Autonomation

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(Redirected from Jidoka)

Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to effect the principle of jidoka (?) used in
the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean manufacturing. It may be described as "intelligent automation"
or "automation with a human touch."[1] This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather
than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops
and the worker will stop the production line. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products,
eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never
recurs. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles [2]:
1. Detect the abnormality.
2. Stop.
3. Fix or correct the immediate condition.
4. Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
Contents
[hide]

1 Purpose and implementation

2 Relationship with Just-in-Time
3 Etymology
4 References
5 See also

[edit]Purpose

and implementation

Autonomation is called by Shigeo Shingo pre-automation.[3] It separates workers from machines through
mechanisms that detect production abnormalities (many machines in Toyota have these). He says there are
twenty-three stages between purely manual and fully automated work. To be fully automated machines must be
able to detect and correct their own operating problems which is currently not cost-effective. However, ninety
percent of the benefits of full automation can be gained by autonomation.

The purpose of autonomation is that it makes possible the rapid or immediate address, identification and
correction of mistakes that occur in a process. Autonomation relieves the worker of the need to continuously
judge whether the operation of the machine is normal; their efforts are now only engaged when there is a
problem alerted by the machine. As well as making the work more interesting this is a necessary step if the
worker is to be asked later to supervise several machines. The first example of this at Toyota was the autoactivated loom of Sakichi Toyoda that automatically and immediately stopped the loom if the vertical or lateral
threads broke or ran out.
For instance rather than waiting until the end of a production line to inspect a finished product, autonomation
may be employed at early steps in the process to reduce the amount of work that is added to a defective
product. A worker who is self-inspecting their own work, or source-inspecting the work produced immediately
before their work station is encouraged to stop the line when a defect is found. This detection is the first step in
Jidoka. A machine performing the same defect detection process is engaged in autonomation.
Once the line is stopped a supervisor or person designated to help correct problems gives immediate attention
to the problem the worker or machine has discovered. To complete Jidoka, not only is the defect corrected in
the product where discovered, but the process is evaluated and changed to remove the possibility of making
the same mistake again. One solution to the problems can be to insert a "mistake-proofing" device somewhere
in the production line. Such a device is known as poka-yoke.

[edit]Relationship

with Just-in-Time

Taiichi Ohno and Sakichi Toyoda, originators of the TPS and practices in the manufacturing of textiles,
machinery and automobiles considered JIT & Autonomation the pillars[4] upon which TPS is built. Jeffrey Liker
and David Meier[5] indicate that Jidoka or "the decision to stop and fix problems as they occur rather than
pushing them down the line to be resolved later" is a large part of the difference between the effectiveness of
Toyota and other companies who have tried to adopt Lean Manufacturing. Autonomation, therefore can be said
to be a key element in successful Lean Manufacturing implementations.
For Just-in-Time (JIT) systems, it is absolutely vital to produce with zero defects, or else these defects can
disrupt the production process - or the orderly flow of work.
JIT and Lean Manufacturing are always searching for targets for continuous improvement in its quest for quality
improvements, finding and eliminating the causes of problems so they do not continually crop up.
Jidoka involves the automatic detection of errors or defects during production. When a defect is detected the
halting of the production forces immediate attention to the problem.
The halting causes slowed production but it is believed that this helps to detect a problem earlier and avoids
the spread of bad practices. (JBLL, Jun18, 2006)

[edit]Etymology
The word "autonomation" , a loan word from the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, is a portmanteau from and
a pun on the word "automation" , which is written using three kanji characters: "self", ""
"movement", and "-ization". In the Toyota Production System, the second character is replaced with
"work", which is a character derived by adding a radical representing "human" to the original .