There are all sorts of processes that you can put in place at work to manage your team’s workflow, but have you considered the kanban system?
Kanban is a great option for a lot of styles of work, especially those with several smaller moving pieces. Whether or not you’ve heard of kanban before, read on to find out what it’s all about and whether it’s the right choice for your workplace.
What Is a Kanban?
The kanban system was first created in the 1970s by Taiichi Ohno of Toyota, with his main goal being to help workers visualise the movement of the production process.
Typically, a kanban board consists of at least three columns demonstrating the state of work: ‘to do’, ‘in progress’, and ‘done’. The board consistently gets filled up with new tasks as previous ones get moved along and completed.
It's simple and effective, but how do you know if a kanban system is the right choice for your workplace? Below, we’ll explore some kanban advantages and disadvantages to help you decide.
Benefits of Kanban
Task Clarity
Perhaps the most obvious benefit to the kanban system is the ability to visualise the progress of each task. It can be much easier to understand the break down of a task by seeing each individual part of it listed under its current status; it clearly identifies what’s already being worked on, and what still needs to be done.
Not only that, but being able to physically move the status along the board makes the forward movement tangible, and can help employees to feel that a development is really in motion.
Improved Workflow
The kanban system replaces the need to constantly check in with colleagues on the state of a current task as everyone involved in a project can easily check the board and get on with what needs working on next.
This cuts down on what can easily become a lot of back-and-forth, making your team, and in turn the movement of the whole project, much more efficient.
Customisation
It’s easy for anyone to use a kanban system, meaning everyone can get involved. Not only that, but each business that uses one can easily customise their board to suit the specific needs of their production system.
Fortunately, the step-by-step design of the kanban system lends itself very well to these kinds of changes. You might decide to add additional stages, like quality checks and workstations, or keep it simple with the standard three. Either way, the world of productivity is your oyster.
Drawbacks of Kanban
Relies on Involvement
Kanban relies on each team member doing their bit, meaning that if one person forgets to update the board, the entire system could be compromised.
However, this point could also be seen as a perk in disguise. The fact that this system relies on everyone to constantly update it means that it can also encourage teamwork – each worker has to step up into a partial leadership role in order to make sure the kanban is always accurate.
Limits on Quantity
While this isn’t so much the case for online kanban boards, physical kanban systems tend to have a limit to how much information can be displayed before it becomes overwhelming.
Swim lanes can help you to keep tasks separate and the board as clear as possible, but you’ll find there’s a limit to how many you can have while still making your kanban system effective.
It’s down to you and your team to decide exactly what that cap is, but you should have a limit in mind so you know when to start a new board or understand that you’re at capacity.
Limited Information
Due to the nature of kanban boards, there’s only so much detail that you can provide about each task. For example, you may find that you still need to set up a secondary system that includes information like deadlines or assignees to keep track of all the details.
That being said, the kanban system’s purpose has never been to contain all the details of a project. It’s simply to keep track of its progress. If that’s all you need, kanban could still be perfect for you!
Start Your Kanban System with Label Source
It’s common for workplaces now to have virtual kanban boards to track the progress of projects, but for a lot of hands-on workplaces, a physical board is still essential.
At Label Source, we’ve got kanban boards available that can help you streamline your work processes, as well as any other quality control signage that can help your business function at its highest potential. Start browsing today, or get in touch to find out more.
