Kaizen 3

My last article on Kaizen pointed out that 10,000,000 Japanese

managers and supervisors were trained in courses on quality,
developed by professor Deming. A number of uneducated Japanese
managers then set up consultancies and fed back what little they knew
to the West. These men were worshipped as quality gurus by ignorant
managers and naïve MBAs in the West.

Deming’s material has been twisted, taken out of context and without
understanding, then put forth in Japanese that no one in the West
properly understands. For example “Jidoka” translates into English as
“magnetic clay”. Who wouldn’t want some of that! Imagine what it
could do for quality!

Stopping the production line is seen as some sort of magic. Anyone

who has actually worked in production knows it isn’t. Stopping a
production line can be almost unthinkable, as anyone who has ever
worked on a pot line knows. Re-starting a production line may be very
expensive and only be done as a last resort.

“Kaizen means all personnel are expected to stop their work when they encounter any abnormality and,
along with their supervisor, suggest an improvement to resolve the abnormality.”
“Jidoka is an integral part of Lean principles that focuses on optimizing the flow of production processes.
It plays a crucial role in helping organizations become more efficient and productive by reducing waste,
enhancing quality, and increasing customer satisfaction. Jidoka is based on the idea that any defect
should be detected immediately so the process can be stopped until the root cause of the problem is
identified and corrected. This helps eliminate wasted time, resources, and energy from running
defective parts through a production line.”

“A well-known quality control mechanism from Toyota is the Andon cord. The cord is a way to alert
others of issues on the production line; everyone has the authority to pull the cord. Pulling the cord
immediately stops production and broadcasts a signal, alerting others that there is a critical issue that
needs an immediate response.

Stop the Line (Jidoka)

The next step is the hardest for any organization: stopping the line. In Lean, this concept is called
jidoka. It follows the theory that to have the best quality for your product and the best
opportunity for continuous improvement, you must stop all production when an issue occurs and
fix the issue before resuming work.

Google translate Jidoka “Magnetic clay”

“Andon Cord”

““Andon Cord” is a principle that came from Lean Manufacturing”

When Kaizen stops everything stops – Chihiro Nakao (emiliani)
The term ‘deadman’ comes from a device that was developed in the 1880’s by pioneering electrical
engineer Frank Sprague. Sprague was working on electric traction motor technology, using these new
machines to power street railways (streetcars) and electric elevators. The early DC motor controls used
in both streetcars and elevators required an operator. The operator used a hand control to?move the
streetcar forward or backward along the track and to control the speed of the car. In elevators, the
operator used a similar hand control to move the elevator car up or down the shaft, to control the speed
and to stop at the appropriate floor.

When diesel-electric and full electric locomotives were developed in the 1930’s, the concept of the
‘deadman’ control was adopted from street railways.
https://archives.njit.edu/vol01/etd/1980s/1986/njit-etd1986-010/njit-etd1986-010.pdf

In fact, it was once stated by

a railroad executive when the Railway Safety Act was

being considered (1893) that the cost of burying a man

killed in an accident was less than the cost of putting

air brakes on a car. 31

For example: the first

law requiring guarding of dangerous machine parts was en-

acted in Massachusetts in 1877. 29

unexpected faults … class action on rodents chewing soy based car wiring.

From Toyota global:

The Two Pillars of TPS

The basic philosophy of the Toyota Production System is based on two pillars. The first pillar is
jidoka―which can be loosely translated as "automation with a human touch"―based on the
concepts of stopping immediately when abnormalities are detected to prevent defective products
from being produced and improving productivity to eliminate the need for people to be simply
watching over machines. The second pillar is Just-in-Time, based on the concept of
synchronizing production processes―linking all plants and their production processes in a
continuous flow―by making only what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed.

These two pillars enable the production of vehicles that satisfy customer requirements quickly, at
a low cost, and with high quality.
Jidoka

Jidoka in the TPS is "automation with a human touch," where human wisdom is added to
automation. Human wisdom means that when an abnormality occurs, such as a machine or
equipment abnormality, quality abnormality, or a work delay, the machine or equipment can
detect the abnormality and stop automatically, or the operator can stop the line by pulling the
stop cord themselves.

Emiliani - “ignored the people aspects of TPS – specifically, the “Respect for People” principle,”
Notice that when I coined the terms “Real Lean” and “Fake Lean,” their meaning was very simple as
shown in the image above: “Fake Lean” was the technical application of “Continuous Improvement”
tools and methods, invariably in a zero-sum fashion. It is the dehumanized form of Lean which does not
deliver good business results. Nor does it result in the development of human capabilities. “Real Lean”
was the application of both “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect for People” – the two Toyota Way
principles — in a non-zero-sum fashion. Students clearly understood the term “Fake Lean” in the neutral
sense of characterizing a problem (the misunderstanding and misapplication of Lean principles and
practices), not in the negative sense of criticizing any particular company or leader. Rather, Fake Lean
was a common problem that