What visual management is
Visual management is placing tools, parts, production activities and performance indicators in plain view, so that the status of the system can be understood at a glance by everyone involved. The goal is to make abnormalities obvious.
Source: Lean Enterprise Institute, Visual Management.
What a good board shows
| Area | Example |
|---|---|
| Safety | Days without incidents, open risks |
| Quality | Scrap by hour or shift |
| Delivery | Planned versus actual output per hour |
| Productivity | OEE of the bottleneck |
| Actions | Problems, owners, due dates |
Displaying is not managing
A board full of charts nobody reads is decoration. A board works when it is updated by the team itself, reviewed in a short daily meeting and every red number leads to an action with an owner. Andon and 5S are part of the same family.
Setting up a board in a week
- Choose three to five indicators the team can influence.
- Draw the board by hand first; digital can come later.
- Define who updates each indicator and when.
- Hold a 10-minute daily meeting in front of the board.
- Review after a month: remove what nobody uses.
A simple board layout
- Safety: days without accidents and open safety issues.
- Quality: scrap or defects per shift against target.
- Delivery: planned versus actual output, hour by hour.
- Machines: OEE or main stops of the day.
- Actions: problems, owner and due date.
Green and red should be visible from a few meters away. If someone needs to read small print to know the status, it is not visual.
The routine that makes the board work
A board only works with a short, fixed meeting in front of it, usually at the start of the shift. The team looks at yesterday's reds, updates the actions and escalates what it cannot solve. Linking the board to andon signals and to gemba walks turns it into a management tool instead of wall decoration.
Frequently asked questions
What is visual management?
Making the status of work and its abnormalities visible at a glance.
How many indicators should a board have?
Few. Three to five indicators the team can influence is a good start.
Does a board need to be digital?
No. A hand-updated board is often better at first because the team owns it.
Sources
- Lean Enterprise Institute. Visual Management. Lean Lexicon. https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/visual-management/
Want to structure the routine around your boards?
Read about how to run an effective Gemba walk.
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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.