Communicating With Kanban

Kanban is another component of Kaizen.

Kanban is a system that improves the flow of materials through a facility, while reducing waste, reducing inventory costs and improving quality. A Kanban is a "card" with information about a component or item used to make a product. Here's how it works:

Let's say you are making left-handed widgets. One of the components is a turnbull. Turnbulls are delivered on pallets, with 100 turnbulls on a pallet. There is a Kanban (card) attached to each pallet. When a pallet is empty, you send the card back to the turnbull assembler. This tells him you need 100 more turnbulls, which he them makes, loads on a pallet and sends to you.

Kanban is a system that is based on demand. Components and products are not made until there is a demand for them, as indicated by a Kanban (card). For this reason it is called a "pull" system, because material is pulled ahead by demand.

Kanban provides a number of benefits. For example, it allows for continual product improvement. Since there is not a large amount of material held in inventory, product upgrades do not result in unuseable, obsolete parts. Kanban also provides a high degree of flexibility, allowing production to vary to meet demand, for example. It reduces inventory costs, removes administrative blockages, and allows production problems to be quickly identified and fixed.

However, Kanban is not a good option in all situations. It provides the greatest benefit when applied to high volume production lines.

Obviously there is more to Kanban than this very simplistic overview. If you'd like more information, a short online introductory Kanban tutorial is available.