Organizing your construction project can be a challenge. Many firms and contractors rely on what has always worked for them. This is not necessarily the most efficient manner. That’s where a digital kanban board can make a huge difference.
Kanban boards are often used in modern lean systems that are commonly associated with manufacturing. These boards have become a way to organize projects and are often used by software developers. They have also been used by marketers and project managers in all fields.
To understand what a kanban board is, you have to understand what a kanban is. The word kanban means "signboard" in Japanese. You've almost certainly seen a kanban. When you take the last item off of a supermarket rack, sometimes there's a sign behind the last item with the product and various information on it. In manufacturing, kanbans are used as a quick visual reference to determine when a part needs to be reordered. Sometimes they are behind the product, sometimes they are a certain number of items forward, reflecting the amount typically used before a new order comes in. In manufacturing, the kanban boards are sent to the parts supplier and the supplier sends only the number of parts needed.
This was then adapted to project management. Kanban cards are placed on a board, and the cards move through columns that represent stages of completion. This allows for a quick visual assessment of where projects are and, importantly, where backlogs and bottlenecks are occurring. Kanban boards can be physical or digital and are used as part of a project management system. Each column of the board has a number limit, which forces you to complete things before adding another item. The entire system helps put the most important tasks up to the front.
We actually have a Japanese car company to thank, specifically Toyota. While they didn't create the pull system, they invented the idea of using paper cards to create an efficient pull system for manufactured goods.
The Toyota kanban contains a wealth of information about each part, including the part number, product name, where the part is shipped from, and even the route it has to take once it gets to the factory.
This kind of pull system can be useful to construction companies that might have to order a lot of parts and supplies.
A kanban board typically looks like a whiteboard with multiple columns on it. These columns are typically labelled by stages of completion. The most basic form is "Backlog," "WIP" and "Completed." Different companies might expand this to fit their specific needs. For example, during procurement, the stages might be "Backlog," "Out for Bid," "Bid Selected," "Order In Process" and "Received" for each item you need to specifically procure for the project.
The cards themselves are typically post-it notes on a physical board so they can easily be moved from one column to another. Each card represents a specific task. If more information is needed, you might use a larger sticky note pad or similar. Obviously, a digital kanban board doesn't have this limitation.
Using a physical or digital Kanban board can bring you multiple benefits. These include, but are not limited to:
All of this means that while kanban boards don't work for everyone, they are worth trying for your business to see if they can help improve your workflow and help you stay under budget.
Using a kanban board can help you manage the complex stages of construction. In this industry, you will want to create a series of boards that represent the project life cycle. Typically, this is five stages: planning/design, pre-construction, procurement, construction, and post-construction. However, you may be used to breaking it down differently.
On each of the five boards, you place all the various tasks that need to be done, adding to them as necessary. You probably won't know what tasks are needed for construction until you are through planning/design.
Set each board up with the appropriate columns. For design, for example, are you the one taking the RFPs, or is this board where you keep your outgoing RFPs? If it’s the latter, you might have stages that help you limit the number of proposals you have out at any given time to ensure a manageable workload.
Because of the complexity, physical kanban boards might not work. You might, after all, have multiple projects in different stages, meaning you have entire groups of tasks moving through at once. A digital kanban board allows for this kind of grouping and also makes it easier to reassign a task if, for example, a key worker calls in sick.
While kanban boards are more typically used in "agile" development, they absolutely can help in the slower but incredibly complex environment of construction. You can experiment by using a whiteboard or similar, but will probably want to move to a digital kanban board if you find the system works for you.
If you are considering trying kanban boards, you can try it for free with GigOver. It's just part of our project management software designed specifically for construction firms, which also includes punch lists, calendars, Gantt charts, and time tracking. Check it out today, with no software to download or install.