subject: Kanban: Improving Production Efficiency [print this page] The Japanese word kanban, when translated into English, literally means signboard or billboard. In production or manufacturing, the Kanban system derives as meaning the use of signboards to identify demand and supply details: the quantity of demand, the materials and the processes needed for production, and the timeline of production.
The Kanban principle is an essential component of the Lean Pull systems. The Pull system is a lot like the supermarket re-stocking system, where only consumed resources are replaced, as in the Lean principle of minimizing unnecessary costs and surplus. In the Kanban system, resources, goods, or products are only provided when the need is announced. The company then provides the exact quality and quantity that the consumer needs.
The difference of this Pull system from the Push system, moreover, is that its system is mainly concerned that the manufacturing process is commenced or pushed through, regardless of the details of quantity. This system causes time and resource wastage in the form of surplus and over-manufacturing. Therefore, current manufacturers and production line business have been commonly using Pull systems to improve their companys efficiency and to cut down on unnecessary costs.
Lean development companies now provide Kanban presentation kits to allow executives to train themselves and their employees towards a higher level of efficiency. These kits aim to help employers and employees differentiate Push systems from Pull systems, fully understand the concepts and benefits of the Kanban system, describe how the Kanban system works, and how to implement the system.
The Kanban presentation also discusses different types of Kanban and their applications, the calculation of the number of Kanban cards needed for a project, and a deeper discussion of its rules and methodology. These instill the theoretical understanding of Kanban in workers, allowing them to have knowledge on how they can improve their jobs through the system.
Also, the Kanban presentation contains simulations and games to develop workers understanding of the system through real issues without the probability of jeopardizing a project with an uneducated mistake. The games and simulations, together with the presentation, allow people to understand the concepts, benefits and methodology of the Kanban system while improving their Lean thinking.
