Kanban is an important concept in lean manufacturing. Kanban is a method that enables pull and can help create flow in a system. Kanban has several benefits:
- Kanban can prevent overproduction because it is the mechanism that tells a station or cell what to create and how much and by when and also where the goods are to be delivered
- Kanban care enable Pull because the request will come from the process upstream telling the process downstream what it needs
- When each station is linked to each other in a tight way, enabled by Kanban, then there can be flow.
Here’s a short video on the Kanban Card Template which we are making available as a free download.
Here are the key aspects and what can (and probably) included on a Kanban Card:
- Part Number: This identifies the name of the “thing” that should be created
- Quantity: How many of the “thing” should be manufactured
- Lead Time: This tells the recipient of the Kanban Card how long they have to manufacture and deliver – when the items are due
- Card x of y: There is usually a fixed number of cards in a system and this identifies which card number this one has relative to the others
Depending on the type of Kanban, there are possibly other items needed. For now, these are likely the critical items. Adjust the template to whatever might suit your needs.
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