Kanban is a term of Japanese origin and literally means “card” or “signage” .This is a concept related to the use of cards ( post-it and others) to indicate the progress of production flows in serial manufacturing companies .In these cards, indications are given about a certain task, for example, “to execute”, “in progress” or “finalized”.The use of a Kanban system allows detailed production control with information on when, how much and what to produce.
The Kanban method was initially applied to Japanese mass-production companies and is closely linked to the just- in- time concept .The Japanese car company Toyota was responsible for introducing this method due to the need to maintain an efficient operation of the series production system.
Learn more about the meaning of Toyotism .
The electronic kanban (e-kanban) is used in place of the physical method, avoiding some problems like the loss of cards and providing a faster update of the task board.Currently, Kanban is often used in conjunction with Scrum, as they are two methodologies used in agile software development.
Find out more about the meaning of Scrum and Kaizen .
Just in time
Just in time (JIT) means “at the right time”. It is a Japanese model that seeks to eliminate inventories and streamline production.The minimum stock of raw material is stored in stock, only in quantity that allows to maintain the productive process at the moment. The number of suppliers is also reduced for the model to function efficiently.
