Kanban for the Shopfloor

Kanban is the name given to the inventory control card used in a pull system. The primary benefit of kanban is to reduce overproduction, the worst of the seven deadly wastes. A true kanban system produces exactly what is ordered, when it is ordered, and in the quantities ordered. It is essentially a dynamic work order that moves with the material.

Each kanban identifies the part or subassembly unit and indicates where each one came from and where each is going. Used this way, kanban acts as ...