Lean Manufacturing: Visual Management

In the manufacturing world, as well as within any other organization (like hospitals, schools, or offices) we see posted signs and labels of various types that we would typically call visuals. In some cases, people may argue that they are using visual management, but that may not always be the case. To help us differentiate visuals from visual management, let’s look at their definitions. Visuals are displays used to convey information in a visual way. For example, posters reminding people to work safe or an event calendar. In the same manner, we see labels indicating which side to open, which side is up, or which knob provides either hot or cold water. Other visuals are intended to warn people about a potential hazard. However, if the presence of these signs neither manages or controls anything, they are just considered visuals. Some more examples of visuals are:
• “Hot” and “Cold”
• “Turn right to open”
• Only use blue ink
• Bright light
• Rough surface
• Turn switch to on position Visual management can be compared to the Japanese term Mieruka; “mieru” means to be able to see and “ka” is the action of making something. We can put this together to then state that visual management consists of two parts, what we see and the action to be taken based on what we see. A Lean thinker uses visual management to improve a system by preventing errors and resolving issues. Visual management not only communicates important information to the manufacturing floor, but it also indicates actions to be taken whenever an issue is encountered. We can refer to it as the link between the data and the people. The reason for implementing visual management is to drive problem-solving efforts and focus on process improvements. There are many different ways to visually display information, such as using color codes, floor markings, lights, graphs, and other visual cues with minimal lettering. The purpose of visual management is to keep the focus on the processes and facilitate communication of the targets and current performance so appropriate immediate actions can take place. When we talk about visual management, we are relating to the act of managing. Therefore, if a visual post or label is not managing a potential problem, or meeting specific needs, then it is not part of visual management. The key is to make it obvious what is normal and what needs to be done if someone sees that it is not normal. Some examples of visual management are:
• Clocks with colored background to signal level of accomplishment.
• A pressure gage with a green line to indicate the pressure setpoint.
• Use of paint to define safe walkways.
• A light or buzzer that is actuated when a specific condition occurs, such as a machine shutting down.
• A production scoreboard with the target quantities and the current status by hour.
• A screen showing the percentage of quality defects or number of customer complaints
• A board with charts displaying month-end performance for key performance indicators.
• A shadow board for tools needed to perform a job.
• Pictures of acceptable and unacceptable parts. All these indicators prompt the viewer to consider why they have been confronted with the imagery and will then generate a reaction to immediately fix abnormal conditions. If the abnormal conditions don’t change, then it’s not well-implemented visual management.