Revolutionary worker control: How visual management optimizes production processes

The age of information overload: How visual management sheds light on the darkness

We live in an age of information overload, because the amount of information you are exposed to every day is often overwhelming. This flood of information often consists of raw information, which is only useful if suitable methods are used to derive insights from it.
It is said that we humans are visual creatures — this is exactly where so-called visual management, or visual management, comes into play. While it is difficult even for the trained eye to recognize relationships between, for example, different series of numbers, even a toddler manages to interpret bar charts and recognize meaning from the visual presentation of numbers. It is therefore obvious that data visualization is a powerful tool for evaluating, using and communicating data.

The power of visualization: How data is translated into visual contexts

Visualization is the process of representing information, controlled by rules that interpret data and represent its values as visual properties. With the help of the graphical presentation, patterns, dependencies and trends of data become tangible. For the viewer, the analysis of the information is simplified and thus the usability of the data is increased. But why is that so? Why is it easier for us to consume graphically visualized data than raw data?
This is where Gestalt theory comes into play: Using psychological terms, it describes the ability of humans to classify visual elements into groups. This makes it easier to recognize relationships through colors, shapes, sizes and other visual features. A figure is defined as a clearly recognizable whole, appears self-contained and organizes itself spontaneously during the process of perception.

Visual management: optical control for efficient production processes

In a production environment, visual management is the use of optical aids to control production processes. Describes in general
visual management the use of visualizations as a management tool. It is based on the idea that problems can only be solved if they are visible — this applies to all areas of the company, from production to administration.
The aim of visual management is to provide employees with information quickly, comprehensibly and in a targeted manner so that people involved in the process can correctly assess the current situation at any time and thus make well-founded decisions.

Efficient worker management through clear visualization and transparent processes

Worker management combines sub-areas of information management and knowledge management. Your task is to communicate information in the right form to the right employee at the right time and to promote the development of individual knowledge into collective knowledge.
In practice, the use of visual management on the shop floor often looks like this: Instead of service instructions, documents and written instructions, visual management uses images, symbols or graphics to convey information to recipients more quickly and effectively. For example, a traffic light display provides information about the current production status in less than a second and a recommendation for action can be derived directly.
For example, the worker on the assembly line can be provided with a display which he or she receives information about the work steps and, if necessary, can even interact with them. In the manufacturing sector, for example, when manually assembling a workpiece, an image can be used to inform personnel which production part must be placed at which location. Once this step has been completed, the process can be confirmed via a touchscreen monitor or other device. The monitor then directly shows the instructions for the next work step. This ensures maximum safety and precision of the work carried out, even with new, complex work processes, the error rate is reduced and the efficiency of the work process is increased.

Transparency and motivation: How visual management strengthens identification in companies

Another advantage: Visualization makes processes, process progress and goals transparent for all parties involved, which increases understanding of their own involvement in achieving goals, promotes identification with the company and thus strengthens motivation. Visual management uses the advantages of visual signals over word or writing. This includes the fact that visual signals can be captured quickly and only intuitive understanding, without knowledge of a script or language, is required.

Optimize your production processes: transparency and efficiency through visual dashboards

With Peakboard, key figures are put into perspective on individual dashboards and displayed in a visually appealing and understandable way. This gives all employees exactly the information they need to make well-founded decisions.
Peakboard's interactivity also offers the option of interacting directly with the visualization via a touchscreen. In addition to a self-determined way of working, this also has the advantage for workers that work progress can be transferred directly to the system without a media break. This saves time and reduces the risk of errors. Our Templates offer numerous examples of visualizations that can be used to control workers in manual production. Choose your suitable template or design your very individual interactive dashboard to not only display data but also collect it with the Peakboard Designer.

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