Autonomation

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Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to effect the principle of jidoka (

) used in

the Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean manufacturing. It may be described as "intelligent automation" or "automation with a human touch."[1] This type of automation implements some supervisory functions rather than production functions. At Toyota this usually means that if an abnormal situation arises the machine stops and the worker will stop the production line. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products, eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never recurs. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles: 1. Detect the abnormality. 2. Stop. 3. Fix or correct the immediate condition. 4. Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
Contents
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1 Purpose and implementation 2 Relationship with "just-in-time" 3 Etymology 4 References 5 See also

[edit]Purpose

and implementation

Autonomation is called by Shigeo Shingo pre-automation[2]. It separates workers from machines through mechanisms that detect production abnormalities (many machines in Toyota have these). He says there are twenty-three stages between purely manual and fully automated work. To be fully automated machines must be able to detect and correct their own operating problems which is currently not cost-effective. However, ninety percent of the benefits of full automation can be gained by autonomation. The purpose of autonomation is that it makes possible the rapid or immediate address, identification and correction of mistakes that occur in a process. Autonomation relieves the worker of the need to continuously judge whether the operation of the machine is normal; their efforts are now only engaged when there is a problem alerted by the machine. As well as making the work more interesting this is a necessary step if the worker is to be asked later to supervise several machines. The first example of this at Toyota was the auto-activated loom of Sakichi Toyoda that automatically and immediately stopped the loom if the vertical or lateral threads broke or ran out.

For instance rather than waiting until the end of a production line to inspect a finished product, autonomation may be employed at early steps in the process to reduce the amount of work that is added to a defective product. A worker who is self-inspecting their own work, or source-inspecting the work produced immediately before their work station is encouraged to stop the line when a defect is found. This detection is the first step in Jidoka. A machine performing the same defect detection process is engaged in autonomation. Once the line is stopped a supervisor or person designated to help correct problems gives immediate attention to the problem the worker or machine has discovered. To complete Jidok not only is the defect a, corrected in the product where discovered, but the process is evaluated and changed to remove the possibility of making the same mistake again. One solution to the problems can be to insert a "mistake proofing" device somewhere in the production line. Such a device is known as Poka-Yoke.

[edit]Relationship

with "just-in-time"

Taiichi Ohno and Sakichi Toyoda, originators of the TPS and practices in the manufacturing of textiles, machinery and automobiles considered JIT & Autonomation the pillars[3] upon which TPS is built. Jeffrey Liker and David Meier[4] indicate that Jidoka or "the decision to stop and fix problems as they occur rather than pushing them down the line to be resolved later" is a large part of the difference between the effectiveness of Toyota and other companies who have tried to adopt Lean Manufacturing. Autonomation, therefore can be said to be a key element in successful Lean Manufacturing implementations. For "just-in-time" (JIT) systems, it is absolutely vital to produce with zero defects, or else these defects can disrupt the production process - or the orderly flow of work. JIT and Lean Manufacturing are always searching for targets for continuous improvement in its quest for quality improvements, finding and eliminating the causes of problemsso they do not continually crop up. Jidoka involves the automatic detection of errors or defects during production. When a defect is detected the halting of the production forces immediate attention to the problem. The halting causes slowed production but it is believed that this helps to detect a problem earlier and avoids the spread of bad practices. (JBLL, Jun18, 2006)

Jidoka
updated Dec 4, 2008 6:17 am | 4,304 views

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Definition
Jidoka is one of the two main cornerstones of TPS (the other one being "Just-In-Time".) It means being able to stop production lines, either manually by human intervention or mechanically, if there is a problem like an equipment malfunction, or quality issues, or work that is delayed for whatever reason. The main principle of Jidoka helps stop defects getting into the production line, assists in the identification and correction of "trouble spots" using principles of localization and isolation. This therefore facilitates the building of quality in the whole process of production.

What does jidoka mean? A common answer to this question is autonomation or automation with a human touch. This is best illustrated by example of a machine that will detect a problem and stop the production automatically rather than continue to run and produce bad output. Autonomation prevents the production of defective products, eliminates overproduction and focuses attention on understanding the problem and ensuring that it never recurs. It is a quality control process that applies the following four principles: 1. 2. 3. 4. Detect the abnormality. Stop. Fix or correct the immediate condition. Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure. This principle was first used by Sakichi Toyoda at the beginning of the 20th century when he invented a loom which stopped when the thread broke. The jidoka pillar is often labeled "stop and respond to every abnormality." This is obviously much more than having a machine shut down. One very important as is that Toyota refers to every process, whether human or automatic, being enabled or empowered to autonomously detect abnormal conditions and stop.
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