Andon is a Lean manufacturing term referring to a system to notify management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process problem. The most important component is a signboard incorporating signal lights to indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated manually by a worker using a pull cord or button, or may be activated automatically by the production equipment itself. The system may include a means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Some modern alert systems incorporate audio alarms, text, or other displays.
An Andon system is one of the principal elements of the
Jidoka quality-control method pioneered by Toyota as part of the Toyota Production System and therefore now part of the Lean management approach. It gives the worker the ability to stop production when a defect is found, and immediately call for assistance. Common reasons for manual activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or found, tool malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a solution has been found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that they can be studied as part of a continuous-improvement program.
The system typically indicates where the alert was generated, and may also provide a description of the trouble. Modern Andon systems can include text, graphics, or audio elements. Audio alerts may be done with coded tones, music with different tunes corresponding to the various alerts, or pre-recorded verbal messages
Radical Improvement, usually applied only once within a value stream. Same as "Flow Kaizen"
Jidoka, as practiced at Toyota has several meanings. It may mean "automation with human intelligence" (Autonomation). Jidoka also refers to the practice of stopping a line automatically when a defective part is detected.
The selection of goals, projects to achieve the goals, designation of people and resources for project completion, and establishment of project metrics. [Same as Policy Deployment]
The Japanese term for “actual place”, often used for the shop floor or any place where value creating work actually occurs.
Methods that help operators avoid mistakes in their work caused by choosing the wrong part, leaving out a part, installing a part backward, etc. Also called poka-yoke.
A resource for which available capacity limits the organization’s ability to meet the product volume, product mix or product demand fluctuations required by the marketplace.
Accumulates only product costs, direct and indirect, to measure product cost. The gross margin (under absorption costing) is sales revenue minus all product costs, including applied fixed manufacturing overhead. Absorption costing averages all product costs across units produced. When there are large amounts of committed or fixed costs, making more units reduces the average cost per unit, which may be a visible number. Also, placing some units in inventory defers all the costs of those units from being recognized as expense, which could increase currently reported income.
