The Kanban management system is a logistics methodology for organizing industrial enterprises. Ease of implementation, the ability to significantly save material resources and increase the overall level of control contributed to its fame and prevalence to a large extent.
History of creation and development
Japan is considered to be the birthplace of the Kanban system, where in the early 60s it was first used at Toyota Motors automobile plant. Development and implementation were directly related to the need to minimize financial losses with the help of “instant” inventory control and timely completion of the required tasks. Today, the main area of application is industrial production, especially with continuous production cycles (automotive, rail, etc.). Given the simplicity of the algorithm laid down in the method under consideration, in recent years this is also one of the effective approaches to project management.
“Push” or “pull”?
"Kanban" appeared as a result of the improvement of enterprises in accordance with the concept of "just in time", in order to reduce losses and increase product quality. At the same time, its creation and subsequent use opened a new type of management. If, until the middle of the twentieth century, the efforts of researchers were mainly aimed at improving the mechanisms of ejector industries (that is, those that operate under a strict plan), then from the moment the Kanban system was used in logistics, enterprises of the ejector type appeared. In this case, a change in the direction of the information flow occurs.
In the push-type workshops, the control signal goes from left to right, actually “pushing” the product from one section to another according to the accepted technology. For the drawers, the last section forms an application for the necessary components from the previous stages of production.
The Kanban production system is not a completely new type of production. Strictly speaking, the production management models that have emerged over the past half century represent add-ons for classic industrial enterprises. The most accurate term for describing Kanban capabilities is "effectiveness." Since it is precisely on its increase that progressive methods of production modernization are directed.
What's the Difference?
The essence of the Kanban system is to organize the uninterrupted execution of production tasks at all working positions (places) of the production process. Distinctive features is the minimization of stocks at all stages of the product life cycle.
Inventories are one of the bottlenecks of modern production. In practice, one of the following options most likely arises:
- insufficient stocks;
- reserve stock.
The consequences of the development of the first scenario will be:
- interruptions in the rhythm of production;
- decrease in production by employees;
- increased number of spare and components due to untimely routine maintenance;
- increase in manufacturing costs.
For the second option, the characteristic features are:
- low turnover of funds;
- slowdown in production;
- increase in losses on auxiliary infrastructure (storage space, personnel, utilities).
The Kanban system reduces the risks of both scenarios due to the accepted restrictions on the allowable amount of resources in the production chain. As a result, “transparency” of the processes appears - interruptions in the operation of equipment, the real amount of rejects, and the actual throughput of jobs are visible. The result of the introduction of the system is an increase in product quality against the background of a significant reduction in costs.
Key elements of the system
"Kanban" is the control of production processes using special control signals. It should be noted that effective functioning requires a developed infrastructure of interaction between the structural components of production, sophisticated manufacturing technology, and team work of labor personnel. The main element of informing in the production chain were plastic cards of different colors with different information (the meaning of “Kanban” from Japanese is “card”). Its appearance depends on the type of control.
Container kanban
The data card is installed on the container. The production order is determined by the position of the packaging itself on the rack. The order algorithm is as follows: when the number of parts in the first container with the card is reduced, it is moved from the work position to one of the tiers of the rack (which serves to place orders and receive a signal by the transport service employee) and starts working with another. The transporter picks up an empty container, the presence of a kanban card on which indicates the need to order material from the storekeeper or supplier. The main disadvantage of this type of kanban is the additional quantity of containers for each type of used parts.
Card Kanban
A multi-colored card with production information, while the color determines the spatial parameters of the necessary supplies. In practice, a card is divided into several segments that show information regarding the sender and the recipient.
There are various schemes for using the color palette of cards. From monochrome (white, black) to multi-colored. The number of colors and their choice depends on the complexity of production processes. If it is necessary to use signals between different working functional areas, the following scheme can be proposed:
- blue color - "production kanban" (communication between the work area and the supply zone);
- red color - "warehouse kanban" (communication between the warehouse and the issuing area);
- green color - "inter-shop kanban" (communication between different shops or complexes).
Advantages and disadvantages
The Kanban system has a number of advantages over traditional production management methods. This is confirmed by the reviews of employees. It allows you to reduce the production cycle time, reduce equipment downtime, optimize inventories, reduce the number of defective products, eliminate work in progress, improve the use of space, increase labor productivity and the overall flexibility of the enterprise. Moreover, the limitations of the method are inevitable - it is necessary to create a reliable supply chain of material stocks, there is no possibility of long-term planning of production tasks. According to managers, high requirements arise for synchronizing the actions of workers of various services.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the Kanban system is not just a method of improving processes, it is a production philosophy that, when systematically and continuously used, allows achieving high performance of the enterprise.