preview

Automation With Human Touch ( Jidoka )

Satisfactory Essays

a. Automation with human touch (jidoka). In Japanese term ‘jidoka’ simply meant, ‘automation.’ Thus, the term suggests in full as an “automation with a human touch.” In an on-line resource through its website, Toyota company explains how this concept runs in terms of supporting its TPS, as quoted below:

“This principal, jidoka, of designing equipment and processes to stop and call attention to problems immediately when they sense a problem is a central concept of TPS.

“The most visible manifestation of ‘automation’ with a human touch at the Altona plant is the andon cord situated above the line. The presence of the andon cord permits any Team Member to intervene and bring production to a halt if abnormalities occur.”

The Toyota Production System follows clearly the principle of Henry Ford where a complex task is broken down, simplified, and assigned with simple steps to different work units on the line. In Toyota, the employees within this system are primarily in charge of their respective jobs. They are also within different teams which run their own worksites. These teams are responsible in taking opportunities for product innovations, quality check, and product make-up to make it more competitive, sustainably innovative, and well-kept in terms of quality that is strictly of “Toyota-brand.” These teams take the initiative in spearheading changes, improvements and re-calibration processes in cooperation with the management.

Essentially, jidoka applies the

Get Access