Productivity Poka Yokes?

A poka-yoke is a specially designed feature of a process or a product that either prevents common mistakes or catches them before they cause trouble. "Poka-yoke" comes from the Japanese, meaning "inadvertent error" and "avoidance" and was popularized by the engineer Shigeo Shingo in his crusade to improve quality by eliminating human errors.

Whether our goal is to improve productivity, quality, safety, customer satisfaction, or return on assets, "human error" or failure to follow the process is a usually one of the causes. Since our workforce is made up of people and nobody is perfect, how do we get to a lasting solution? We design a poka-yoke.

We see and use poka-yokes every day. For example, years ago, a dead car battery due to forgetfulness was a common problem. Since then, a poka-yoke was designed to sound a warning bell if the lights are left on. A "warning" poka-yoke is a big help, but not fool proof. I know from parental experience that four teenagers can exit a car without one of them pausing to wonder why the alarm is ringing. A more powerful poka-yoke is built into newer cars and turns the lights on and off automatically. You must make a special effort to leave the lights on in these cars.

Read more about "poka yokes..."