Let’s talk about Kanban. Previously, we have talk about inventory last week on FIFO and LIFO, it is interesting to see what to do to manage the overall of inventory that we may have, Realistically 5S is a lean system, where all the inventory in your house should be managed to a minimum using a Just In Time (JIT) system. However, in order for us to do this, we need to have a Kanban system which we are able to manage the movement of inventory system. Kanban is a Japanese word meaning signboard, sign, or card. It is usually used in the manufacturing industry, but can be simply adapted to any process that require a management of product, parts or inventory using a card.
By definition:
Kanban cards is a key component of kanban and they signal the need to move materials within a workspace or to move materials from an external location into the workspace. The kanban card is, in effect, a message that signals a depletion of product, parts, or inventory.
Card
This, Kanban Card could be used to ease when you need to buy your groceries and supplies, along with the FIFO/LIFO system. The implementation however depends on how you would like to do them in your house. In general for supplies such as tissue paper etc, you could put in to a Kanban bin one bin or one card system. This system that uses a single bin or card to trigger an action. This is the most basic type of Kanban system. A common example is a mailbox flag; when someone wants the postal worker to pick up a piece of mail, he or she puts up the flag. This tells the postal worker there’s something in the mailbox.
In a system that uses an actual bin, someone might leave an empty bin in a designated location indicating it needs to be refilled. The same could be done with a card. The user could post an order form for more of an item.
Bin
Alternatively, if a bin is used for the purpose of reordering supplies that should never run out, a mark could be placed in the bin to indicate at what level reordering should occur.
This is the basis of Kanban system. You could place the card in a common location in the living room for example. With all the relevant items that you want to purchase in the kanban bin or card. You could prepare different card for different items and if you need to and linked that to the available inventory in the house. The option is your. The main idea of this Kanban system is to ensure that you could manage your inventory system properly and to ensure that we do not have the “ahhh moment” or “ops” moment.
Different types of Kanban
There are 6 different types of Kanban, but the one that I propose is the production, express or supplier Kanban, which means that it is a card that the inventory required at a certain time, urgently and need to work out with external suppliers. But, why do we consider external supplier and internal? Sometimes, we have a full load of inventory in another room, which need to be moved across. In this case, due to her family size 10, my friend actually have a large inventory store, and a current shelve cabinet in the kitchen, and this needs to be move in between. Thus, a Kanban system is ideal for her since she would know both level of inventory. She uses FIFO for her shelves and a Kanban bin for her store.