Innovation

Reading the ‘sticky’ signs

Kanban promises speedy production management, even on a personal level. But what is it?

03 October 2014

After being created in the motor manufacturing industry, this production management system has found its way into other business circles. Is Kanban a fad? A revolution? It’s neither, but it’s a really good way to get things done.

Kanban was revitalised by productivity guru David Anderson a few years ago in his book Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business, but its origins go back much further. The concept was first introduced to the West with the 1986 book Kanban Just-in Time at Toyota: Management Begins at the Workplace, translated from Japanese. It detailed a system that car manufacturer Toyota has been using for decades.

Kanban was developed in the mid-20th century by Taiichi Ohno, at the time Toyota’s vice president. He was the creator of the company’s production system and was more widely known for Just In Time (JIT), a system geared towards reducing waste and overstock while still delivering what customers want, when they want it. JIT is a pull system – instead of basing manufacturing on forecasts, products are created and delivered at the pace they’re consumed by the customer at the end of the chain. Ohno first noticed JIT in how American supermarkets restocked their shelves and saw its potential to avoid stock overload at Toyota’s workshops.

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