Kanban

Systems

Name: Pratham Chawla

Roll No.: M046
Semester: VI
Branch: Mechanical Engineering
 Kanban System
Index • Origin
• Introduction
Kanban System

The Japanese word “kanban”, meaning “visual board” or a “sign”, has been used
in the sense of a process definition since the 1950s. It was first developed and
applied by Toyota as a scheduling system for just-in-time manufacturing. On the
other hand, the capitalized term “Kanban” is known and associated with the
emergence of the “Kanban Method,” which was first defined in 2007.
Origin

Initially, it arose as a scheduling system for lean manufacturing, originating from the Toyota
Production System (TPS). In the late 1940s, Toyota introduced “just in time” manufacturing to its
production. The approach represents a pull system. This means that production is based on
customer demand rather than the standard push practice of producing goods and pushing them to
the market.

Their unique production system laid the foundation of Lean manufacturing or simply Lean. Its
core purpose is minimizing waste activities without sacrificing productivity. The main goal is to
create more value for the customer without generating more costs.
Kanban Systems
Method
At the beginning of the 21st Century, key players in the software
industry quickly realized how Kanban could positively change the way
products and services were delivered.
You can start building your Kanban system by setting up the most
straightforward Kanban board with three basic columns – “Requested”,
“In Progress” and “Done”. When constructed, managed, and functioning
correctly, it serves as a real-time information repository, highlighting
bottlenecks within the system and anything else that might interrupt
smooth working practices.
Core Principles of Kanban Systems
Start with what you do now:
Kanban is about continuous
improvement, but it starts with an
understanding of the current
processes and workflows.
Focus on customer needs and
expectations: Kanban promotes
understanding the needs and
expectations of your customers to
elevate the quality of the provided
services and the value it creates.
Agree to pursue incremental,
evolutionary change: Rather than
attempting a large-scale
1 transformation all at once, Kanban
advocates for small, incremental
changes that build on each other
over time.
Manage the work, not the
workers: Kanban respects the
4
existing roles and responsibilities of
team members and empowers
people’s abilities to self-organize
around the work.
Encourage acts of leadership at
all levels: Kanban is not just for
managers or team leads but for
2 everyone involved in the work.
Anyone can take leadership and
suggest improvements based on
their observations.
Regularly review the network of
services: Kanban encourages
collaboration and encourages team
5
members to share their
observations, ideas, and feedback
for improving the work through
regular reviews of the entire
network of services.
Kanban Practices
1.Visualizing the workflow: Creating a visual representation of the workflow helps to identify bottlenecks,
visualize the flow of work, and make the work more transparent.
2.Limiting work in progress: Limiting the amount of work in progress helps to prevent multitasking and
improve focus on completing one task at a time, thereby improving efficiency and reducing lead time.
3.Managing flow: Kanban aims to help in optimizing flow which can be achieved by monitoring flow metrics,
identifying and addressing bottlenecks, and continuously improving the workflow.
4.Making process policies explicit: Defining and communicating process policies clearly helps to ensure that
everyone understands how work is supposed to be done, which reduces misunderstandings and promotes
consistency.
5.Implementing feedback loops: Kanban emphasizes the importance of getting feedback from customers,
stakeholders, and team members as a way to identify areas for improvement.
6.Improving collaboratively: Kanban is a continuous improvement process that encourages collaboration and
experimentation to identify and solve problems, improve continuously, and evolve their processes to better meet
the needs of their customers.
Benefits of Kanban Systems

Increased Alignment
Improved
visibility of the between goals
delivery speed
flow and execution

Improved Increased
Improved
dependencies customer
predictability
management satisfaction
Conclusion
A Kanban system is more than sticky notes on the wall. The easiest way to understand Kanban is
to embrace its philosophy and apply it to your daily work. If you read, understand, and resonate
with its core principles, the practical transition would seem logical and even inevitable.
Visualizing workflow, setting WIP limits, managing flow, ensuring explicit policies, and
continuously improving will take your process far beyond what you could think. Remember to
organize regular feedback loops, and all these pieces together will reveal Kanban's real power.
Thank you