Set up visual management on the floor (andon, floor marking)
Let anyone see at a glance whether the area is doing well: where each thing goes, how its indicators are doing and when someone calls for help.
The task in figures
- Gives you back
- It does not recur every month
- Elmira today
- Helps
- Frequency
- Per project
- Who does it today
- Engineer
- Version
- Elmira Junior
What hurts today.
The board shows last week’s data.
The floor marking wears off, and nobody redoes it.
The andon goes off, and nobody knows who should go.
In an area with visual management, normal and abnormal are told apart without asking: the floor is marked, each tool has its place, the board shows the indicators with their traffic light and the andon signals when a workstation needs help. Setting it up means defining what must be visible in each area, marking out, building the boards, installing the andon with who answers each call and keeping it up. The board is what gets neglected most: it is filled in by hand, and it shows last week’s data.
Done today with
- Expert
- In-person meeting
- On the floor
- Paper and whiteboard
- Spreadsheet
Each step, today and with Elmira.
Marking out and setting up the andon are still the floor’s. The area’s board can be its Matrix in Obeyaka: it shows each goal with its indicator and its traffic light, and updates on its own when someone records a value.
| Step | Today | With Elmira |
|---|---|---|
| Define what must be visible in each area | In-person meeting, Expert30 min – 1.5 h | Still by hand |
| Mark out floors, aisles and locations | On the floor2 h – 8 h | Still by hand |
| Build the area’s board with its indicators and their traffic lights | Paper and whiteboard, Spreadsheet1 h – 3 h | Obeyaka (web) |
| Keep the board up to date | Paper and whiteboard, Spreadsheet30 min – 1 h | Automatic |
| Install the andon and agree who answers each call | On the floor, In-person meeting1 h – 4 h | Still by hand |
The conversation
No example conversation: the Obeyaka web app does it, or it comes later.
Does this happen to your team?
Book a demo and we will show you Elmira doing this task.
More cases of lean tools on the shop floor
- Track each line’s and shift’s OEEThe OEE arrives when the shift is already over.
- Cut changeover times (SMED)The changeover is done differently on each shift.
- Implement total productive maintenance (TPM)Maintenance lives firefighting.