Are you missing the secret sauce that smoothens operations and improves productivity in your manufacturing unit? Want to automate the process behind manufacturing? Visual management tools might be what’s missing in your workplace.
To help you choose the right tool, in this article, we discuss the top 10 visual management tools and how you can benefit from them.
Visual Management Tools : what is it?
Lean management is a champion of modern manufacturing businesses, and visual management plays a major role in achieving operational excellence. Simply put, automated visual management tools deploy visual aids ensuring smooth flow of information throughout the organization leading to better productivity.
These tools can be used to provide instructions, information on standards, processes, and the progress of tasks. They can also serve as a warning system, preventing accidents or mistakes, reducing wastage, and increasing transparency and productivity.
What are the four levels of visual management?
Visual tools are the lifeblood of any visual management system. Typically, visual management is employed in four levels:
- Level 1: Visual Indicators: Used to offer information. Example: Safety signs.
- Level 2: Visual Signals: Intended to grab attention. Example: Andon system.
- Level 3: Visual Controls: Designed to control production, safety, or ensure proper maintenance. Example: Kanban cards.
- Level 4: Visual Guarantees: Created to eliminate simple human errors. Example: Poka-yokes.
The Best Visual Management Tools
Did you know 65% of humans are visual learners? That’s exactly why visual management tools are used to improve productivity and boost staff morale.
Here are the top 10 most used visual management tools you can deploy in your manufacturing unit to deliver the best quality products to your customers.
1. Kanban Board
In the 1940s, Toyota successfully used kanban boards to ensure they produced cars only when there was real demand for them. The system has evolved ever since and now plays a crucial role in the industry 4.0 settings.
Let’s explore the benefits of using a kanban board:
- Visualize operations
- Understand the strengths and weaknesses of your process
- Prioritize tasks and track progress
- Ensure a smooth workflow
- Reduce bottlenecks
- Boost productivity
- Improve collaboration
2. VSM (Value Stream Mapping)
Value Stream Mapping (VSM), also called value stream analysis or lean process mapping, is a top-rated lean management tool that maps every step of product development, including design, quality control, supply chain, and customer support.
VSM helps identify waste and improve process cycle time. Here’s why VSM is regarded as one of the top tools:
- Enables process optimization
- Helps understand and simplify the complexities of manufacturing
- Helps reduce inventory and costs
- Evaluates the effectiveness of the customer support system
- Ensures efficient decision-making
3. Gantt charts
Gantt charts are popular in Industry 4.0 as they give team members a complete overview of the project, including the activities, progress of tasks, how they relate to each other, and the resources used.
When used effectively, you get the following benefits from Gantt charts:
- Better planning and implementation
- Realistic timelines and expectations
- Efficient scheduling of tasks
- Improved productivity
- Better collaboration between teams and departments
- Identification of critical paths and making necessary improvements
4. Ishikawa Diagram
Also known as fishbone diagrams, Ishikawa diagrams are visual tools used in brainstorming sessions to identify factors causing a problem and the connections between them. The diagram often takes the shape of a fish skeleton with the problem as the head and potential causes as the fish bones.
Some of the advantages of Ishikawa diagrams are:
- Easy identification of bottlenecks
- A creative and fun way to present
- Better understanding of complex information
- Visual support for effective communication
- Encourages collaborative problem-solving
5. Andon
Championed by Toyota, Andon is a visual management tool used to signal mistakes in a production process. In Japanese, the word Andon means light or lamp. In the context of production and manufacturing, it means that a sign lights up when an anomaly is detected during production.
In Industry 4.0, Andon is used to trigger a warning, asking for human intervention during the production process. Here’s why Andon is widely used in lean manufacturing:
- Prevent recurrent issues by identifying and eliminating the root cause
- Reduce delays and downtime in production
- Boost productivity and overall efficiency
- Faster problem-solving and cost savings
6. Heijunka Boards
The Heijunka board is one of the thirteen pillars of Toyota’s production system. The term Heijunka means leveling in Japanese. In the manufacturing setting, Heijunka boards are used to identify and reduce unevenness in the production process.
By using Heijunka board for visualization, you can:
- Balance workloads by allocating tasks evenly
- Reduce inventory by using small batches
- Ensure a stable production process
- Create a happier workforce, as the system eliminates overburden and idle time
- Keep customers satisfied by optimizing delivery
7. SQCDP Boards
SQCDP boards communicate performance with respect to Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. The board has 5 sections with each section further divided into 31 frames. A green frame typically represents goals met for the day while a red frame reflects the opposite.
When employed in your business, SQCDP boards can:
- Make areas for improvement easy to identify
- Facilitate data-driven decisions with real-time visibility into performance
- Drive continuous improvement
- Inculcate values in the company culture
- Improve accountability
8. Pareto Charts
Detecting defects, understanding their impact on production, and prioritizing fixes are important for improving overall efficiency in a manufacturing unit. Pareto Charts, a combination of bar and line graphs, let you do just that.
In the chart, you need to look for the height of the bar to decide which defects to fix first. By using this visual management tool, you can:
- Improve decision-making
- Identify factors that have a substantial impact on your production outcome
- Prioritize problem-solving efforts using data and insights
9. Poka-Yoke
Fail-safing, aka Poka-Yoke, as the name suggests, is an automated process analysis tool put in place to make sure that no error occurs during production or to identify the error immediately after it occurs.
This visual management tool helps you:
- Optimize training time
- Improve workplace safety
- Reduce wastage
- Boost productivity
10. Operation Sheets
Also known as a standard operating sheet (SOS), an operation sheet is a document that outlines all the elements involved in a specific operation, including the steps involved in the process and the approximate time required to complete the tasks.
Here is why you should deploy operation sheets in your facility:
- Standardization of the process
- Visualization of information using diagrams
- Better employee engagement
Conclusion
Visual management tools are your best bet when it comes to achieving your lean manufacturing goals. By digitizing and automating your lean management system, you can easily standardize the manufacturing process, fix issues, and improve collaboration between teams.
Your team can also make data-driven decisions and achieve operational excellence by adopting digital visual management tools. Fabriq, with its cutting-edge and easy-to-use technology, helps you stay ahead of the competition.
