Learn in the textbookProduction Management Methods and Systems
DefinitionThe kanban method (かんばん方式) puts JIT into practice on the shop floor by passing a kanban (instruction card) showing the part number and quantity from the downstream process back upstream, so only what was used gets made and moved.
ExplanationWhen the downstream process uses parts, the kanban comes off and becomes the instruction to the upstream process to replace that amount. Because the upstream process never makes more than the number of kanban cards, overproduction is unlikely. Besides paper cards, the same instruction can also be sent as electronic data.
AnalogyIt is like using empty milk cartons as your shopping list and buying only as many as are empty. No empty cartons, no trip to the store.
Memory hookA kanban is originally a shop sign that tells customers something. In the factory it becomes the signal that tells the upstream process what to make.