Milk run poster

A milk run is an in-plant delivery route run on a fixed path and a fixed timetable, like a milk round. At each stop the material handler (often called the water spider) drops full containers, collects empties and kanban cards, and brings next time only what those cards ask for. Done well, lines never wait for parts and parts never pile up beside them. This poster gives six rules for running one.

Download the poster

The PNG is free to download now. The print-ready vector PDFs open after a short form, once.

Download PNG (300 dpi)2550 x 3300 px, prints at 8.5 x 11 in · 348 KB · no form

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Milk run poster — 24 x 36 in18 x 24 inA2A3LetterA4PNG 300 dpi

The words on the poster

The milk run

One route, one timetable. Bring what was used, take the empties back.

Fixed route The same stops in the same order, marked on the floor plan.
Fixed time Leaves on the clock, every cycle, full or not.
Pull, not push Bring what the cards or empty bins ask for. Nothing more.
Full for empty Drop full containers, collect empties and cards.
Standard work Route, stops and times written down and followed.
Watch the misses A line short or a stop with no bins: note it, fix the cause.

Lines never wait for parts, and parts never pile up beside them.

On the floor

How to use it

Putting the Milk run poster to work

1
Put it at the start of the route and in the material handlers' area.
2
Use it when designing a route: check each rule against the plan before it starts.
3
Review the misses weekly: which stops had no bins, and why?
4
Pair it with the free water spider route plan and plan for every part template.

Where the poster goes and how to teach with it, in the order to try them.

Which size to print

24 x 36 in or A2: a main wall or team board, read from a few metres away.
18 x 24 in or A3: a station or notice board. The A3 file also fits 11 x 17 in paper.
Letter or A4: a clipboard, binder or handout, on any office printer.

Every PDF is vector, so it stays sharp at full size. Nothing runs to the edge of the page, so no bleed is needed.

Sources and notes

Rick Harris, Chris Harris and Earl Wilson, Making Materials Flow (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2003): delivery routes, the plan for every part and material handling.