JIDOKA

Jidoka consists of giving the operator or the machine itself autonomy to stop a process whenever it encounters an abnormality. The goal is to prevent the process from creating and spreading defects, as well as to eliminate any abnormality in processes and production flows.

Man-machine separation is also key when implementing Jidoka. In practice, though the machine might actually detect the issue, a man is still in charge of developing solutions and solving problems.

Jidoka also depends on the application of poka yoke mechanisms designed to detect execution errors (going to the source) instead of defects.

When the poka yoke device is activated, a sound and/or visual alarm (andon) indicates an instance of abnormality, generating immediate action by the supervisor/worker, unleashing a collective effort to discover and eliminate the root cause, preventing recurrences and, consequently, further stoppages at the line.