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Kanban card template

A kanban card is the signal that makes a pull system work: nothing is made or moved without one. A production kanban tells a process to make one container of a part, and a withdrawal kanban tells a material handler to move one container from the store to the process that uses it. This template has six production kanbans on page 1 and six withdrawal kanbans on page 2, each with the part number, description, where it is made or taken from, where it goes, the quantity per container, the container type, a card number such as 3 of 5 and a space for a photo or barcode. Page 3 has the formula for how many cards a loop needs, a register of every card in circulation and the rules for running the cards.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the kanban card templateSix production kanban cards in a two by three grid with dashed cut lines, each with part number, description, where it is made, quantity per container, container type, location, materials, lot size, card number and a space for a photo or barcode.
6 production kanbans6 withdrawal kanbansCard __ of __ numberingPhoto or barcode spaceCard-count formulaCard registerRules for the cards

When to use it

When to use kanban cards

  • To replace a schedule pushed to each process with a pull loop between a supplying process and the one that uses its parts.
  • For parts used steadily, such as brackets, fasteners or subassemblies that go into most products.
  • Between a supermarket and the line, so material handlers deliver what was used rather than what someone guessed.
  • When a paper system is the right first step before any electronic signal, or where cards work better than screens.
  • Not for one-off or very irregular parts, which are better made to order.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Choose the loop

    Pick one part and one loop: the process that makes it, the store where full containers wait and the process that uses them.

  2. 2

    Size the loop

    Work out the number of cards with the formula on page 3: daily demand × lead time × (1 + safety factor) ÷ quantity per container, rounded up.

  3. 3

    Fill in the cards

    Write the part number, description, where it is made or taken from, where it goes, the quantity and the container. Number the cards 1 of 5, 2 of 5 and so on.

  4. 4

    Print and protect them

    Print production and withdrawal kanbans on different colors of card, cut them out and laminate them or put them in sleeves.

  5. 5

    Record every card

    Write each loop in the register on page 3, so a lost card is noticed and nobody adds cards without updating it.

  6. 6

    Run the rules and review the loop

    Follow the rules on page 3. Review the number of cards when demand or lead time changes, and take cards out when the loop runs well.

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a kanban loop between a stamping press and the assembly line that uses its brackets.

The example loop and its card count

  1. 1

    Assembly empties a container of 50

  2. 2

    Its card goes to the press

  3. 3

    The press makes 50 brackets

  4. 4

    The full container returns to the store

↻ Back to the store: the loop repeats

Cards = demand × lead time × (1 + safety factor) ÷ container

  1. 400 a day × 0.5 day × 1.1 ÷ 50 = 4.4= 5 cards
The press makes brackets only when a card comes back. After a month the store never fell below two full containers, so one card came out of the loop.
  • The assembly line uses about 400 brackets a day, in containers of 50.
  • From the moment a container is emptied, it takes about half a day for its card to reach the press, for the brackets to be made and for the full container to be back in the store.
  • With a safety factor of 0.1: 400 × 0.5 × 1.1 ÷ 50 = 4.4, so 5 production cards, numbered 1 of 5 to 5 of 5.
  • After a month the store has never dropped below two full containers, so the team takes one card out of the loop and updates the register.

The press makes brackets only when a card comes back, the store never holds more than the cards allow, and the register shows every card in the loop.

Common mistakes

  • Making without a card

    Running extra parts because the press is free fills the store and breaks the loop. No card, no production.

  • Too many cards, never reviewed

    Cards are inventory. Size the loop from real numbers and take cards out as lead time comes down.

  • Lost cards nobody misses

    A card that goes missing means a container that is never replaced. Keep the register and check it regularly.

  • Batching cards

    Holding cards until there are enough for a big run adds lead time. Make in the order the cards arrive, or level the work with a heijunka box.

  • Starting with the hardest part

    Begin with a steady, simple part, learn how the loop behaves, then add more.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite turns video of each process step into a current-state value stream map with measured cycle times, inventory and lead time, and converts the inventory it counts between steps into days of WIP.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Kanban card template: common questions

  1. A card that authorizes work in a pull system. A production kanban tells a process to make a container of a part, and a withdrawal kanban tells someone to move a container from the store to the process that uses it. Nothing is made or moved without a card.

  2. A production kanban stays in the loop between a process and the store it fills, and signals that the process should make more. A withdrawal kanban, also called a conveyance or move kanban, travels between the store and the next process, and signals that a container should be moved. Many simple loops use only production kanbans.

  3. A common formula is daily demand × replenishment lead time in days × (1 + safety factor) ÷ quantity per container, rounded up. Lead time is the whole time for a card to go around the loop. Page 3 of this template has the formula and a register for the result.

  4. At least the part number and description, where the part is made or taken from, where it goes, the quantity per container, the container type and the card number, such as 3 of 5. A photo of the part or a barcode helps people match the card to the container.

  5. Not quite. Kanban cards control material in a pull system on the shop floor. A kanban board shows tasks in columns such as to do, doing and done, and is used to manage work such as projects and actions.

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