The Art of Kanban - Creative Safety Supply April 2014 | Page 18

The Art of Kanban

Step Four - Set goals. Remember that part of the Five S’s is to sustain, so
include this in your preplanning. Think about and write down what you want to
accomplish with the use of Kanban and how you will measure your goals.
Make sure to evaluate where you are prior to using Kanban so that you can
adequately judge the results. Try not to limit yourself in terms of creativity and
goals. The system, if used correctly can lead you to great success. Be sure
that you have a system in place that evaluates the overall company and the
conditions that you work under. It would be easy to blame Kanban for failures
or to try to cheat the system. Avoid this at all costs by setting clear goals and
standards.

Step Five - Implement the system. This will require you to gather whatever
materials you need, bins, pallets, boxes, and cards. Make sure that all
containers are labeled clearly and that the Kanban cards are easy to
understand. You will probably start out with more bins than necessary, as
your system is refined these will go away until you have the ideal number for
your business. Because there is no set way any business operates you need
to account for errors. At the beginning you should maintain a stock of
additional materials or supplies so that production is not interrupted when
breakdowns in the system occur.

Part of implementing the system is also to introduce it to your employees. You
may be met with some resistance, as this is a common reaction to change.
Do not let it stop you from putting the system to work. Your employees will
grow to appreciate a system that reduces the chance for human error while
increasing productivity and self-reliance at the same time. Be sure to open
them up to the idea of Kaizen. As your eyes on the ground floor the help of
your employees will be very helpful in improving the system and suggesting
necessary changes to further your success.

Step Six - Follow up. Check in daily how the system is working for you and
your employees. Request input and be open to taking suggestions, even if
you are not sure that they will work. Make changes as necessary. It is easy to
get caught up in the excitement of a new system and fail to see its flaws. But
you must remember that guiding principle of fixing things before they are

!2010 www.CreativeSafetySupply.com | [phone]