IJSRD - International Journal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol.

3, Issue 02, 2015 | ISSN (online): 2321-0613

Overview on Kanban Methodology and its Implementation

Rajat B. Wakode1 Laukik P. Raut2 Pravin Talmale3
1
Student 2Assistant Professor 3Production Manager
1,2
Department of Mechanical Engineering
1,2
GHRCE, Nagpur 3Bajaj Steels Pvt. Ltd., Nagpur
Abstract— Kanban methodology is very significant It contains removable card containing the product
philosophy which plays an important role in many details and other relevant information. When the bin on the
production units. In this paper Kanban methodology has factory floor is empty, the empty bin and its card are
been reviewed and has been implemented on „Swing Lever returned to the factory store. The factory store replaces the
Assembly‟ of the Bajaj Steels Pvt. Ltd Nagpur. The Kanban empty bin on the factory floor with the full bin form the
system involves the selection of two important parameters factory store, containing card. The factory store sends the
i.e. the lot size and the numbers of Kanban used in the empty bin with its card to the supplier. The supplier full
process. The main objective of Kanban system is to product bin, with its Kanban card, is delivered to the factory
maximize the productivity of a unit and this is done by store and the supplier keeps the empty bin. Thus, the process
reducing the idle time of the process. Kanban system is a will never run out of product and could be describe as a
very cost efficient process if applied in proper manner. closed loop in that in provides the exact amount required so
Key words: Kanban System, Just in Time, Lean there will never be an oversupply.
Manufacturing, Total Quality Control
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
I. INTRODUCTION Before learning about Kanban System, there must be some
A. What exactly Kanban System means? knowledge about Just in Time and Total Quality Control.
Just in Time is a manufacturing philosophy used in many A. What do we understand by JIT?
production company‟s of producing what is needed in the In the competitive world, the industries need to seek
right quality in the right place and at the very right time. competitive advantage by emphasising on performance
Kanban methodology when coupled with a pull system is a factors such as flexibility, quick response, cost, efficiency,
means of implementing JIT. Kanban Methodology has been quality, reliability and service. JIT is recognized as a
recently used in many manufacturing systems, assembly philosophy rather than a methodology. JIT‟s main intension
systems and supply chain systems in very effective way. It‟s is to optimize process and procedure by continuously
a work scheduling system that maximizes the productivity pursuing waste reduction. JIT can be technically defined as
of a team by reducing idle time. Idle time can occur within „Production methodology which aims to improve overall
any process, workflow or procedure & can usually be traced productivity through elimination of waste and which leads
back to opportunities within the process itself. The Kanban to improved quality‟. JIT ensures for the cost efficient
system focuses on the reduction of waste in all informs production in an organisation.
over-production, unnecessary motion, defects, over- Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese JIT authority and
processing & waiting. engineer at the Toyota Motor Company identifies seven
B. Principles of Kanban System: wastes as being the targets of continuous improvement in
production process. By attending to these wastes, the
 Visualize work.
improvement is achieved
 Limit work in process.
 Waste of production: Eliminate by reducing set up
 Focus on flow.
times, timing between process and layout
 Continuous Improvement. problems.
C. Kanban System Adapts:  Waste of waiting: Eliminate bottle necks and
1) Kanban Cards balance uneven loads by flexible workforce and
Kanban cards are vital component of Kanban System. It equipment.
signals the need to move material within a manufacturing or  Waste of transportation: Establish layouts and
production facility or move materials from an outside location to make handing and transport
supplier to the production facility. The card indicate the unnecessary if possible. Minimize transportation
signal that there is a depletion of product, parts etc. When and handling if not possible to eliminate.
received the Kanban will faster the replenishment of  Waste of processing itself: Question regarding the
product. More consumption and this demand for more reasons for existence of the product and then why
products are signalled by the Kanban card. each process is necessary.
2) 3 BIN SYSTEM  Waste of making defective products: Develop the
Example of simple Kanban System implementation might production process to be preventing defects from
be 3 bin systems for the supplied parts, where there is no in- being produced, so as to eliminate inspection.
house manufacturing. Make the process defects free. This will lead to
 One bin is on factory floor. always yields quality products.
 One bin is the factory store.
 One bin is at the supplier.

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 Overview on Kanban Methodology and its Implementation
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B. Total Quality Control: operators and suppliers receive Kanban cards from
JIT methodology of progressive improvement includes subsequent work centres.
TQC. TQC refers to the achievement and improvement in Matthias Becker and Helena Szczerbicka stressed
quality of the product of the company. that the Kanban mechanism is a way to manage the flow of
the parts in a manufacturing system. According to the JIT
C. Internal Customer Concept methodology, parts should only be produced or moved until
According to traditional organization mind sets customer is there is an immediate need [1]. Production control by
a person, who is outside the company, who buys and uses Kanban cards was first implemented by Toyota in Japan and
the products and services. But JIT adds a concept to this hence used by many production industries all over the
concept of internal customer who is the next person or world.
department or processes that uses or further processes them. In the atmosphere of intense competition all over
If each of the employee sends only defect free item to this the world, the philosophy of Kanban system coupled with
internal customer no defective final products will be Pull system production mode has been accepted by many
produced. small scale as well as large scale industries. „When the
market demands some products, we will produce a variety
D. Quality at Source of the products‟ [3]. Not only can this reduce large scale
Each employee should be responsible for quality of product keeps in stocks and produce the Work in Process quantity
at his workstation. Employees are trained in quality [3]. Kanban system reduces cost of production, makes the
principles and testing procedure, so that they can inspect unit flexible of any type of demand, fasten response ability
their own work to ensure that defects are not passed to next and also helpful in promoting organization‟s management
person or process. If there any defects in the part they are level.
more easily detected by the internal customer. In this way Kanban is a Japanese word which means
TQC ensures good and standard quality to product to the signboard, when the word Kanban is used in production, it
customer. refers to what, when and how to produce [4]. It is claimed
E. Kanban – Motives and objectives that Kanban is one of the most vital elements that executes
Lean thinking in practice [7]. Eliminating waste is the most
Japan was the country who recognized that the wastage of important principle of Lean thinking, it requires continuous
resources must be avoided at any cost. Kanban was growth and commitment from personnel as well as
developed by Toyota and introduced in 1962 to ensure the management [4]. Kanban is also one of the key operation
flow of material to their car assembly plants with minimum management tools in Lean manufacturing [8]. Kanban
use of resource. Kanban has proved to be an excellent tool system initiates to measure average time to complete one
to reduce waste of resources and to optimize material flow. task, to inspect workflow and to optimise work in Process at
There are many such reasons for implementing every work station.
Kanban in a production industry. Some of them are as The company which implements Kanban
follows: methodology in their production unit is benefited in many
 Force to make efficient process. ways such as reduction in inventories prevents
 Reduce inventories. (Inventories generally refer to overproduction, improvement in workflow, flexible in
the materials in stock. The items which are either nature with respect to demands, improved organisation‟s
stocked for sale or they are in the process of management level on procedure etc which also in turn gives
manufacturing or they are in the form of materials increase quality, lower production cost of unit and reduction
which are yet to be utilized.) in idle time.
 To diagnose weakness in process.
 Reduction of lead time. III. APPLICATION OF KANBAN SYSTEM
 Reduction of scrap and rework.
As mentioned earlier that the Kanban System is applied on
 Reduce manufacturing steps. swing lever assembly of the Bajaj Steels Pvt. Ltd. As far as
 Increases flexibility. the current status of the assembly, it gives an idea of
F. Principle of Kanban System complete confusion as the swing lever is drilled in one
corner of company. This drilled part is manually handled
There are a lot of causes for problem in manufacturing
and is taken to other part where swing lever cover & swing
industries such as:
lever bearing has to be fitted. Semi-assembled part is again
 Long set up time.
manually taken to sub stores of the company where this part
 Quality of product.
is used in assembly of ginning machine. As per as
 Scrap. company‟s current record the total time required for
 Non uniform production speed. completing one swing lever with its fitting is 22 minutes and
 Confusing sequence. 11 seconds i.e. 22.11 minutes. During investigation it was
 Fault deliveries. identified that the procedure followed by the company has
The intension of the Kanban System is to signal the some lacunas.
needs for more parts and to ensure that those parts are
produced in respective time, so that the subsequent A. Analysis and Suggestions:
fabrication or assembly can be done. This is achieved by Here are some suggestions to rectify the lacunas in the
pulling parts through the assembly line. Only final assembly process. As the swing lever parts and the swing lever are
line receives a schedule from the dispatch office. All other carried from one place to another it produces lots of chaos

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 Overview on Kanban Methodology and its Implementation
(IJSRD/Vol. 3/Issue 02/2015/623)

and sometime causes over supply of products. By using table 2 we can conclude that there is an appreciable change
flashlights or Kanban cards system the oversupplying of the in production cost and time after implementation of Kanban
parts can be eliminated. By using above to important system and rearrangement of layout.
parameters in an orderly manner the task can be completed
in effective way. Also by arranging the unit chronological IV. CONCLUSION
way the time required for transferring the parts manually can
 Kanban System is a very effective tool in
be eliminated. As the time required to complete the
improving the productivity.
procedure is reduced the overall productivity of the
 It will optimize the process; reduce idle time of the
procedure increases. As the parts are manually supplied to
process, makes the unit flexible for any proposes.
different parts, the time can be reduced by using conveyor
belts, so that parts can be easily & quickly transferred. The  Reduce wastage, continuous deliveries to costumer
time can also be cut-off from idle time if the drilling and increases efficiency and productivity of plant.
procedure, swing lever cover, machining part & sub  It will lead to “just in time” manufacturing.
assembly stores these places are adjacent to each other, so The paper presents the application of Kanban
that the time which is actually required to transport these System on Swing Lever Assembly. If the Kanban System is
parts to another can be cut-off. implemented properly on swing lever assembly of Bajaj
Steels Pvt. Ltd. it can help in
LAYOUT BEFORE
 Improving flexibility of production.
Fitting Fitting  Reducing production time.
back front
cover cover  Increase productivity.
3 4 Stores
1  Increase efficiency.
 Focus on continuous delivery.
Bearing
5
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(IJSRD/Vol. 3/Issue 02/2015/623)

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