistic terms and

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manufacturing in technocratic terms. That is the reason why manufacturing industries are considered to be
progressive and efficient while service industries are, by comparison, primitive and inefficient.
(Levitt, 1972) points out that service organizations must see themselves as performing manufacturing
functions so they can make progress in improving the quality and efficiency of service. The same technological
systems and advances occurring in manufacturing segments must be applied to service segments, or the "soft "
technologies as well. (Behara and Chase, 1993) proposes a new way of viewing service operations wherein the
author shows a classification scheme for service systems and suggests a framework for developing a production
policy for the service system.
Given the fact that activities in many service systems are sequentially identical to the activities in
manufacturing systems, it can be intuitively asserted that service operations can effectively use production
techniques to improve their output and, hence, profitability.
(Messmer, 1996) has suggested the concept of JIT staffing. According to him, if an accounting department
manages staff like a manufacturer manages inventory, it can increase productivity. In a just-in-time
manufacturing facility, inventory arrives on an " as needed" basis. Suppliers deliver only as many units as the
manufacturer believes will be needed for an efficient production cycle. As a result, there is a reduction in excess
costs caused by manufacturing surpluses. The same technique can be applied to staffing through a rigorous
process of planning and analysis in which specific tasks and individual workloads are evaluated carefully in
order to determine departmental priorities. Projects then can be assigned to full-time and temporary employees
accordingly.
(Whitson, 1997) said that JIT concepts have the potential to significantly improve hospital operations. If the
hospitals apply JIT techniques to reduce non-value added activities, they will have more time to focus on value
added activities, which will improve service to their patients and provide better operating margins for the
institution. He suggested the JIT elements of inventory reduction in materials management area of the hospital,
flexible workforce in nursing area and reduction of paperwork in documentation related processes of physicians.
According to him, the concepts of continuous improvement, and total quality control are embodied in the JIT
system with employee involvement and inventory reduction. JIT systems control quality at the source, with
workers acting their own quality inspectors.
(Adib, 2001) attempted to analyze three of the tools of JIT: waste reduction (waste of overproduction, waste
of inventory, waste of rejects, waste of processing, waste of motion, waste of waiting, and waste of transport
etc.), total productive maintenance (TPM) and Kaizen to maintenance management systems. The application of
these JIT elements in maintenance area will help in reducing waste in any of its form with the objective of
increasing equipment and cost effectiveness.
(Gupta, 2002) has reviewed the literature on the applications of JIT in service sector and discussed the
relevancy of JIT in Indian service environments. It is hoped that JIT may be helpful to find out the ways and
means to improve present situation of service sector in India so that Indian service sector can face challenge in
the areas of cost, quality, and flexibility etc. It is recommended that micro case studies of certain Indian service
industries must be carried out and a suitable model and frame work developed in Indian environment which is
able to produce a smooth, problem free operation and persons involved may feel comfortable and delighted by
good services. It is also suggested to identify potential JIT elements which are easy to implement and which are
difficult to implement and also to identify the areas in which above JIT elements when applied, maximum
advantage can immediately be reaped. Along with this, problems that are likely to occur during implementation
may also be investigated.
(Gupta et al., 2003) carried out a case study in JIT context of a centralized admission process for admissions
to various diploma level technical institutes in Haryana state. The existing process was studied in detail and a
modified system is proposed in JIT context. It has been shown that the proposed system will reduce the time
taken per candidate as well the total time taken for the complete process, reduce workforce required, eliminate
the queues, and will make the process transparent so that everyone involved feel comfortable with the process.
Some more observations of the study were that perfect JIT implementation may not be feasible due to lack of
resources, technology, non availability of multiskill workers etc. however to make it a success some suggestions
are given which include that some JIT elements are comparatively easy to implement and maximum weightage
must be given to these elements to reap maximum benefits.
(Gupta et al., 2004) critically examined the potential of JIT in Indian service sector. An analysis of a
questionnaire supplied to various Indian service industries is carried out with the help of statistical tests. The
results indicated that Indian service industries are giving high importance to JIT elements, expecting an overall
benefit on an average 77.5% and facing some problems in the implementation of JIT. JIT elements that are
comparatively easy to implement are also being identified in the survey. It has also been shown that the benefits

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and scope of JIT implementation in Indian service sector is high and professionals of various types of service
industries have the similar views about the benefits and scope of JIT implementation in Indian service sector.
THE JIT SERVICE MODEL
This part of the paper examines the impact of using JIT practices on service quality. The extent to which JIT is
practiced in a service firm is measured along the proposed dimensions as mentioned below and shown in Figure
3. These dimensions collectively measure the degree of JIT use in any service organization and consequently the
level of service quality.
1. Synchronization
This involves balance of information and workflow. It is critical for services. Service organizations must be able
to successfully balance supply and demand for the service, otherwise customers will use a competitor's service.
This will tend to reduce Gap 2.
2. Flexibility
The customer being part of the process, service operations must be able to respond to sudden demand changes
made on them by the customers. Changing patterns of demand affect the choice of process. If the production
changes to meet a peak demand, it must use a flexible process that can meet peak demands and still work
efficiently during slacker times. The service firms must adjust to these demands by being flexible in staffing,
scheduling and production etc. This will reduce the gap 2 (gap as shown in figure 2) and consequently improve
the quality of service. It is met by;
a) Flexible workforce
In manufacturing organizations, a system is adopted to attain worker flexibility to adapt to demand changes
(Monden, 1983). The system alters (decreases or increase) the number of workers at a shop when demand
changes (decreases or increases). Cross training and job rotation is an effective way of doing this.
Service organizations such as the fast-food restaurants can have workcells that allow workers to be added
during peak-times and reduced during slow times. The departmental stores can have multifunctional/flexible
workforce who work the cash register, stockgoods, arrange displays and make sales. The concept of flexible
work force can be very useful in hospital operations, in administration, and in customer service center as
documented by (Whitson, 1997; Billesbach and Schniederjans, 1989; Savage-Moore, 1988). Training workers to
perform a variety of jobs will provide an organization with a great deal of in-house flexibility. It also promotes
wholeness. Employees are in a better position to identify ways to improve operations if they are familiar with
the whole organization rather than a segment of it.
b) Scheduling
Demand fluctuations in JIT manufacturing environments is controlled by undercapacity scheduling and mixed
model scheduling. By undercapacity scheduling, JIT systems could respond to demand changes by essentially
smoothing production, and by holding down to minimum any deviations from the schedule. In the mixed model
scheduling, flexibility of production lines is increased to allow concurrent assembly of different models on the
same line. This enables the JIT system to achieve synchronized scheduling and regularity in end product
scheduling.
Customer response time is very important in services, which in turn is dependent upon effective scheduling.
Service firms must also be flexible in scheduling. (Feather and Cross, 1998) in paperwork operation reported
reduction in backlogs by 75% and throughput time by nearly 60% as a result of improvements in routing,
prioritizing incoming mail into fast and slow categories, setting up of fast-track lanes to process transactions that
would otherwise be sitting in huge backlogs for long periods of time etc.
(Billesbach and Schniderjans, 1989) suggested the concept of Under-capacity scheduling in case of
administrative settings. Any employee doing some job must be provided time on the job to identify problems
and solutions to improve productivity. To achieve this manager must schedule less than capacity regardless of
the activity. Planned under capacity scheduling allows an employee the opportunity to devote some time to
improve productivity and eliminating operational weakness.
3. Quality
One of the basic requirements for successful implementation of JIT is the existence of total quality management
principles. Employees must perform their tasks correctly the first time, which requires adequate education of
employees as to the proper way to perform their tasks. The use of quality circle concept can be helpful in service
companies. The employee's ideas for improving the quality of services and increasing the satisfaction of

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customers should be carefully analyzed and implemented.. This will help in improving service delivery process
and consequently tend to reduce Gap 3.
4. Simplified procedures
One of the desired outcomes of JIT is reduced lead-time for delivering the product or the service. The effort for
lead-time reduction begins with order entry and setting due dates. Simplifying the procedures for any other
paperwork relating to this transaction will help reduce considerably the order processing time. It will reduce the
gap 3.
5. Service Design for JIT
Quality, cost, timeliness and performance requirements are all affected by quality of design. Teamwork in
design is essential in JIT environment, where the emphasis is on 100% quality, shorter lead-times, more
flexibility and less waste. Design for delivery (DFD) is analogous to design for assembly (DFA) [Boothroyd,
1992]. DFD can be envisioned as a design improvement strategy that encompasses a number of specific design
rules, if followed can make the service delivery process simpler. These rules should primarily involve reducing
the number of steps in service delivery. Further, the service designer should build into the service several "
foolproof devices (Shingo, 1986) that do not let the server make mistakes. This will reduce the gap 3 of service
quality as shown in figure 2.
6. Continuous improvement (Kaizan)
JIT is not a one-time effort. It embodies the ethics of continuous improvement, which needs to be supported by
all levels of staff in the production team Service organizations operate with a wide variety of personnel that may
be totally interchangeable at any time. Thus, they must strive to improve all employees and systems throughout
the lifetime of the company. As regards services, the emphasis should be placed on labor and processes rather
than capital. Process improvement objectives include reduction of rejects, reduction in lead time and setup time,
reduction in maintenance time etc.
JIT focuses on the process, not the product. It can therefore be applied (in theory) to any group of processes,
whether manufacturing or service. The philosophy behind JIT is to continuously seek ways to make processes
more efficient and simplified. Process flexibility is also maintained. This again tend reduce the gap3 in service
quality model in figure 2 and ultimately will increase the quality of service. (Lee, 1990) in his paper presented a
case of finance company, who has been in the business of extending loans to small businesses. Currently, the
company takes an average 12 business days to get a loan approved: nine days for the credit evaluation process,
and three days for the credit approval. The entire process was studied in detail and as a result of process
improvement, the new process, consisting of only value added operations took only four to five days.
7. Employees involvement and training
Employee scheduling and training are dominant concerns for labor intensive services The more each employee
knows and understands the company as a whole, the less variance in the service delivery there will be. This will
improve the service delivery process and will reduce the gap 3 and hence improve the quality of service.
Each worker should be allowed to participate in the service process. Thus, the worker will get a chance to make
suggestions, suggest improvements and receive awards.
8. Standardization
The emphasis on the standardization of activities arises from balancing between processes, which is expected to
improve operational effectiveness and efficiency. By standardizing job activities, resources can be focussed on
only a few areas. The resulting impact on productivity can be significantly higher if one standardizes activities
and concentrates organizational efforts and resources on those limited activities. Standardization of activities
also reduces the time and cost of cross- training employees, but the flexibility has to be maintained in order to
serve those customers with different needs. This again will make service delivery process simple and
consequently reduce gap 3.
9. Teamwork
It has been observed that the involvement of people at all levels of an organization is paramount in JIT. The
creation and maintenance of effective teams is the mechanism by which this involvement occurs. The spirit of
teamwork should be present to adopt JIT concepts. Teamwork helps in generation of more and better ideas, in
improving the willingness to take risks, in developing feeling of power and influence and improving quality of
work life. Teams are constituted for improving the process, for solving a particular problem, learning a
particular new technique etc. It will help in reducing gap 3.

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10. Technology
The advances in technology should be used to support the service employees’ activities, not to monitor or
replace them. Because customers participate directly in some service processes, the success of technological
innovations will depend to some extent on customer acceptance. To enhance productivity of hospital services,
the automation wherever possible may be done, then the customer/patient is able to interact directly with the
system without the intervention of an employee. (Levitt, 1972) suggested a production line approach to services
to decrease the human element from service operations. He suggested highly automated controlled conditions to
be generated in service production process to reduce variations in system. It will improve the service delivery
process and will also help in increasing the visibility of operations and consequently reduce the gaps 3 and 4.
11. Total Visibility
With a simultaneous offering of marketing and operations functions in services, the customer is very well aware
of not only the tangible aspects of the service, but also of the service delivery system. Customers often notice
variance in the system and this may affect the perceived level of quality. Total visibility will help to reducing
the gap 4 (gap as shown in Figure 2).
12. Communication and information technologies
In contrast to manufacturing operations, JIT implementation in service operations appears to require a greater
degree of communication as well as effective coordination of activities among people. In service operations
there are more people and fewer machines, hence, breaking human barriers becomes very essential to
successfully implementing JIT. Individuals must work together and communicate their needs to their
counterparts in different departments. Since customer service is of higher priority in service operations, it
becomes imperatives that companies continuously evaluate their communication and coordination needs. It will
result in easier and faster transfer of information between functional areas and provide a sound basis for
successful JIT implementation.
Service employees whose tasks are interrelated should be physically close together, thus creating better
information flows and reducing throughput time. Layout changes should be allowed in order to improve
operations. Service companies must strive to remove communication barriers and facilitate effective
communication by proper layouts. If physical proximity cannot be achieved, then effective communication
means must be developed. Bottlenecks during service delivery can be devastating to the quality and success of a
service firm. It tends to reduce the gaps 1, 3 and gap 4.
The computer-based tools that facilitate communication include integrated databases, electronic
communication tools and others. They enable rapid information exchanges and the application of a range of
analytical frameworks that are necessary in cross-functional design work.
The computer- based tools that facilitate analysis include but not limited to, the use of SQC (statistical quality
control), Bench marking (BM), expert systems (ES), charts, diagrams, matrices, graphs, and check sheets- are
deployed in what the Japanese call Kaizen (Continuous improvement) methods of process control. JIT people
always want to see the data and every process, “ Wisconsin’s George Box teaches, generates data to improve it.”
If one is serious about improving quality, everybody has to know how they are doing. Customers are
systematically surveyed, interviewed and begged for suggestions. Process improvement teams are taught to
track meticulously every fault, complaint, breakdown, accident or shortage that comes their way.
13. Human Resource Management
As expectations from the customers of service increase, companies have started to value investments in people
as much as investments in machines. Companies need to make recruitment and training as important for service
employees as for managers. Service employees who are well trained and fairly compensated provide better
service, need less supervision and are much more likely to stay on the job. Training provides service employees
the ability to identify and resolve problems and operational weaknesses hindering organizational effectiveness
and efficiency. Proper training and empowerment will allow the staff members to resolve any perceived
conflicts before they become a negative service encounter for the customer.
One important requirement for full-scale implementation of JIT is an increase in the level of technical skills and
flexibility of workers. Use of group technology and cells requires multiskilled workers. Workers must be
assignable to different jobs within the cell or to a different cell depending upon service requirements for the cell.
Training service employees to perform a variety of service activities will also provide an organization with a
great deal of flexibility.
Proper education in the basics of JIT concepts including the benefits of successfully adopting it plays a key role
in the implementation of JIT. It is important that all levels of management including vendors understand JIT

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philosophy, how JIT operates, the expected benefits, and the competitive needs for JIT change. Managers also
need to understand the nature of the attitudinal, skill and knowledge level changes required of them and their
employees. It will help in reducing Gaps1, 2, 3 and 4.
14. A holistic approach to waste elimination
In JIT manufacturing environments, anything that does not any value to a product or service is termed as waste
and all out efforts must be made to remove this waste. The emphasis is on the removal of all sorts of waste such
as inventory, excess movement, defects, unnecessary activities like inspection, etc. This approach tends to
reduce the gaps 1, 2, 3, and 4. To reduce the inventory of materials, JIT purchasing emphasizes small lot
purchasing, vendor development, long term buyer-seller relations, vendor involvement in product design, high
quality of purchased material, frequent part delivery, cooperative transport systems, etc. This ultimately reduces
the cost and increases quality of product.
There are many service industries like hospitals (Lynch, 1991; Berling and Geppi, 1989), maintenance
related (Inmam and Mehra, 1991) , restaurants (Shinohara, 1988), telecommunication related (Giunipero and
Keiser, 1987) etc. where the inventory of excess materials can be reduced/eliminated by utilizing the concept of
JIT purchasing.
In health services (Whitson, 1997), there is also waste of unnecessary activities like excess paperwork,
excess movement of patients, etc. that should be identified and eliminated.
In maintenance services (Adib, 2001), there is a waste of excess movement of spares, inspection, defects etc.
which needs to be eliminated.

TESTING THE PROPOSED MODEL

The theoretical model of service quality proposed in the previous section was derived based on the literature
reviews in the areas of service quality and JIT. However, it was not empirically tested using actual data from
service organizations to statistically test the influence of JIT on service firms. Therefore, in this section we
develop a research methodology to perform such a task.
First an instrument was devised to measure the degree of JIT use in service organizations similar to one
developed by (Hauptman and Hirji, 1996). The dimensions of JIT were measured by a set of straightforward
questions based on five point ordinal scale (see Appendix A for details of questions). The scale measures the
extent to which JIT is practiced in service organizations along distinct dimensions: Total Visibility,
Synchronization, Flexibility, Quality, Simplified procedures, Service Design for JIT, Continuous Improvement,
Employee involvement and training, Standardization, A holistic approach to waste elimination etc. Second the
service quality as perceived by customers [Gap 5 in Figure 2] can be measured using the SERVQUAL
instrument (Parasuraman, 1988). SERVQUAL is a multiple- item scale for measuring customer perceptions of
service quality. It measures service quality along five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,
assurance, and empathy.
The model can be tested by collecting data on the indicators of JIT and gap five through a cross- sectional
study of service organizations. The data can be analyzed with statistical techniques such as regression where the
above mentioned dimensions of JIT are the independent variables and the service quality (gap 5) is the
dependent variable. Factor analysis (Nunnally, 1978) can also be applied in analyzing the data if we are
interested in finding the top “X" factors or dimensions potentially affecting the service quality.

THE JIT ARCHITECTURAL FRAMEWORK

This section provides JIT architecture to support the implementation of JIT initiatives in service organizations.
The framework consists of 4 layers as shown in figure. Each layer is responsible for achieving specific
objectives of a JIT environment.

The first layer necessary for the implementation of the JIT model is the service management layer. It addresses
service process flow issues and manages the flow of information among the constituent activities. It is
responsible for maintaining a map or a network for the whole service experience. This will include activities
name, person/group responsibility, and coordination/dependency relationships.

The second layer, is the tools layer which contains a collection and analysis tools useful at any stage in the
service design or delivery process. This layer can contain communication tools that support the interaction and
coordination required for JIT teams such as e-mail, and shared databases. Other analysis tools can be contained
in this layer such as QFD, SPC, and expert systems, bench marking, and some diagrams etc. This layer should

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also accommodate for a customer feedback and comments mechanism such as a website where customers can
preview service features and be able to e- mail their comments.

The modeling layer should contain a service model and a process model. The service model describes the design
features of the service in a format that is understandable to the entire process participants including customers.
A process model describes the process required to produce the service. The process model can be simply a
verbal model (i.e. describing the service in sentences or words) or a pictorial representation of the service such
as flow chart. Process models can be standard operating procedures (SOP) or a service blue print.

The last layer is the communication layer that establishes the physical connection between all the different
participants in the service system. This layer is simply a local area network (LAN)

CONCLUSIONS
The paper presented a JIT model and framework for service organizations. The model is used to predict the
influence of JIT practices on service quality. The framework can be utilized to provide JIT implementation
support and architectural support for service organizations. Implementing such a framework in service
organizations should, in theory, lead to service quality improvements.
JIT can play an interesting and meaningful way in reducing the magnitude of service quality gaps (see Figure 2)
through the restructuring and realignment of these gaps according to the JIT FRAMEWORK as shown in figure
4. It could be argued that what is new about the JIT framework application in the service industry is not the
adoption of any individual element of the framework; however, the integrated systems approach provided by the
framework is its biggest value. The JIT framework establishes an integrated communication and computation
environment supporting team activities, Continuous process improvement, flexibility, quality, streamlining of
operations, promotion of fast changeovers, closer relations etc and enhancing bi-directional information sharing
so that waste in any form is eliminated
Finally, the paper did not include any empirical evidence for the impact of JIT approach on service quality;
however, we have outlined a research methodology for accomplishing this task. JIT data can be collected using
sample questionnaire provided in Appendix A and service quality data can be collected using SERVQUAL
model. Further some case studies of service organizations will be helpful to strengthen the information provided
in this model. Certain types of service organizations can be analyzed to identify their problems and to describe
their processes in the model. The next step will be to identify JIT theories and practices that could be used in
service organizations. Based on the previous identification, to analyze and interpret the form that they should
adapt in order to be implemented. The versions of JIT developed for service organizations can be implemented
to the models of service organizations created initially. Finally, the effectiveness of JIT on the performance of
service organizations can be evaluated as stated earlier.

Appendix A
Proposed questionnaire to measure the state of use of JIT in service organizations:

1. Staff is trained for multiple skills to provide a broad spectrum of services so that customers don’t have to
interact with so many people to get the service.
Strongly agree Neutral strongly dsiagree
1 2 3 4 5
2. Flexibility in scheduling of staff to meet demand fluctuations
very high moderate Nil
1 2 3 4 5
3. Flexibility in production facilities to meet demand fluctuations
very high moderate Nil
1 2 3 4 5
4. A focus on quality
High sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5
5. Use of quality circles
High sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5
6. A focus on the design of foolproof processes/ procedures/ equipment etc. that do not let the server make
mistakes
High sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5

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7. Employees are being trained for doing their job correctly the first time
Strongly agree neutral strongly disagree
1 2 3 4 5

8. Use of quality control tools like SQC, QFD, bench-marking etc.

all none
1 2 3 4 5
9. Existence of formal tools or methodologies to support simplification of procedures
always sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5

10. Existence of formal tools or methodologies to support implementation of customer wants and demands
(such as DFD)
always sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5

11. Existence of formal tools or methodologies to support continuous improvement process such as SQC
(statistical quality control), Bench marking (BM), expert systems (ES), charts, diagrams, matrices, graphs, and
checksheets etc
all None
1 2 3 4 5

12. Existence of team spirit or culture

High sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5
13. Formation of teams to tackle design or delivery problems
always sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5
14. Existence of formal tools or methodologies to support employees involvement/ employees suggestions
(such as Kaizan)
always sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5

15. Focus on Layout for better communication between different departments

always sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5
16. Existence of methods to support the removal of all sorts of waste such as inventory, excess movement,
defects, unnecessary activities like inspection, etc. always
sometimes non- existent
1 2 3 4 5

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Management Design Delivery Marketing Voice of

customer

Figure 1: Service Development Process

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Word of mouth Personal Past Experience

Communication Needs

Expected Service

Gap 5

Percieved service

Gap 1
External
Service Gap 4 Communication
Delivery To Customers

Gap 3

Service Quality
Specifications

Gap2

Management Perception of
Consumer Expectations

Figure 2 : Service quality model

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Dimensions of JIT

1.Snchroinization
2. Flexibility
3.Quality Gap 1
4. Simplified procedures
5. Service design for JIT
6. Continuous improvement
7. Employees involvement Gap2 Gap 2
Service
8. Standardization Process
quality
9. Teamwork control in JIT
"Gap5"
10. Technology service system
11. Total visibility Gap 3
12. Communication and
Information Technologies
13. Human Resource Gap 4
Management
14. A holistic approach to
waste elimination

Figure 3: Model and main variables of JIT and service quality in JIT

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Gap 1

Gap 2 Gap 3 Gap 4

Voice
Management Design Delivery Marketing of the
Customer

Service Management Layer

Tools Layer: QFD, SPC, E-mail, Expert systems etc.

Modeling Layer: Service model/process model- SOP,

Flow charts

Communication Layer

Figure 4 : JIT Service Quality Model

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