Kanban System - Research Paper Example

Kanban System al Affiliation Kanban system has bene in use since its invention in Japan. Kanban System in manufacturing defines a set of specifications and guidelines for production of goods and stock control of the constituents of the good. The system is also called just-in-time. Kanban is a Japanese word that translates to card you can see. The system was introduced by motor vehicle manufacturing company Toyota in the 1950s. Its main role then was to standardize the flow in the company’s production lines. As a tool, Kanban was one among many other tools used by Toyota to ensure that their inventories were not just based on managerial forecast but in line with customer orders. This system was introduced in Toyota car plant in Japan as a means through which the company would smooth their produce throughout their production process. Through this system the company aimed at improving productivity of their system. This system will also ensure that the company secures its involvement and participation in realizing its aim of high productivity by acting as a better means of keeping on check flow of products through the production system. Kanban therefore provides highly visible means of keeping on track the build-up of inventory levels with a production system. The system is made up of cards with all the information of what is required to be done on a product at each stage of production. The cards also explain what parts should be inserted in the subsequent process. Through this cards a firm can therefore control a work in progress, its production and smooth flow of its inventory. Through Kanban system therefore a firm can achieve the following objectives among others i. Cost reduction- Kanban system help firms reduce cost by cutting on time wastage ii. Provision of faster access to information and improving precision of information. iii. Providing a work platform with is flexible to changes. iv. Providing an avenue of attain and maintaining quality of products. Introduction Kanban systems was invented twenty years ago by the vice president of Japanese car giant Toyota. The main aim was to smoothen the flow of products in the car plants throughout the production system of the firm. Since then the system has gone through vary many modifications as a means of production activity control. As a measure of activity control Kanban system have helps firms to achieve goals of Just-in-time and manage operations of the same. Further, Kanban system helps in relaying crucial information for monitoring and controlling the quantities required by the firm according to its production plans. An effective Kanban system provides a better way for employees of firm to understand how the management want their time to be spent (Louis, 2006). This means a firm can identify where idle time lie easily and make further adjustment as fast as possible. This may come interns of one employee or machine being severely overworked while the other have barely enough responsibility to fit its capacity. This way the manger will therefore be able to reassign some task to the idling machine or employee. Relieving the overworked team member or machine off the burden will help increase productivity of the whole system (Louis, 2006). Kanban system also provides a platform to maximize resources through its ability to continuously deliver products while improving the process at the same time. Literature Review Application of Kanban system in production plans in many firms today has proved to be a best way of ensuring cost efficiency in production. Apart from cutting cost, the system also provides vary many avenues for a firm to ensure timely production as demanded by their clients. Kanban System as a Technique of Improving Productivity Kanban system as outlined earlier uses card with sets of information on what need to done from one stage of production to another. If these steps are adhered to accordingly and rigorously, the level of work in progress stock can be easily be kept on check by the number of cards issued for every section of the system (Louis, 2006). These cards gives a corresponding value of one standard container and with the knowledge of size of a container and the number of cards at hand, an employee can just make simple calculation to know the amount of inventory needed. Manipulating these cards therefore means that reduce number of cards issued for a particular part will translate to a fall in the levels of inventory for that particular part. As the numbers of inventory levels reduce, that particular work center will certainly run out of materials and eventually stops function (Louis, 2006). If this reduction in inventory is not addressed effectively, the whole line will be adversely affected. The firms can then either increases the number of operators, redesigning the process or simply reduce set-up times. Kanban system is therefore an effective tool of improving productivity of a firm. It works by showing highlighting production problems as inventory reduces gradually. Through these signals, Kanban systems can be said to work efficiently and effectively. Kanban Card A Kanban system is made up of cards which signals whether there is need to rotate material with a production system of a plant. These card are therefore used to show if there is depletion of inventory in the system (Louis, 2006). As consumption provokes need for increased production Kanban card helps a firm see how demand for their products changes (Louis, 2006). The cards are in two types that is Withdrawal Kanbans or production Kanbans. Withdrawal Kanbans helps in defining the quantity a subsequent process should withdraw from the preceding work. This type of card usually rotates or moves between two work centers only. Production Kanbans on the other hand gives a specific quantity that a specific producing center should produce in order to take place of the already produced products. Kanban Card Usage Application of Kanban system in a production of a firm demands a very high level of discipline. This discipline emanates from rigorously demand of using the Kanban cards. Due to this high level of discipline, there is always need to have a well-documented manufacturing procedures and a well-trained group of operators to ensure efficiency of the system (Louis, 2006). Operators are therefore required to have a confidence born of experience and those fellows with great internal drive to follow the procedures rigorously. 1. What is the difference between a push and pull production system? A push production system operates by attempting to determine when each work centers must not fail to finish its processing in order to operate in line with the master production schedule (Louis, 2006). Having master production schedule in mind, this production system will therefore determine the amount of time upon which each schedule must complete processing of work orders. A pull production system, on the other hand, takes a perfective of the finished product in manufacturing. Here, the production manager will be mostly be concerned by the fact that the finished product meets the customers’ demands (Louis, 2006). Production in this system is then divided into different levels and the controller can then check if the component part is required in finished item to allow for the production. In case the component is not required in the finished good, it will be pulled from the preceding work center (Louis, 2006). The procedure will then repeat over time throughout a production system. 2. What is a Kanban System? A Kanban system is a procedure of scheduling work in order to maximize productivity of a firm by ensuring that no time that could otherwise be used in production is idle (Louis, 2006). Kanban System in manufacturing defines a set of specifications and guidelines for production of goods and stock control of the constituents of the good (Louis, 2006). The system is also called just-in-time. Kanban is a Japanese word that translates to card you can see. The system was introduced by motor vehicle manufacturing company Toyota in the 1950s. What is Kanban? 3. Is Kanban a push or a pull production control technique? Kanban can be said to be a pull system as contrary to a production activity control system in MRP (Louis, 2006). As much as Kanban systems is also control by master production schedule, this MPS is further broken down into a much a detailed plan for the products to be manufactured. 4. How does one calculate the number of Kanban needed in a production system? Finding number of Kanban in a production system requires various variables involve in the process of production (Louis, 2006). The number of Kanban is a system is given by the following formula Number of Kanban = (DD x LT+ SS x SQRT(LT/TB))/KB + (DD x EPEI)/KB Where, DD = Daily demand (Units) LT = Replenishment leadtime (days) SS= statistically calculated safety stock (units) SQRT= Square root TB= Time bucket of the safety stock data points (days) KB= quantity per Kanban (units) EPEI= Supplier’s replenishment interval (days). Conclusion Kanban system can there be seen as an effective measure of cutting cost of production by reducing idle time in the company. The system is also very important in keeping in check any quality challenges in the process of production. Reference Louis, R. (2006). Custom Kanban: Designing the system to meet the needs of your environment. New York: Productivity Press. Read More