Visual management and shop floor teams – development, implementation and use

Abstract

This research investigates the use of visual management, specifically communications boards in a British lock manufacturing company. The research explores the design, implementation and use of communications boards over two years. The purpose of the research was to bring design principles from the graphic design and cognitive psychology into a previously informal process and to develop Visual Management (VM) principles to guide the design of the board. The research findings have acted as a proof of process for the introduction of VM theory into the design of communications boards and provide evidence that the VM principles improved the design of the board. This enabled Team Leaders to better engage in problem-solving and continuous improvement with their teams.

Keywords:

• visual management
• lean manufacturing
• action research
• continuous improvement
• cellular manufacture