How To Implement A Kanban In Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a process by which large manufacturers live by, and it is how they are able to coordinate so efficiently manufacturing processes from different facilities in different parts of the nation, or different parts of the world. The lean manufacturing process allows a company to manufacture a part or a product, quickly, efficiently and with 0 defects. To do this lean manufacturing is made up of several methods including the Kanban and Kaissen methods. Kanban means a thing that is visible. In an ideal situation the lean manufacturing follows the process of just one part or one product from its production all the way to the customer, but in real life this is not possible, therefore the kanban (visible thing) takes the place of one. The problem is that there is no way of implementing the kanban method without having the lean manufacturing system in place.

All large corporations have some sort of lean system in place but now even small businesses want to implement lean manufacturing into their business. The problem lies in that small business don’t have the funds to bring in a specialist to implement lean manufacturing, so what they have to do is attend a few seminars and then implement lean manufacturing into their business. And along with lean manufacturing, other methods including Kanban and Kaissen can also be included. But all methods rely on each other and cannot function without lean manufacturing as a whole being implemented.

In a lean manufacturing process there are several teams formed for each department that involves the manufacturing of the part. These teams are formed to produce communication between the different departments. First you meet and get to know every person in your group and then you train those members in lean manufacturing and in other methods like Kanban and Kaisen. Kanban and Kaizen methods cannot be implemented without first implementing the basic lean manufacturing system.

Where you decide to implement the lean process depends on what happened in the facility analysis. This analisys will identify what the areas that need better opportunities are in each department including the departments such as maintenance, production, service, sales, engineering, administrative, and shipping.

You need to keep the analysis focused on the whole of the company. The key is to have the plan ready and start. You will have many different changes as you go along and the way will never come to an end but you will get better at making your business more streamlined.

The Kanban system helps you manage inventory. It lets you know what is in stock and what has gone out and what your future projections should be. The installation of a kanban system depends on what your particular production system is like and how you have implemented your lean manufacturing system.

As mentioned before the kanban method cannot be started and worked with efficiently until you really understand how lean manufacturing works. If you don’t have the right organization and equipment the kanban system will not make much of a difference.

Lean manufacturing works as a whole, and certain methods like kanbans and kaizens work within the whole lean system. By the same token you cant have a lean system if you don’t have kaizens or kanbans.