Why Visual Management?

Lauri Koskela, Algan Tezel, Patricia Tzortzopoulos

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference outputConference publication

Abstract

From early on, visual management (VM) has been an intrinsic ingredient of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and its derivatives like lean production. Akin to the evolution of most other parts of the TPS, it has been developed through practitioner efforts rather than being propelled by theoretical insights. Recently, scholars have started to create a theoretical knowledge base for VM. Besides taxonomies of visual devices and their functions, there is only one fully fledged theory of VM, based on the concept of affordance. It is contended here that the scholarly field of visual management has been too narrowly defined. In fact, research on (or bearing on) visual devices has been carried out in several other, mostly small fields, often with little mutual awareness. A review on the theoretical explanation of VM is provided, based on this wider literature. The concept of affordance has been used in this context already in early 1990s. This focuses attention especially to the human cognitive capabilities and corresponding features of visual devices. Generally, VM is argued to provide a more rapid and reliable mode of communication in comparison to traditional alternatives. VM is thus compatible with the lean tenets of time compression and variability reduction. This explains its central role in lean production.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
EditorsVicente A. Gonzalez
Pages250-260
Number of pages11
Volume1
ISBN (Electronic)978-93-80689-29-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jul 2018
Event26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, IGLC 2018 - Chennai, India
Duration: 16 Jul 201822 Jul 2018

Publication series

Name
PublisherThe International Group for Lean Construction
ISSN (Electronic)2309-0979

Conference

Conference26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, IGLC 2018
Country/TerritoryIndia
CityChennai
Period16/07/1822/07/18

Keywords

  • cognition
  • Visual management
  • lean production

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