Kanban Board

At Gemstone we strive to be efficient and endeavour to use lean delivery principles, we actively look at ways to improve our processes to deliver our projects in the most efficient way.  Our Senior Construction Manager Paul Johnstone embraced this ethos and implemented the Kanban System at our Hammersmith Hospital project.  It was a great visual aid and immediately gave insight to the key activities on the project.  Below is an explanation of the Kanban System and how it is useful particularly for a construction company.

The Kanban System

The Kanban system originated in Japan and was initially developed by Toyota in the 1940s as part of their Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing process. The word "Kanban" itself means "signboard" or "billboard" in Japanese. Kanban is a visual system for managing workflow, inventory, and production scheduling. It aims to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase productivity by providing a real-time visualization of work processes.

The traditional Kanban board consists of columns representing different stages of production (e.g., "To Do," "In Progress," "Done") and cards representing tasks or work items. Workers move these cards across the board as tasks progress through the workflow, providing a clear visual representation of the work status and helping to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

In manufacturing, Kanban boards were used to streamline production processes by ensuring that each workstation only produced what was needed by the next workstation, thus reducing inventory, minimizing waste, and improving overall efficiency.

Gemstone Kanban System

Gemstone will be implementing a Kanban board on all active sites.  Gemstone firmly believe the Kanban system can bring similar benefits by providing a visual representation of project tasks, programme, and resource allocation.

Here are the steps needed to make the Gemstone Kanban an effective strategy for our projects:

  1. Identify the workflow stages: Determine the different stages involved in your projects (e.g., design, procurement, site preparation, construction, inspection, completion).  This can be an overview with a more detailed sub-set of tasks below.  It is important that the identified tasks are focused and clear. 

  2. Set up the Gemstone Kanban board:  A Gemstone Kanban board can be ordered from this site, Large A0 Whiteboard Rolls | Ideal for Office Presentations (magicwhiteboard.com) Contact accounts@gemstone.ltd to place the necessary order. 

  3. Define task cards: The project team are to agree the tasks and create task cards for each project task or work item.  The project team are to include relevant information such as task descriptions, deadlines, assigned team members, and any dependencies.  Kanban cards can be ordered from ATWAM - 60 Magnetic Strips writable - 75 x 25 mm - 6 Colors - Scrum & Kanban - writable Magnets - for whiteboard, Magnetic Board, Magnetic Wall & Fridge : Amazon.co.uk: Stationery & Office Supplies contact accounts@gemstone.ltd to make the necessary order.

  4. Implement WIP limits: Set limits on the number of tasks allowed in each column to prevent overloading and improve flow efficiency.  Gemstone place importance on clearing the items in the Blockers stage! Every effort should be concentrated on removing any impediments.  These may or may not be Gemstone issues.  If they are client issues, we MUST assist the client in arriving at a decision that best serves the project.  This is where Gemstone as a business adds value, we solve problems we do not report problems.

  5. Visualize the workflow: Update the Kanban board regularly to reflect the status of tasks. Use colour coding or labels to indicate task priority, status, or type.  The project team is responsible for setting their own system up within the overarching framework of the system.  The only stipulation is that it must be logical and relevant to what is trying to be achieved.

  6. The Gemstone Kanban System is a useful and easy to understand visual aid.  It is at the project team’s discretion on how it is to be used to best serve their project.  It is recommended however to have daily briefings with key team members, this will likely be, project manager, construction managers, site supervisors and sub-contractor site supervisors, to discuss the days tasks any blockers and forthcoming tasks with dependencies or bottle necks.  It’s a great tool to work with the client team!  Involve them in the process, the success of any project involves multiple parties! 

  7. Continuously improve: Encourage feedback from team members on how to improve the workflow and adjust the Kanban system as necessary.  Assign action owners and ensure those actions are closed in a timely manner.

These steps are a guide, we look forward to seeing your interpretation of the system the methodology you plan to use on your projects.  We are sure it will boost productivity and efficiency in your projects.