Advantages of Using the Kanban System

30 March 2020 | Updated on 06 May 2022

In order to become more efficient and improve workflows, Levstal has implemented Kanban at our production. Our project managers can already see its value.

Kanban’s Roots

The word “Kanban” is of Japanese origin and literally translates to signboard” or “visual card”. Kanban system relies on visual cards that hold key information for the system to create, track and deliver these cards. The idea behind kanbans comes from Toyota. In the late 1940s, Toyota introduced “just in time” manufacturing to its production. The approach represents a pull system where production was based on customer demand which meant that shelves never overflowed with excess stock or ran empty.

What is Kanban?

All projects always start and finish with a plan. The success of the projects depends on how the plan was implemented. Without a clearly defined process, project managers end up unable to manage their work efficiently, while teams work overtime to meet impossible demands. It also can tend to product delivery delay by a team.

Kanban methodology solves these problems by shifting teams away from the productivity and quality-control problems that come with multitasking to maintain the workflow focused throughout.

Kanban is a visual method for controlling production as part of Just in Time and Lean Manufacturing. As part of a pull system, it controls what is produced, in what quantity, and when. Its purpose is to ensure that you only produce what the customer is asking for and nothing more. It is a system of signals that is used through the value stream to pull product from customer demand back to raw materials.

Benefits of Kanban

We have already noticed some advantages to using the Kanban system:

Keep everything visible to everyone
Increases efficiency
Drives down costs
Increased productivity
Increases efficiency
Reduces obsolete inventory
Reduction of wasted work / wasted time
Gives work area personnel more control
Prevents overproduction
Provides managers progress reports
Helps to focus on one thing at a time
Improves responsiveness to changes in demand
Improves teamwork

About the author

Filipp Levada is the CEO of Levstal Group. Filipp graduated from Estonian Business School and started working in Levstal in 2012 being responsible for sales, account and order management. In 2014 Filipp became the CEO of the company. During this time the company entered the metal construction market and began to produce metal structures for commercial centers, warehouses, social buildings, stadiums and residential premises. In 2016 under Filipp's management the company entered the mechanical engineering market, cooperating with customers in industries such as energy, pulp, woodworking, waste processing. By 2017 80% of Levstal Group's orders were exported to countries such as Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and England. By 2018 Filipp initiated another project - a new company for the production of modular houses for residential premises, offices, hotels. Today Levstal exports products to all Scandinavian countries, DACH, the UK and North Amrica. The total turnover of the group is 31 million euros per year. Levstal is working on large scale projects and has become the market leader in steel structures manufacturing in Estonia.