Abstract
Visual process management tools have been developed by lean practitioners as communication aids and are used to help drive operations and processes in real time. Three case studies from aerospace companies describe the physical visual tools that have been implemented to facilitate performance measurement and communication in different engineering processes. Rolls Royce presents an example of how ERP outputs are communicated and controlled in a lean manufacturing process. At Airbus UK (Filton) visual process boards are used to manage a complex knowledge and people based process bringing together multiple supplier inputs in the production of aircraft maintenance manuals. Senior management at Weston Aerospace are using visual process control to run and report on work packages, resources and processes throughout their organisation. These systems act as an extension to metrics, and in themselves may be considered as a dynamic measurement system as they provide instant feedback and can be used to predict a probable outcome if no action is taken. The learning and themes that have made these implementations successful is presented and collated into a set of guidelines for consideration when implementing visual process management tools.