Here's How Kanban Works

The most common form is a card with data printed on it. The card can vary in shape, size and content,
and it’s sometimes replaced by other devices, such as golf balls. Over the years, the concept has
developed into more modern forms like e-mails, sensors, electronic dashboards and so on.

Let's imagine that you are working in a hypermarket and you need to establish a Kanban system linking
the displayed merchandise on the shelves to the warehouse and then to your supplier. The person
responsible for the pasta shelf, for example, will place a red flag on the top of the shelf when the shelf
needs to be replenished. The person in the warehouse will recognize this flag and will send some packs
of pasta to be displayed. The warehouse guy will need to update his warehouse data system with the
withdrawal amount. The system will compare the remaining amount of pasta to the critical ordering
point, which is the point where an order has to be sent to the supplier. The system will notice that the
remaining amount is below the critical ordering point and will send an automatic e-mail to the supplier
asking for another amount. This is a prime example where an original, ordinary Kanban system is
equipped with a more electronic and automated one.

Advantage of Kan ban -Making your organization Lean using Kanban

What are the Six Rules for an Effective Kanban System?

To ensure a proper setup of Kanban in the workplace, Toyota has provided us with six rules for an
effective Kanban system:

Customer (downstream) processes withdraw items in the precise amounts specified by the Kanban.

Supplier (upstream) produces items in the precise amounts and sequences specified by the Kanban.

No items are made or moved without a Kanban.

A Kanban should accompany each item, every time.

Defects and incorrect amounts are never sent to the next downstream process.

The number of Kanbans is reduced carefully to lower inventories and to reveal problems.