Page 125 - How To Implement Lean Manufacturing

104 Cha pte r S i x

Jidoka is hard to do, but the reason it is hard to do is caused by two other issues.

• First, management does not emphasize it.
• Second, as shown in the preceding example, a number of foundational issues
must be in place to make jidoka work. These include a quality test and
inspection system, a quality data system, and root cause problem solving by
all, to name just a few. And why aren’t these foundational issues taken care of?
Just go back to reason one—that is, it was not emphasized by management in
the past.

What Happens When Jidoka Is Not Done Well?
When jidoka is not done well, production problems appear. Most typically, defects
advance in the system, causing quality production problems. Almost always, the source
of the problem is the failure to properly implement some foundational issue. For exam-
ples, refer to the 5 Whys exercise done earlier. However, now you have two problems:
the production problem and the poorly executed foundational issue. Consequently, we
must go back and repair the foundational issue before we can improve on the jidoka
system.
This is like finding that the roof on your house is not level and you search for the
problem and find the concrete foundation is not level. To correct the roof issue, you
must first correct the foundation issue. However, as soon as you modify the foundation
you find it affects other things like the walls and floor. The same is true of your Lean
system. Once you go back and clean up your operational definitions, for example, you
need to clean up your work instructions, your training instructions, your training
matrix, your visual displays on the floor, and the list goes on. All of this is rework,
wasteful, and is only necessary because the foundational issues were not handled well.
All of this is waste of some of the most precious commodity we have: the thinking
doing problem solvers in the business.

Recalling Jidoka
Do not forget about the purpose of jidoka: It is there to prevent defects from advancing
in the production system, and it is a continuous improvement tool. Since both of these
tactics are crucial to Lean implementation, it is clear we must have some kind of jidoka,
even if we can not capture the most mature forms of jidoka, which include line shut-
downs by operating personnel followed by “Rapid Response PDCA (Plan, Do Check,
Act)” problem solving.
We must keep in mind the definition of jidoka:
• It is a 100 percent inspection technique that will prevent defects from advancing
in the production process.
• It is done by machines not men.
• It uses techniques such as poka-yoke (error proofing),
• It will prevent defects from advancing in the system by:
• Isolating bad materials
• Implementing line shutdowns