Philip Barton and Associates

View Custom Documentation: 5. About Kanban Movement Module

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(KAN-Z-00) KANBAN MOVEMENT MODULE

This memorandum specifically discusses the integration and use of Kanban to control internal stock movement. Storage spaces between Work Centers and Final Assembly Areas, and the Primary Stocking Locations, are known as INBOARD and OUTBOARD areas. INBOUND areas contain raw materials or subassemblies, in standard containers, that supply the succeeding Work Area or Cell; the OUTBOUND area carries the product which the Work Area produced. This product can move to the next area, or to Final Assembly, Finished Goods, or Shipping. Therefore, an area can be both OUTBOUND from the prior Work, and/or INBOUND to the succeeding work. It is desirable to have a smooth and linear demand pattern to the desired quantity of the final products, which is achieved by "smoothing" and load-leveling the Final Assembly Schedule.

APICS definition of Kanban - A method of Just-In-Time production that uses standard containers / lot sizes with a single card attached to each. It is a "pull" system, in which Work Centers signal with a card, that they wish to withdraw parts from feeding operations or suppliers.

Kanban Flags can be placed on individual Parts, with an attached Line Inventory Code, Minimum and Maximum Balance, Floor Location and Total Quantity as a multiple of one Kanban Quantity. The total Kanban Movement Quantity is therefore always a multiple of a single Kanban. The inventory transits from Receiving to the Stockroom, or directly to the Line Inventory, or from the Stockroom to Line Inventory per Minimum, Maximum and Quantity Moved. WIP picks utilize the Line Inventory, which falls to, or below minimum. The line can be re-stocked at the beginning of a shift using two or more separate containers (totes) per part (therefore 2 Kanbans). When the primary is empty, the Card is used to signal for a refill and production continues using stores from the secondary bin.

Kanban Cards can be used by having colored tags on each 100th card, and on each marked card, the start and stop times are written on the sticker. Kanbans with stickers can then provide Cycle Time information. The sum of Kanban Quantity, divided by Number of Kanbans, represents the Daily Lot Size. Kanban Cards can be pre-printed, with the movement distance between Work Centers, and move cards can be counted and analyzed. Kanban Cards can be used to synchronize production. Kanban is well utilized in rate-based manufacturing, which is an alternative to conventional Work Orders, based upon the actual production rates and mix of key Work Centers. Items which are manufactured in a Work Cell move to the "outbound stocking point". Finished goods can feed customer orders, and sub-assemblies can be used to feed another cell, which is "upstream". The capacity of the "outbound stocking point" can therefore regulate the amount of product manufactured. If there is a fixed capacity, in terms of (number of Kanban) (x) (parts per Kanban), people in the cell will see when to produce additional parts. Kanban container locations can be marked on the floor, or racking, in the outbound stock point.

Other book references on KANBAN -