Kanban (in kanji 看板 also in katakana カンバン, where kan, 看 カン, means "visual," an ban, 板 バン, means "card" or "board") is a concept related to lean and just-in-time (JIT) production. The Japanese word kanban (pronounced [kambaɴ]) is a common everyday term meaning "signboard" or "billboard" and utterly lacks the specialized meaning that this loanword has acquired in English. According to Taiichi Ohno, the man credited with developing JIT, kanban is a means through which JIT is achieved.