OPERATION MANAGEMENT

A REPORT ON
KANBAN

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Jasdeep Chaddha

Submitted by Enrollment No.

Prachi Das 20BSP1623
Anubhuti Malhotra 20BSP0328
Mandeep Gupta 20BSP1209
Sanchit Agrawal 20BSP2087
Mohak Mathur 20BSP1303
Rahul 20BSP3310
Akash Dharmale 20BSP0139
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Kanban is a lean method to manage and improve work across human systems.
his methodology intends to oversee work by offsetting requests with accessible
limit, and by improving the treatment of framework level bottlenecks.
The main Kanban framework was created by Taiichi Ohno (Industrial Engineer
and Businessman) for Toyota car in Japan. It was made as a straightforward
arranging framework, the point of which was to control and oversee work and
stock at each phase of creation ideally.
Kanban plans to assist you with picturing your work, augment proficiency, and
improve constantly. From Japanese, Kanban is interpreted as board or billboard.
Beginning from assembling, it later turned into a region guaranteed by Agile
programming improvement groups. As of late, it began getting perceived by
specialty units across different businesses. Top forefront organizations, for
example, Pixar Studios, Spotify and Zara have grasped the Lean method of
'Kanban' in their everyday tasks and the management culture.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction...........................................................................................................4
The 4 Kanban Core Practices............................................................................4
1. Start with What You Do Now..................................................................4
2. Agree to Pursue Incremental, Evolutionary Change................................4
3. Respect the Current Process, Roles & Responsibilities...........................4
4. Encourage Acts of Leadership at All Levels............................................4
THE SIX PRACTICES OF KANBAN.............................................................5
The Positive Side of Kanban:............................................................................7
Overall Benefits Of KANBAN.............................................................................9
Hurdle’s/ Challenges Faced Overall by using KANBAN..................................10
Companies using KANBAN...............................................................................12
1. SPOTIFY:..................................................................................................12
2. ZARA........................................................................................................14
Q. How ZARA follows KANBAN?.............Error! Bookmark not defined.
Benefits derived by ZARA...........................................................................15
Suggestions.........................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................20
References...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
 INTRODUCTION

The word Kanban originates from the Japanese language and was developed by
Taiichi Ohno, an engineer working for Toyota in Japan. The engineer wanted to
create a simple system that would be used in controlling and managing
inventory at every point of production. Kanban is a system which controls
inventory and make production more efficient. This system provides
opportunities to identify and improve production process.
Some advantages of the Kanban system are:

1. Better visualization of any problems that might occur in the production

cycle.
2. Teams can communicate more efficiently due to the highly visual nature
of the system.
3. Achieve just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing by noting the lead time and
cycle time of full production process.

The Kanban system reduces the idle time that is experienced in the production
cycle making the team more efficient. Teams might be wasting time within the
production cycle with issues like low stocks. All these challenges can be
identified by the manager by implementing Kanban system.

The 4 Kanban Core Practices

1. Start with What You Do Now
2. Agree to Pursue Incremental, Evolutionary Change
3. Respect the Current Process, Roles & Responsibilities
4. Encourage Acts of Leadership at All Levels
THE SIX PRACTICES OF KANBAN
1. 1.Visualize the Workflow:

To visualize your process with a Kanban system, you will need a board with
cards and columns. Each column on the board represents a step in your
workflow. Each Kanban card represents a work item.

Only after understanding how the flow of work currently functions can you
aspire to improve it by making the necessary adjustments.
When you start working on item X, you pull it from the “To Do” column, and
when it is completed, you move it to “Done”. This way, you can easily track
progress and spot bottlenecks.

2. Limit Work in Progress

One of Kanban's primary functions is to ensure a manageable number of

active items in progress at any one time. If there are no work-in-progress
limits, you are not doing Kanban. Switching a team’s focus halfway through
will generally harm the process, and multitasking is a sure route to
generating waste and inefficiency.

3. Manage Flow

Managing the flow is about managing the work but not the people. By flow,
we mean the movement of work items through the production process.
 One of the main goals when implementing a Kanban system is to
create a smooth, healthy flow. Instead of micro-managing people and
trying to keep them busy all the time, we should focus on managing
the work processes and understanding how to get that work faster
through the system. This would mean that our Kanban system is
creating value more quickly.

4. Make Process Policies Explicit

People would not associate and participate in something they do not believe
would be useful. When everyone is familiar with the common goal, they
would be able to work and make decisions regarding a positive impact.

5. Feedback Loops

Feedback loops are like the heart beat making all the organization move at
the same rhythm. Kanban defines seven specific feedback loops, or
cadences. Cadences are the cyclical reviews that drive continuous
improvement and effective service delivery. 
There is also the service delivery review, the operations review, strategy
review, and the risk review meetings. The frequency depends on many
factors, but the idea is that they are regular, at a strictly fixed hour, straight to
the point, and never unnecessarily long.
 The ideal average length of a stand up should be between 10-15 minutes, and
others may reach up to an hour or more depending on the team size and
topics.

6. Improve Collaboratively (using models & the scientific method)

The way to achieve continuous improvement and sustainable change within

an organization is through a shared vision of a better future and a collective
understanding of the issues that need fixing. Teams with a shared
understanding of their goals, workflow, process, and risks are more likely to
build a shared comprehension of a problem and work together towards
improvement.

 The Positive Side of Kanban:

Nowadays, many organizations adopt the Kanban method to become more agile
and bring order to their chaotic work processes. Simply said, a Kanban system
helps you get more work done.
In the following figure we can see a basic Kanban board, representing the
simplest version of a Kanban System. 

The Kanban System is defined by an entry point and an exit point, represented
in this board by the Commitment Point and Delivery Point. Within this limit it
is full responsibility of the team/service members.
Outside its boundaries, it might be needed to keep track of what is going on, but
it is no longer their responsibility. If we want, we can always link two
disconnected processes by means of a bigger Kanban System embracing several
teams.

Within the limits of the Kanban System is where we can measure three of
the basic performance metrics:

 Lead Time
 Throughput (Delivery Rate)
 Work in Progress

As you can see, columns inside the Kanban System are divided into, “In
Progress” and “Done”. This is done to explicitly indicate the status of a piece of
work. A work item within the system can only be in three states: in progress,
done or blocked. 
What I don’t like is to put a buffer after a column to indicate that the item is
done waiting to be pulled, because that is no longer a pull system and might
provoke the wrong behaviour. You can also indicate visually with a sticker on
top of the work item its status.
 OVERALL BENEFITS OF KANBAN

 Flexible:

KANBAN is very flexible as there are no prescribed phase duration,

priorities can be revaluated based on the most recent information. Flexibility
makes it a lot more straightforward for colleagues and undertakings to move
consistently across capacities.
 Better visibility:

The most identifiable feature about KANBAN is the KANBAN board, every
project has a heap of task to move through and various processes through
which the task passes before it is delivered. Using the KANBAN board
everyone can see how task are moving through the process. The major
advantage of this is that the bottlenecks in the process can be identified
easily while they are forming.
 Adaptability:

The whole thought behind Kanban is viably conveying visual signals just as
the advantages that range businesses and occupation titles. Kanban
philosophy is accepted all around and is implemented by each group in your
organization from engineering to marketing.
 Persistent Improvement:

Persistent or continuous improvement is one of the most significant and key

ideas inside lean and Kanban. As expressed by lean procedure and Toyota,
there consistent opportunity to get better. One of the core values of Kanban
is that everybody should be centred around continuous improvement.
Kanban's visual system of arrangement of task the board makes it a lot
simpler to review the process and make enhancements that cut waste and
diminish overhead inside an operation.
 Expanded Output:

As well as constant improvement inside an operation Kanban additionally

urges groups to restrict how much work they have in progress at any time, an
idea that is generally referred as WIP i.e., work in progress. Restricting WIP
urges groups to cooperate to viably move towards the end goal removing the
distraction of multitasking. This improved cooperation and strong attention
permit groups that training Kanban to achieve significantly more. Cycle time
 and throughput are the major productivity metrics. Cycle time explains how
long it takes for a task to complete. throughput measures how many tasks are
completed in a certain time. Tracking the throughput rate and cycle time
helps in identifying how the productivity changes over time.
 Team strengthening:

Team strengthening is another idea that is significant inside Kanban

methodology. Kanban ensures that the whole group shares duty to move
towards the finish line and enables groups to make much more agile
decisions that moves the project ahead.
 Upgraded Product:

Kanban centres around persistent improvement and agile sensitivity to issues

regularly and implies that project have less blunders and require
considerably less work. This returns quality control to the project
management, at last yielding more accurate results.

HURDLE’S/ CHALLENGES FACED OVERALL BY USING KANBAN

Kanban is a signalling system used in manufacturing environments to regulate

production and movement of items in a pull system. As an information-relay
device and an inventory-control mechanism, the Kanban system works on the
principle that each process in the production line pulls just the number and type
of components the production process requires in just the right time. As a lean
tool to improve the manufacturing process, the Kanban system has its problems.
1. Less Effective in Shared-Resource Situations

Infrequent orders may render the Kanban process ineffective. For instance, if
your upward production line made many parts, your requests to make more
parts required by the downstream line will require a buffer to ensure that the
downstream line does not run out. This is because each production line requires
a separate signalling card.

2. Product Mix or Demand Changes May Cause Problems

The Kanban system assumes stable, repetitive production plans. The Kanban
concept implies that the warehouse or the supplier should deliver components to
the production line as and when they are needed. Fluctuations in demand and
products may affect the functioning of the Kanban system. Therefore, the
system is less suited to industries where product volumes and mixes fluctuate
 3. The Kanban System Does Not Eliminate Variability

The Kanban system may produce poor-quality items that need to be reworked or
scrapped if production is disrupted with lengthy and unpredictable down times.
Kanban is structured like a traffic signal, to manage the flow of traffic to meet
customer needs by signalling when to start, stop or slow down production. Any
variability or unpredictability will affect the functioning of the system, making
it send confused, mixed and wrong signals with regard to the optimal
production levels.

4. Production Flow Problems

Kanban is not suited for manufacturing environments with poor-quality

products, short production runs, a multitude of product types and highly
variable product demands. The Kanban system requires planned weekly and
monthly production schedules coupled with day-to-day flexibility. This may not
be possible in a manufacturing environment with multiple product types;
variable production demands and long production runs, thus reducing the
overall efficiency of the production line.

5. Quality Miscues

The Kanban system brings quality levels of inventory close to zero. In cases of
high uncertainty and disruptions in the transportation network, inventory buffers
are needed to guard poor quality from the internal processes and also from the
suppliers. This delays your production process.
 COMPANIES USING KANBAN

1. SPOTIFY:

Spotify, the world’s biggest membership

streaming music service, has grasped Kanban.
Its operation team went to Kanban subsequent
to understanding that its remaining burden was
'receptive' instead of 'proactive,' implying that it battled to discover time to go
for planned projects. The group managed issue by plunking down in a loose and
casual setting.
Fundamental issue was adaptability not in the feeling of our web-based feature
(but instead our group and our working strategies didn't scale well with the
development and necessities of the organization, What the organization implied
was that the tasks group didn't scale well with the development and
requirements of the organization. Along these lines, they chose to execute
Kanban as their work process the board instrument.
The group consented to begin basic. The team dealt with problem by sitting
down in casual setting to get a clearer thought of what the work it really did.
Main issue was scalability - not in the sense of our streaming service (however
that is another fascinating story) but rather our team and our working methods
did not scale well with the growth and needs of the company, What the
organization meant was that the operations team did not scale well with the
growth and needs of the company. So, they decided to use Kanban as their
management tool. The team agreed to start.
Company then asked tasked itself with answering the following questions:
1. How can it ensure that operations development gets the time it needs?
2. How is it sharing knowledge with other departments?
3. Is it possible to lower the amount of context-switching that it does?
4. Where do the jobs come from? Does the Operation team initiate them? If
not, who provides it with work?
5. How much time is spent on the various kinds of work?
6. What kind of work does it actually do?
7. Is it possible to categorise work into domains in a meaningful way?
The working gathering immediately understood that utilizing a 'goalkeeper,’
who could catch all ad hoc requests, would ensure greater levels of efficiency
for the team. get all impromptu asks for and order them as fitting small
assignments would be done promptly and bigger errands would be worked out
as a legitimate card. A few preferences of having this goalie were:
 Higher and snappier service level to other departments
 Ensure spreading of knowledge in our team
 Minimizing context-switching for the rest of us

Minute assignments would be diverted out straight, while bigger assignments

would be composed on a Kanban card and put on the Kanban board, concerning
the Kanban board, Spotify's Operations group chose to make it as
straightforward as could reasonably be expected
It contains three vertical lanes:
1. To Do
2. Doing
3. Done

Its Kanban board additionally has two level paths. Any substantial undertakings,
for example, 'overhauling the limit of information stockpiling' go here, while the
other path contains theoretical work, which incorporates errands, for example,
'arranging a worker relocation' or 'planning data sets.'
Spotify sorts out work into three separate classes. Jobs are either small, medium
or large. Small assignments require a day, medium estimated ones a couple of
days, and large jobs need seven days.
Yet, shouldn't something be said about tasks that take more than week? The
Operations group alludes to such projects as tasks. It essentially parts them into
small, medium and large tasks, and afterward embeds them the assignments
back into the overabundance.
At long last, Spotify was sharp not to set too high a Work in Progress (WIP) on
the to Do path to guarantee that all immaterial undertakings are really finished.
Picked Kanban on the grounds that it was adaptable and had a generally little
execution cost. That is, with little changes to our method of working we could
get a critical lift in viability
A screenshot of the Kanban board used by the Spotify Operations team.
Q: Why did you choose Kanban for managing operations at Spotify?
Spotify chose Kanban because it was flexible and had a relatively small
implementation cost. That is, with small changes to our way of working we
could get a significant boost in effectiveness.

2. ZARA

Kanban isn't a stock control framework yet a

planning framework that figures out what to
create, when to deliver, and the amount to
deliver. Perhaps the clearest Lean methods
utilized by ZARA is a pull-model, which is
likewise referred to in the Toyota Production System as a Kanban framework.
A Kanban framework utilizes a line of resource that are fit to be pulled by the
successive cycle as they are required. At the point when a resource is pulled, a
sign is shipped off the next cycle to supplant what was utilized or finished. To
abstain from over-delivering and over-requesting, the Kanban framework keeps
little amounts of resources that are required and replaces what is utilized, just
when it has been utilized. ZARA makes up to 1,000 plans each month
dependent on store deals and current latest things. It screens how much cash
clients spend in store to assess and comprehend which plans are being bought
and afterward it refreshes its next plans in like manner.
Kanban frameworks are worked at store level as well. Team leads are
answerable for their individual Kanban's. For it is the head supervisor who has a
major says on what is delivered, when it is created, and the amount to deliver.
Twice in a week they will send a request to central command, which depends on
best in class deals information, just as recounted proof regarding what steadfast
clients need to see sold on the shop floor.
The business group at that point measures the request, however will likewise do
considerably more itemized and more extensive exploration, permitting them to
recognize the most mainstream garments patterns. New styles of garments are
added to the request and the request shows up back in the store in only two
days. Zara's procedure has prompted its parent organization, Inditex, setting up
itself as the biggest apparel retailer on the planet.
In any case, maybe the best commendation is that other garments retailers are
duplicating the Zara way, by assembling longer-lead time dark merchandise in
Asia, however polishing off the pieces of clothing in the USA. This guarantees
that the client gets the products considerably more rapidly than was already
possible. In the Kanban framework,
ZARA needs to follow the exacting technique as follows. First, send
merchandise items downstream to the following cycle. Secondly, each cycle just
requests what it presently needs from the upstream cycle. Thirdly, each cycle
creates just the amount requested by the downstream cycle. Fourthly, it keeps a
level pace of creation. Fifthly to utilize Kanban to fine-tune the pace of creation.
Benefits derived by ZARA

1. Elimination of wastage:

With Kanban, products and components are only manufactured when they
are needed in order to eliminate overproduction.
2. Higher quality products

Kanban centres around persistent improvement and agile sensitivity to issues

regularly and implies that project have less blunders and require
considerably less work. This returns quality control to the project
management, at last yielding more accurate results.
3. Flexible

KANBAN is very flexible as there are no prescribed phase duration,

priorities can be revaluated based on the most recent information. Flexibility
makes it a lot more straightforward for colleagues and undertakings to move
consistently across capacities
4. Prevents over-producing and over-ordering

KANBAN helps ZARA to reduce or prevent over-producing and over-

ordering as KANBAN framework helps to keep minimal quantities of
resources that are required and replaces what is utilized, just when it has
been utilized.
 SUGGESTIONS

We can recommend association need to follow scrum board since scrum sheets
follow a quite certain, inflexible strategy, while Kanban sheets are considerably
more liquid and can be all the more handily adjusted.
Timing:
 Scrum: In scrum strategy, groups organize work and focus on a specific
number of errands inside a run, or fourteen-day time frame. Work is
delivered toward the finish of each run.
 Kanban: Kanban isn't restricted to an emphasis or run—it's bound to
help ceaseless conveyance. Groups keep chipping away at ridiculously in.

Roles:
 Scrum: Scrum roles incorporate the item proprietor, scrum expert, and
advancement group.
 Kanban: Kanban sheets have no set roles.

Daily Burndown Chart (Click on image to modify online)

Work in Progress:
 Scrum: Tasks can't be added to the scrum load up in the centre of the run,
however it is feasible for all assignments to be in the In Progress segment
simultaneously.
 Kanban: The group concurs on the measure of work that should be done
and the measure of assignments that can be in advancement
simultaneously. As assignments are finished, colleagues pull new
undertakings from a line.

Reasoning toward change:

 Scrum: Work isn't added during the fourteen-day run. Despite the fact
that the entire group ought to approach the scrum board, just the item
proprietor can alter it during the run.
 Kanban: Kanban sheets are adaptable and can be changed anytime.
Cumulative Flow Diagram (Click on image to modify online)
Reports:
 Scrum: Scrum groups can survey execution, with speed as their essential
measurement, utilizing run burndown outlines and various different
reports.
 Kanban: There is anything but a particular report endorsed for the
Kanban technique, however a combined stream chart is suggested.

Retrospective:
 Scrum: At the finish of the run, groups hold a run review to examine
what worked out positively and how they can improve.
 Kanban: Because Kanban sheets don't have a set completion period,
there is definitely not a review meeting related with this procedure.

Glad, Sad, Mad Sprint Retrospective (Click on image to modify online)

 CONCLUSION

 Kanban is a successful and straightforward strategy to improve task. It

expands straightforwardness as well as motivates since colleagues pick
up adaptability and impact in the working cycle.
 From one perspective, Kanban is ideal to enter the universe of agile in
light of the fact that it has not many standards, then again it requests a
specific degree of self-association of a venture group.
 Proficient programming can be useful – in encouraging the coordination
of Kanban in existing work processes and when working with area free
groups.
 Fruitful Kanban usage can profoundly affect all the Lean measurements.
Kanban system gives numerous preferences in overseeing activities and
business in the organization.
 Utilizing Kanban framework is a key operational choice to be utilized in
the production lines. It assists with improving the organization's
profitability and simultaneously limit wastage.
 The Kanban framework requires production just when the demand of
items is available. Assembling organizations particularly in Japan have
executed Kanban framework effectively as this framework begins from
this nation.
 Notwithstanding, it was discovered that not all organizations in Malaysia,
especially, among the small and medium enterprises (SME) in
assembling area, are using the Kanban framework.
 Taking everything into account, the Kanban framework executed in these
organization Spotify and ZARA was discovered to be sufficient because
of the numerous advantages, for example, the operational costs, waste,
scraps and misfortunes were limited, over production stocks were
controlled with adaptable work stations.
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