Kanban

Definition

Kanban is a visual scheduling system that helps manage and improve work across human systems by balancing demands with available capacity. It supports continuous delivery while allowing teams to visualize their workflow, limit work in progress, and optimize the flow of tasks. This method is often linked to the principles of lean production, just-in-time philosophy, and is a core element of kanban systems, enhancing process improvement and inventory management.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Kanban originated from Toyota's production system in Japan as a way to improve efficiency and reduce waste by visualizing workflow.
2. The Kanban board is a key tool in this method, displaying tasks in different stages of completion to help teams understand their workflow visually.
3. By limiting work in progress (WIP), Kanban helps prevent bottlenecks and ensures that teams can focus on completing tasks before taking on new ones.
4. Kanban promotes continuous improvement through regular reviews and adjustments based on performance metrics and team feedback.
5. In a kanban system, cards represent work items, and their movement across the board signifies progress, helping to enhance transparency and accountability within teams.

Review Questions

• How does the implementation of kanban facilitate process improvement within an organization?
  • The implementation of kanban facilitates process improvement by providing a visual representation of the workflow, which helps teams identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies. By limiting work in progress (WIP), teams can focus on completing current tasks before taking on new ones, leading to improved cycle times and productivity. Regularly reviewing performance metrics allows teams to make informed adjustments to their processes, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Analyze the relationship between kanban and just-in-time (JIT) inventory management practices.
  • Kanban and just-in-time (JIT) inventory management practices are closely related as both aim to reduce waste and enhance efficiency. Kanban supports JIT by ensuring that materials are only produced or ordered as they are needed in the production process, which minimizes excess inventory. This alignment helps organizations respond quickly to customer demand while maintaining low operational costs, thus optimizing overall supply chain performance.
• Evaluate how kanban principles can be applied beyond manufacturing environments to improve workflows in service industries.
  • Kanban principles can be effectively applied in service industries by adapting the visual scheduling system to manage tasks and projects across various service sectors. By using kanban boards to track service requests or project milestones, teams can visualize workload, prioritize tasks, and limit work in progress. This not only enhances communication among team members but also allows for quicker response times to customer needs, ultimately leading to improved service delivery and customer satisfaction.

Related terms

Lean Production: A production practice that considers the expenditure of resources in any aspect other than the direct creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful and thus a target for elimination.

Just-in-Time (JIT):

An inventory strategy that aligns raw-material orders from suppliers directly with production schedules, aiming to reduce waste and increase efficiency.

Work In Progress (WIP): The number of items or tasks that are currently being processed in a workflow system at any given time.