Kanban Made Simple: Demystifying and Applying Toyota's Legendary Manufacturing Process
Using Toyota as an example, this is a step-by-step guide to incorporating the ingenuity of the kanban system into any manufacturing environment.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Kanban Made Simple: Demystifying and Applying Toyota's Legendary Manufacturing Process
Develop an Implementation Schedule
Complete the design process by developing an implementation schedule. This schedule, which documents the steps required to transform your design into reality, must allow enough time to:
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Coordinate the final plan
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Purchase materials
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Install kanban signals and visual management
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Make the transformation from the current scheduling system to the kanban scheduling system
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Conduct training
The implementation plan is where the rubber hits the road. Assign members of your team to purchase the needed materials and to fabricate the necessary items to set up the kanban. Make sure that someone writes the required workorders, gets signs or boards hung, gets stands fabricated, and so forth, to support the schedule. Also, make sure to record all these plans so that you can track implementation progress.
Figures 5-21 and 5-22 show the same draft implementation schedule, but use different formats. These two formats illustrate a basic point: get decisions documented and don't get hung up on style.
Figure 5-21: Draft Implementation Schedule in Gantt Chart Format.
| Action | Who | How Long (In Days) | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinate Plan | Bob | 2 | Sept 1 2 |
| Fabricate Kanban Board | Mike | 10 | Sept 1 10 |
| Order Sign Holders | Jack | 1 | Sept 3 |
| Make Signs | Bill | 1 | Sept 4 |
| Hang Signs | Sally | 3 | Sept 8 10 |
| Train Production Operators | John | 1 | Sept 11 |
| Train Material Handlers | Ken | 1 | Sept 12 |
| Conduct Dry Run | Team's 2nd shift | 1 | Sept 12 |
| Start Kanban Scheduling | 1st shift | Sept 13 |
Figure 5-22: Draft Implementation Schedule in Table Format.
Copyright John M. Gross and Kenneth R. McInnis 2003 under license agreement with Books24x7
