What goes on a tier board
- Measures: three to eight numbers the team can influence, each with a target and a trend, coloured red or green.
- Actions: what is being done about the gaps, by whom, by when, and whether it is overdue.
- Problems: issues raised since the last meeting, each with an owner.
- Escalations: items sent to the next tier, and the answers that came back.
- Standards and audits: 5S or kamishibai results, standard work checks.
- Handover and notices: notes for the next shift, safety focus, recognition.
Tier boards at each level
| Tier | Owner | Typical measures | Reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Frontline team | Shift output, defects, hazards, attendance | Per shift, 5–10 min |
| Tier 2 | Supervisors, functional leads | Area roll-up, escalations, project status | Daily, 15–20 min |
| Tier 3 | Site leadership | Site KPIs, strategic goals, escalations | Daily or weekly, 30–45 min |
The same categories run through every tier, so a site measure can be traced to the line it comes from and an escalation back to the huddle that raised it.
Designing a good tier board
- Start from the meeting agenda: the board should be read in the order the meeting runs.
- Keep measures few and owned; a board full of charts becomes wallpaper.
- Give actions and problems as much space as measures.
- Make red and green visible from across the area.
- Review the layout every few months as the team's problems change.
Physical or digital tier boards
A whiteboard is quick to start for one team. Digital tier boards keep measures live from the systems that hold them, carry actions and escalations between tiers without re-writing, work across shifts and sites, embed reports, and keep a history that shows which problems repeat.
Tier board, SQDC board, gemba board
The names overlap. SQDC (or SQDCP) describes the layout by measure category; gemba board stresses that it sits at the work; tier board stresses its place in a tiered meeting structure. Most frontline boards are all three.