Kanban is a popular scheduling system for lean manufacturing and just-in-time (JIT) production. Originating from Japan, the term "kanban" itself translates to "signboard" or "billboard" in Japanese. The concept was developed by Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota, in the late 1940s. It was created as a system to improve and maintain a high level of production efficiency. Kanban helps in managing work by balancing demands with available capacity and improving the handling of system-level bottlenecks. Workers use visual cues, such as cards or digital signals, to represent work items, which helps in tracking the production process from start to finish.
The main goal of the Kanban system is to identify potential bottlenecks in your process and fix them so work can flow through it cost-effectively at an optimal speed or throughput. A key element of Kanban is the use of a Kanban board, a visual tool that aids in the tracking of production process stages. Each board typically consists of columns that represent different stages of the process. Cards or other visual markers are moved from one column to another to show progress and immediately identify bottlenecks and issues. This visibility not only aids in improving efficiency but also helps in enhancing team communication and collaboration.
Kanban operates under a few core principles, primarily focusing on the continuous improvement of the workflow. Firstly, the work is visualized to show all the items in context of each other, which helps in understanding the workflow and the ongoing processes within it. Secondly, Kanban limits work-in-progress (WIP), which ensures that a team focuses on current tasks until they are done before taking up new work. This limitation helps in reducing overloading of workers and helps in maintaining focus and efficiency. Thirdly, Kanban promotes managing flow by monitoring, measuring, and optimizing the flow of work to improve the time cycle and reduce waste. Lastly, it ensures that process rules are explicitly defined, and feedback loops are encouraged to foster continuous improvement.
The benefits of implementing Kanban are manifold. It enhances flexibility in task management, reduces waste by limiting work-in-progress, and allows for real-time communication and feedback among team members. This leads to more efficient production cycles and a steady throughput. Furthermore, Kanban can be adapted to various environments, from manufacturing to software development, making it a versatile tool in project management and process improvement. LeanManufacturing, JustInTime, WorkInProgress, ContinuousImprovement, and ProcessOptimization are just some of the keywords associated with this powerful system.