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Lean Definition: Lean Jidoka

 

The most common Jidoka definition is ‘autonomation.’ (The word is one of many Japanese terms that are common in Lean.) Lean Jidoka traces its roots back to the early 1900′s at Toyota in Japan-then a textile manufacturing company. Sakichi Toyoda developed a device that could detect broken threads in a loom and stop the machine from producing defective material. The concept of jidoka enabled companies to greatly increase the number of machines a single operator could run-with very little extra effort on the worker’s part! With jidoka, Lean becomes much easier for operators and much more profitable for companies.

The jidoka definition mentioned above (autonomation) is essentially automation with a human touch. But it has also come to mean more than that. It is about stopping whenever an abnormal condition is detected, fixing the defect, and then countermeasuring to prevent further occurrences. Many jidoka devices are combined with an andon, or signaling device, to alert the operator of the abnormal condition. The purpose of jidoka is to separate people from machines, so an operator can do more while the machine is running.

Jidoka is often one of the pillars of a company’s production system (the lean house). JIT (the other common pillar) and Jidoka work together to create manufacturing excellence. (Note: JIT and Jidoka are the pillars of the often copied Toyota Production System.)

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10 Comments

  • JRK says:
    May 2, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    Hi, Jeff
    This site is a treasure for Lean Practitioner. Great!
    The list of LEAN Tools clearly shows the connection between LEAN & TOC. Every waste is because of process problems and creates a constraint. Everybody now subordinates to elimination of this waste and flow improves leading us to our goal of “Making Money Now & In Future”.

  • Lean Manufacturing Techniques says:
    January 10, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    The implementation of smooth flow exposes quality problems that already existed, and thus waste reduction naturally happens as a consequence. The advantage claimed for this approach is that it naturally takes a system-wide perspective, whereas a waste focus sometimes wrongly assumes this perspective…Thanks

    • Jeff Hajek says:
      January 10, 2011 at 11:04 pm

      I don’t think you can improve flow without a redcution in waste. Flow is the result of a focus on reducing waste, not the cause.

      I do agree that a systemic look at flow can show you the best areas of waste to focus on first, but it is still waste reduction that creates flow.

  • Sanjeev Goel says:
    August 27, 2010 at 12:02 am

    Simple definition of JIDOKA is

    “Make Problem Visible”

    • Jeff Hajek says:
      August 27, 2010 at 7:08 am

      Sanjeev,

      Thanks for your comment. I should have stressed the importance of the visual control aspect of jidoka more.

      But I think that is only the first part of jidoka. It also has the very important aspect of stopping a process when there is a problem. It is more than just a warning light.

      Regards,
      Jeff

      • Sanjeev Goel says:
        August 27, 2010 at 11:38 pm

        Hi Jeff,

        Thanks for correcting me, this Valaction.com is a treasure for me. Only yesterday I have found it. Great!

        Regards
        Sanjeev Goel

      • Jeff Hajek says:
        August 29, 2010 at 5:38 pm

        Sanjeev,
        Very kind words, and thanks for your input as well. My terms get better when my readers contribute.
        Thanks again.
        Jeff

  • mahmoud badr says:
    January 20, 2010 at 11:51 am

    whenever i check my e mails i found a new hint about lean , a nice snack easy to digest , very informative , many thanks to you .

  • Lean Consultancy says:
    January 17, 2010 at 8:44 pm

    We do like the concept of jidoka and we think also that in Lean Manufacturing is important reducing inefficiency and waste. However to achieve success with a lean process it requires reliable equipment, and this can only be achieved by addressing your maintenance.

  • Ramon Oropeza says:
    December 1, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    Hi

    I have intersted abot jidoka method a jidoka implementation

    We need a Training abaut it,

    But we have a problem, we need te trainning in spanish because we want to involve the production people

    If you have a consulting to speake spanish, please contact me, and give me information.

    tks a lot

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