Improvement of Kanban Inventory System Management

Abstract

An increase in scrap of Kanban inventory has been reported in a medical device company. The main causes of the reported condition are the lack of visibility of inventory levels and inadequate execution of firs-in-first-out practices in the shop floor. The processes regarding the release and allocation of the product manufactured per three product families were evaluated. An inventory tool that allows information to flow from the release of material to Kanban Area to the requisition conducted at downstream operations was implemented. This significantly improved the prioritization of work-in-process based on expiration risks. Key Terms ⎯ Lean Manufacturing, Waste, Overproduction, Just-in-Time (JIT).