The principle: deviations must jump out at you
Visual management means making the state of the process visible in a few seconds, without asking anyone for a report. If the operator, the supervisor, and a visitor can all tell whether the workstation is normal or abnormal, the tool works. If someone has to explain the board, the board is wrong.
Before the ideas, three rules. Every visual control compares actual against a standard. Every deviation triggers an action with an owner. And every control needs an indicator that proves it helped. For the full concept, see visual management: boards and indicators on the shop floor.
Ideas 1 to 5: pace, alerts, and organization
1. Hourly production board
How to do it: a table next to the line with the hourly target, actual output, the difference, and the reason for any deviation. The operator fills it in at the end of each hour. The target comes from takt time.
What to measure: adherence to the hourly target and a Pareto chart of deviation reasons.
2. Andon
How to do it: a signal (light, panel, or pull cord) that the operator triggers on seeing an abnormality, with an agreed response from whoever answers the call. Details in andon: the signaling system.
What to measure: number of activations, response time, and resolution time.
3. Floor marking
How to do it: stripes and outlines for aisles, material areas, carts, PPE, and nonconforming product. Each color has a single meaning.
What to measure: items out of place per round and distance traveled per part.
4. Shadow boards for tools
How to do it: a panel or drawer with the outline of each tool, plus its name and quantity. A missing tool jumps out at you.
What to measure: time spent searching for tools and tools lost per month.
5. Traffic-light indicators
How to do it: each indicator gets a green, yellow, or red band, defined by a written rule. Red requires an action plan.
What to measure: how many red indicators have an open action, and for how many days.
Ideas 6 to 10: flow, quality, and action
6. Visual kanban
How to do it: a board or card that shows what to produce and what is on hold. The logic is in the practical kanban guide and the format in the kanban board as a visual management tool.
What to measure: work in process (WIP) and the waiting time of each order.
7. Minimum and maximum limits
How to do it: mark a minimum line (time to replenish) and a maximum line (stop producing) on the shelf or container. The limit becomes a visible rule.
What to measure: material shortages and occurrences of stock above the maximum.
8. Quality board
How to do it: show the day's defects by type, the defective part on display, and the action under way. A real part teaches more than a number.
What to measure: defects per thousand parts and first pass yield, as in FPY and RTY.
9. 5S map
How to do it: a floor plan of the area showing who is responsible for each zone and the score from the last audit. Step by step in 5S on the shop floor.
What to measure: audit score per zone and month-over-month progress.
10. Action board
How to do it: a list with problem, action, owner, and due date, in the 5W2H format. Review it in a short stand-up meeting in front of the board.
What to measure: percentage of actions completed on time and average age of open actions.
Where to start: impact and effort
| Idea | Effort | Most visible return |
|---|---|---|
| Shadow boards for tools | Low | Less search time |
| Floor marking | Low | Organized flow and safety |
| Min/max limits | Low | Fewer shortages and less excess |
| Hourly production board | Medium | Deviations found on the spot |
| Andon | High | Problems handled at the source |
Start with what costs little and delivers results within a week. That builds credibility for the ideas that require investment.
Standardize colors and symbols across the whole plant: green for normal, yellow for attention, and red for immediate action. A visitor or an operator from another shift should understand them without training. Write the rules on a sheet posted at the entrance of the area so that new boards follow the same code.
Mistakes that kill the board
- A good-looking but outdated board: yesterday's data corrects nothing today. Define who updates it and when.
- An indicator with no standard: without a target, the color means nothing.
- Too much information: if there are 20 numbers, nobody reads any of them. Keep the number of indicators per board small.
- A board built by management: the team that uses the board should help design it.
- Deviations with no consequence: red must trigger action, otherwise it becomes decoration.
To find out whether an idea worked, set a baseline before installing any control. Record the indicator for two weeks, install the idea, and compare. If nothing changes in a month, the problem may be in how it is used: nobody looks at the board. Observe at the gemba whether leaders and operators actually look at the controls and act on them. Review every quarter and remove whatever nobody uses, because visual clutter hides what matters.
Next step
Choose one cell and two ideas from the list. A suggestion: shadow boards for tools and the hourly production board. Define what will be measured, record the starting situation, and reassess in two weeks.
After you see the result, expand to other areas. To tie visual control into the material flow, read kanban and visual management: synergy to increase efficiency.
Frequently asked questions
What is visual management in production?
It is the use of signals, boards, and markings that show the state of the process in seconds, comparing actual against standard and revealing deviations without explanation.
What are the best visual management ideas to start with?
Shadow boards for tools, floor marking, and minimum and maximum limits. They cost little, are quick to apply, and deliver a visible return.
What is the difference between visual management and an indicator board?
The indicator board is one of the tools. Visual management also includes floor marking, andon, kanban, 5S, and any signal that shows the standard and the deviation.
How do I know whether visual management is working?
When deviations are noticed without the help of a report and action is opened quickly. Measure the time between the deviation and the reaction.
Who should update the boards?
The people who run the process, at the defined rhythm (hourly, per shift, or daily). The supervisor reviews and follows up on the action.
Keep studying
Sources
- LIKER, J. O Modelo Toyota. Porto Alegre: Bookman.
- ROTHER, M.; SHOOK, J. Aprendendo a Enxergar. São Paulo: Lean Institute Brasil.
- Lean Enterprise Institute. Visual Management (glossary). https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/visual-management/
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About the author
Lean Manufacturing & Behavioral Management Specialist
Over 20 years in the automotive and metalworking industries (GM and Dana), Lean Manufacturing practitioner since 2006. SENAI instructor and mentor in Brazil’s Brasil Mais Produtivo program, delivering consulting, training and audits for 50+ companies, combining quality, productivity and people development.
