In an update to an earlier post, Can you kanban? I wanted to share how the CL&D press/finishing team has really stepped up efforts to ensure materials are ready (and they were working hard already). New systems are allowing materials to flow through the system more easily, more consistently, and with fewer headaches. After all, there are many important components to ensure that we can produce consistently with our famous short turn-around times, and material availability is a critical one.
Availability sounds easy, but it’s more than having the material in the warehouse. It’s making sure that it is ready for the printing or laminating process. To that end, raw materials are now very well organized in the warehouse by storing similar materials near each other and labeling with a Kanban card (which contains location and method of reordering). Materials are moved from storage to press room when they are treated and/or coated. We’ve also improved the organization of the press room area by removing obsolete materials, unnecessary tables and racks, installing new racks, and labeling each material. The team can now visually track low stock.
Efforts also continue to push material systems to the next level. An additional sheet was added to the job ticket for the press schedule board to quickly identify in advance the material type and footage. New core tags were also designed to better control and monitor the footage and material type.
Organizing materials is just one more way CL&D Digital continues to improve workflow every day – making it easier to meet and exceed the customer service expectations our clients have come to expect.
