Lean-practicing companies often employ day-by-the-hour (DBTH) charts within production cells and for other processes. The DBTH method uses a visual board to display what work must be completed each hour of the workday. The board is located in the work area and where specific process steps are taken.

In a factory, the products to be made each hour and their quantity are listed on the DBTH board. At the end of each hour, the lead person in the production cell writes up the quantity actually made, and if problems occurred, he notes the reasons usually by selecting the applicable cause from a checklist. Additional quality issues are also noted.

This DBTH board gets used throughout the production day to help control processes and trouble-shoot immediate problems for short-term adjustments. The DBTH data are also used to drive long-term improvement projects and solve problems permanently. DBTH is a vital part of continuous improvement.

But what should you do if your processes take many hours or days to complete? I will tell a tale of two companies that found excellent answers to this question.

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