WHAT IS KANBAN?

Basic Concepts - Pipefy Communication

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Table of Contents:

1. What is Kanban?

2. Implementing Kanban

3. Benefits of Kanban

4. Start using Kanban

What is Kanban?

Kanban is an approach to incremental process and systems change for organizations. It is a technique for managing processes in a highly efficient way.

In a layman’s language we can say that Kanban is a way to uncover workflow and process problems so an organization can solve them in order to deliver more consistently to their customers, clients, etc.

What is Kanban?

It can also be described as a way to organize the chaos that surrounds execution teams by making the need for prioritization and focus clear.

Kanban was formulated by David J. Anderson and it underpins “just-in-time” (JIT) production system.

A Kanban System improves the efficiency of a team by reducing idle time which may occur within any process or workflow and can usually be traced back to opportunities within the process itself.

Implementing Kanban:

You can implement the Kanban System using the following five steps:

• Start by visualizing your current workflow: Map the process you currently use to deliver your product or service on a visual control board

• Apply Work-in-Process (WIP) limits: Allow a limited number of work units to be in any given phase of the process at a time

Implementing Kanban:

• Make your policies explicit by assigning different classes of service to different work items

• Measure and manage flow to optimize for quality and speed simultaneously

• Optimize iteratively with data: think carefully before you modify the board

Benefits of Kanban: Improvement in production:

Kanban Systems reduce the costs and waste by improving the flow of production.

The scheduling advantage of Kanban system springs naturally from the core elements of JIT manufacturing strategies. These benefits are seen in:

• Over production elimination

• Flexibility

• Increased efficiency

• Team members’ ability to focus

Benefits of Kanban:

Responsiveness to demand:

Processes are not just about a series of calculations to determine lead time, changeover and downtime for equipment to derive and the mechanics of production to derive a production schedule that is efficient.

Processes are driven by customer demand which can be increasing or decreasing, predictable or sporadic, seasonal or non-seasonal. Kanban improves the responsiveness to such changes in demand.

Benefits of Kanban:

Empowerment

Kanban puts control in the hands of the operators that are in the best position to oversee production.

These are the people have a pulse on the real-time flow of the work and knowledge about the daily operations.

Shifting accountability for monitoring the daily runs frees up the managers’ time to focus on long term planning.

Empowerment generates dedication and enthusiasm, lowers absenteeism, increases mutual respect among employees, and increases productivity.

Benefits of Kanban:

Self-discipline and quality control

Kanban uses small lot sizes at various points in the production, promoting an environment focused on quality improvement in which quality control issues can be easily pinpointed at the source.

By eliminating excess inventory, Kanban unmasks quality problems that could remain undetected for longer periods of time. The system shifts workers’ focus on teamwork and quality improvement through empowerment and self-discipline.

Start using Kanban:

Pipefy is an intuitive, simple to use, workflow software that allows businesses to run all their processes in a single platform, ensuring efficiency and solid execution.

Pipefy works as an online Kanban system where tasks move laterally through the multiple phases of your process. Each of your process’ phases can have its own set of work rules, triggers and, if needed, a designated owner.

Start using Kanban with Pipefy!Enjoy the 30-day free trial and leave mistakes in the past.

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