Kanban

Kanban is a Japanese term that literally means ‘sign-board.’ Kanban is a scheduling system for Lean and Just-In-Time (JIT) production.  According to its creator, Taiichi Ohno, Kanban (a signal to produce) is a means through which JIT is achieved.

Use:  A pull system of control is one in which the pace and the requirement of what is to be produced is determined by the ‘customer’ workstation or machine center which pulls the material toward completion of the product or service.  The idea is most often associated with the Toyota Production System and is contrasted with a push system is exemplified by mass production.  Typically, Kanbans (markers or simple signals that are used to control the sequencing of jobs and the movement of material) implements the pull system of Lean production in contrast to the heavy use of inefficient batch processes in mass production which pushes the material from one process to another.