Types of Kanban Systems

• The purpose of a kanban system is to reduce the cost of a high-volume production line. Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images

  A kanban is a physical card used by production lines. It contains all the information on what needs to be done and what parts are needed to produce an item at each stage of production. A kanban system is a set of these cards. This system alllows a company to produce an item more efficiently. It also gives the company the ability to adapt to changes in demand by changing the information on the cards.

Withdrawal Kanban

• The purpose of a withdrawal kanban is to pass along authorization for the movement of parts from one stage to another. The kanban starts with getting the parts from a preceding process, moving them to the next process and remaining with those parts until they have been consumed by that process. Then the cycle starts again. The information on a kanban includes a part number, part name, lot size, routing process, name or location of the next process, name or location of the preceding process, container capacity and number of containers released, according to Beyond Lean at beyondlean.com.

Production Kanban

• A production kanban specifies what a preceding process must produce as far as type and quantity. The card also provides information on where that item should be sent when finished.

Emergency Kanban

• An emergency kanban is for carrying out rush jobs given a high priority. These cards will typically be colored red, so an operator with a stack of cards can spot it and carry it out first.

Express Kanban

• Companies use an express kanban when they encounter a shortage of parts. They withdraw the kanban after they have used it. The kanban prompts workers to switch on the machine for making the part and activate a light, which further prompts another worker to immediately produce the part and deliver it to the subsequent process.

Through Kanban

• There is no need for multiple kanbans when two or more work centers are located near each other. Instead, a production line will only use one card known as a through kanban, where one process directly feeds the next process.