The Kanban Playbook

A scheduling system for Lean and just-in-time production, Kanban is a proven tool for reducing waste, inventory, and lead times. The implementation of Kanban, however, is a manually intensive action and conducting Kanban projects properly takes experience and direction.

Until now, there has been a need for a book with detailed step-by-step guidelines on how to properly implement Kanban. Complete with color images, The Kanban Playbook: A Step-by-Step Guideline for the Lean Practitioner fills this need.

This new book in The LEAN Playbook Series is your guide to proper Kanban implementation. It is ideal for Lean practitioners and facilitators looking for a training tool and guideline that can be used in the work area while improvements are being made.

Like a football coach, you can use this playbook for quick reference to convey what’s needed to facilitate effective Kanban projects. If for some reason you forget a "play" during the implementation, you can easily reference the playbook. You can follow page by page and use the playbook to facilitate successful Kanban projects, or you can go directly to certain topics and use it to help you implement that particular "play."

The playbook includes color images from actual Kanban implementations. In addition to the images, a combination of short paragraphs and bulleted points walk you step by step through the process of implementing Kanban to reduce waste and bring about remarkable changes in your organization.

Wasting little time on high-level theory, the book explains how to implement Kanban Card Systems, Two-Bin Systems, and In-Process Kanban (IPK).

Looking for supplemental information or Lean coaching from Chris Ortiz? Go to www.leanplaybooks.com to receive ongoing support and advice on how to use The LEAN Playbook Series for training and implementation.

About the Author

Chris Ortiz is the founder and president of Kaizen Assembly, a Lean manufacturing training and implementation firm in Bellingham, Washington. Kaizen Assembly’s clients include industry leaders in aerospace, composites, processing, automotive, rope-manufacturing, restoration equipment, food processing, and fish-processing industries.

Chris has been featured on CNN Headline News on the show "Inside Business with Fred Thompson." He is the author of six books on Lean manufacturing. Chris is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at conferences around North America. He has been interviewed on KGMI radio and the American Innovator and has written numerous articles on Lean manufacturing and business improvement for various regional and national publications.

Chris is considered to be an expert in the field in Lean manufacturing implementation and has over 15 years of experience in his field of expertise.