Lean Manufacturing: Kanban

There are many other ways to utilize kanban. Project managers commonly use it to direct project activities and track their statuses. This can be done with a whiteboard and sticky notes. A typical board has at least three columns that show the required tasks for completing the project. Making it visual allows you to see the whole project and identify any potential bottlenecks. The “To Do” or “Requests” column is filled with the corresponding tasks needed for a job or project. The “Doing” or “In Progress” column show the tasks that are currently being worked on. And finally, the “Done” or “Ready for Review” column contains only completed tasks that have been moved to this column when completed to satisfaction. As you start working on each task, move the sticky note to the DOING column. If there is a task that seems to stay in this column for a number of weeks, it may be necessary to review the reason for it and adjust if necessary. Kanban doesn’t have to be done with physical cards or objects. There are many online applications and software companies that offer products to manage supplies, workflows, and projects. What may have started as manual controls for manufacturing plants, has now evolved into online applications that can be utilized by many professions. For example, Enterprise Resource Planning (or E-R-P) software is typically used by accounting, manufacturing, and logistics operations to manage inventory. Raw materials, in-process inventory, and finished goods can be labeled with barcodes or R-F-I-D tags so they can be scanned to maintain accurate inventory in an E-R-P database and trigger electronic kanban signals for withdrawing or manufacturing parts. When using software for kanban remember that it is important that the kanban signals are visible and provide clear instructions.