The Kanban System

• The Kanban system uses simple cards to

strictly control production
• The basic idea is that no station is
permitted to produce more than is
immediately required by the succeeding
station
• This simple idea prevents the buildup of
inventory
• No computer is required!
 Kanban Production Control
System
• Kanban card indicates standard quantity of
production
• Derived from two-bin inventory system
• Kanban maintains discipline of pull
production
• Production kanban authorizes production
• Withdrawal kanban authorizes movement of
goods
 A Sample Kanban
Part no.: 7412
Description: Slip rings

Box capacity 25

From : Box Type A To:

Machining Assembly
M-2 Issue No. 3/5 A-4
 The Origin Of Kanban
a. Two-bin inventory system b. Kanban Inventory System

Bin 1 Bin 2 Kanban

Reorder
Q-R
Card
R

Q = order quantity
R = reorder point
= demand during lead time
 Dual Kanbans
P W P

X
X
X X
X

W Container with withdrawal kanban Flow of work

P Container with production kanban Flow of kanban
 Kanban Squares

X X X

X
X X

Flow of work
Flow of information
 Types Of Kanbans
• Kanban Square
– marked area designed to hold items
• Signal Kanban
– triangular kanban used to signal production at the
previous workstation
• Material Kanban
– used to order material in advance of a process
• Supplier Kanbans
– rotate between the factory and suppliers
 Determining Number Of
Kanbans
average demand during lead time + safety stock
No. of kanbans =
container size
dL  S
N
C
where
N = number of kanbans or containers
d = average demand over some time period
L = lead time to produce parts
S = safety stock
C = container size
 Kanban Calculation Example
Problem statement:
d = 150 bottles per hour L = 30 minutes = 0.5 hours
dL = (150)(0.5) = 75 S = 10% dL = 10% x 75 =
7.5
C = 25 bottles

Solution:
dL  S (150 x0.5)  7.5
N 
C 25
75  7.5
  3.3 kanbans or containers
25

Round up to 4 (allow some slack) or down to 3 (force improvement)

 Small-Lot Production
• The pull system reduces inventory by
minimizing the number of kanbans
• This results in frequent material
movement or production, in small lots
• Small-lot production has many
advantages
 Small-Lot Production
• Reduces inventory
• Requires less space & capital
investment
• Moves processes closer together
• Makes quality problems easier to
detect
• Makes processes more dependent on
each other
 Setup Time Reduction
• Small lots require short setups!
• Setup times can be reduced from
hours to minutes
• Shingo developed Single Minute
Exchange of Dies (SMED) system
– die change under 10 minutes
 SMED Principles
1. Separate internal setup from external
setup
2. Convert internal setup to external
setup
3. Streamline all aspects of setup
4. Perform setup activities in parallel or
eliminate them entirely
Setup Reduction Techniques
• Preset desired settings
• Use quick fasteners
• Use locator pins
• Prevent misalignments
• Eliminate tools
• Make movements easier
 Mixed Model Production
• JIT permits the manufacture or assembly of
a range of products simultaneously, using
the same production equipment
• This is known as mixed model production
• The result is repetitive flow production
versus traditional batch production
• Mixed model production requires small
batches and short setups