- Visual management boards are information hubs that visually display key production data, helping to improve communication and identify problems quickly.
- There are various types of boards, including SQCDP, Kanban, Kaizen, and 5S boards, each with a specific focus.
- Digital boards offer advantages like real-time updates, data integration, and accessibility, making them a powerful tool for lean manufacturing success.
Manufacturing enterprises are struggling to adapt to continuing global supply chain disruption, labor shortages, and rising demands for sustainability among other challenges. All the while, they face growing pressure to deliver superior customer experiences.
In light of the challenges, lean manufacturing has become an imperative for organizational growth. This itself depends on clear and streamlined communication between every department and every operation.
What is a Visual Management Board?
Visual Management Boards are centralized information hubs that display color-coded cards and other visual cues to track key performance indicators (KPIs), project statuses, team goals, and more. They play a key role in lean manufacturing, since they help build bridges connecting people, processes, and technology.
The simplest Visual Management Boards lack digital functionality, such as integration with key data sources or interaction with workers. They also require manual updates, which often means the information on them ends up being out of date, inconsistent, or exposed to human error.
Digitized solutions, on the other hand, offer seamless integrability with data from both the shop floor and back-office by way of automatic updates, all while being readily accessible on display boards and personal devices.
Here’s an overview of the various types of digital management boards and how they enhance your operations:
7 types of Visual Management Boards
SQCDP boards
SQCDP boards track the five key pillars of any successful production environment – Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. When they’re integrated with other visual management boards and data systems, they provide real-time visibility into important metrics, such as daily targets, potential issues, and resolutions.
SQCDP boards can also complement Gemba walks, where supervisors conduct workplace inspections to observe employees and ask them about their tasks and any challenges they face.
Kanban boards
Ever since their appearance in Toyota factories across Japan in the early 1940s, Kanban has been the gold standard in production control boards. These visual tools, which are commonly digitized, use color-coded cards to show the statuses of specific tasks in a production cycle. Statuses might include ‘backlog’, ‘in progress’, ‘under review’, or ‘done’.
They’re also used to help manage inventory and production flow with the goals being to reduce waste and prevent overproduction or underproduction.
Kaizen boards
Kaizen is a Japanese word that’s often translated as ‘continuous improvement’. Kaizen is the philosophy of making ongoing, incremental improvements across all areas of an organization, including both manufacturing and management processes.
Kaizen boards often look similar to Kanban boards, and there’s usually some overlap. However, whereas Kanban boards are used to manage workflows and visualize tasks in progress, Kaizen boards focus on continuous improvements in processes and culture.
10 Visual Management Must-Haves [eBook]
5S boards
5S is another Japanese systematic methodology for workplace management. The term stands for five principles – Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Sort is about assessing your equipment and decluttering the workplace.
Set in order is about establishing the optimal way to store your equipment. Shine is about keeping the workplace clean. Standardize means turning the first three into a continuing habit. Finally, sustain means maintaining those habits by adopting them as part of your workplace culture.
Daily management boards
Daily management boards provide an easy way to track daily changes in the workplace. Often used to support daily standup meetings in manufacturing and software development, these boards are gaining popularity in many other industries.
These boards display key performance indicators (KPIs), such as production output, worker attendance rate, and number of issues flagged. The purpose is to foster closer team collaboration and involvement when setting goals for the day, as well as for reviewing the previous day’s performance.
Machine and production monitoring boards
Production monitoring boards capture key data from manufacturing processes, usually in real time, to provide visibility into production efficiency and quality. They usually work in conjunction with machine monitoring systems, which collect and transmit data directly from the shop floor by way of internet-connected sensors and other systems.
While machine monitoring tends to focus on specific equipment assets and production monitoring focuses on the plant level, both can work together to prove valuable curated information and actionable insights.
Andon boards
In terms of the information they display, andon boards are by far the simplest we’ve featured here. However, they’re still of vital importance on any shop floor. Their purpose is to instantly notify management, maintenance teams, or other relevant parties, of any potential issues in a production line.
They typically provide just a line number and a color-coded message signifying status. These statuses may indicate normal operation, delays, errors, or under maintenance warnings.
Getting started with Visual Management Boards
To get the most out of your Visual Management Boards, you’ll need an adaptable, goal-orientated strategy. Here’s a quick run-down of how to get started:
- Review your key metrics, such as production cycle times, quality assurance indicators, and safety metrics, to set the tone for the day.
- Identify and address issues by highlighting any problems or bottlenecks on the board and discussing them with your team.
- Set your daily goals and add them to the board, using color codes to prioritize tasks and ensure your team is in alignment.
- Foster accountability using performance data visualizations and letting team members see how their work impacts overall results.
- Encourage engagement by using digitized boards that make meetings more interactive and allow all team members to participate.
Centralize and customize your dashboards with Tervene
Tervene is a fully connected software that enables you to centralize and customize your dashboards. Operational leaders worldwide use our Visual Management tools to empower their front-line teams and executives and improve their productivity in a matter of weeks.
Gain visibility with Tervene’s visual management system
Explore Tervene’s visual management toolsFAQ: Visual management boards
Visual management boards are essentially information hubs that visually display key information about your operations. They use things like color-coded cards and charts to track key performance indicators (KPIs), project progress, team goals, and more. They’re designed to make it easy for everyone to understand what’s happening at a glance.
Lean manufacturing is all about maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste. Visual management boards play a crucial role in this by:
- Improving communication: Everyone can clearly see what’s going on, which reduces misunderstandings and promotes collaboration.
- Identifying problems quickly: Bottlenecks, delays, or quality issues become immediately apparent.
- Tracking progress: See at a glance whether you’re on track to meet your goals.
- Promoting accountability: When everyone can see the status of work, it encourages individuals and teams to take responsibility.
The article mentions several types, each with a specific focus:
- SQCDP boards: Track Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People – the core pillars of successful production.
- Kanban boards: Visualize workflow and the status of tasks (e.g., “to do,” “in progress,” “done”).
- Kaizen boards: Focus on continuous improvement efforts and process optimization.
- 5S boards: Promote workplace organization and standardization (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain).
- Daily management boards: Track daily KPIs and progress towards goals, often used in daily stand-up meetings.
- Machine and production monitoring boards: Provide real-time data on production efficiency and equipment performance.
- Andon boards: Signal production line issues or disruptions for immediate attention.
Digital boards offer several advantages over traditional, non-digital boards:
- Real-time updates: Information is automatically updated, ensuring accuracy.
- Data integration: Connect to various data sources for a comprehensive view of your operations.
- Accessibility: View dashboards on displays, computers, and mobile devices from anywhere.
- Enhanced interactivity: Allow for greater team engagement and collaboration.
The article provides a basic framework:
- Review your key metrics: Determine which KPIs are most important to track.
- Identify and address issues: Use the boards to highlight and discuss problems.
- Set daily goals: Visually track progress towards those goals.
- Foster accountability: Make performance data visible to everyone.
- Encourage engagement: Use interactive digital boards to promote participation.
What is Tervene?
Tervene is a software platform that provides digital visual management tools and other features to help manufacturers improve their productivity and operational efficiency. Learn more and see Tervene in action.