Lean and CI poster
Updated · Free to print and share
Visual management poster
Visual management means making the state of an area obvious at a glance: where things go, what is missing, whether production is on plan and where help is needed. This poster shows eight common visual aids, from floor markings and shadow boards to andon lights and min-max marks, and the one question that tests them all.
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The words on the poster
Visual management
Make normal and abnormal obvious at a glance.
- Floor markings Walkways, WIP spots and hazard zones.
- Shadow boards A missing tool shows straight away.
- Labels Every location and every item.
- Andon lights Status, and a call for help.
- Status boards Hour by hour against plan.
- Kanban and min-max When to refill, without asking.
- Photo standards What good looks like.
- Gauge marks Green and red zones on every dial.
- The test: can someone new tell at a glance whether the area is normal?
On the floor
How to use it
- 1
Walk the area with the poster: which of the eight do you have, and which would help?
- 2
Use the bottom question in leader walks and visual management audits.
- 3
Put it in the CI office as a menu of ideas for each area.
- 4
Pair it with the free visual management audit checklist and floor marking colour guide.
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.
Templates, decks and guides to go with it
- 5S training presentationFree training deck: Sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain in 16 slides, with a 15-minute sort activity and a quiz.
- Obeya room training presentationFree training deck: What an obeya is, what goes on its walls and how to run the meetings, in 15 slides with a design activity.
- Visual management audit checklist29 checks of whether anyone can tell normal from abnormal at a glance, scored by group, with a trend and actions.
- Floor marking color guideA floor marking color standard with swatches, marks and line widths to fill in, and a floor marking check with a layout sketch.
- Shadow board plannerPlan a shadow board: the tool list with how often each is used, a squared layout, labels, and a month of daily checks.
- Hour-by-hour production boardHourly plan against actual with running totals and the reason for each miss, plus a shift summary by reason.
- Topic: 5S and visual managementEvery guide we have on the subject, sorted.
A poster reminds. A routine makes it stick.
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