Intro to Poka Yoke: Error Proofing

Making zero-defects is possible through a concept that is called Poka Yoke. Shigeo Shingo is known as the father of Poka Yoke.

Poka Yoke came from two Japanese works Poka which means errors and Yokeru which means to avoid.

So literally Poka Yoke means Avoiding Errors or Error Proofing.

Specifically Poka Yoke are ingenious and relatively inexpensive mechanisms that prevent errors.

Unfortunately Human Error is un-avoidable.Who of you has experienced forgetting his or her password after a long vacation? How about misplacing your cell phone or your keys? As the saying goes “To err is human”, agree?

Here are ways to avoid them.

Here are 6 methods to help error proof your processes.

Elimination means making a task or a part irrelevant or no longer necessary. Just think of all the things one needed before the new smart phones. The new smart phone has eliminated the need.

Replacement means providing another way to do the task to make it more repeatable. Instead of measuring the amount of detergent, Tide pods allows for a more precise method that anyone can do with less training.

Prevention means making the mistake impossible to happen. For instance its impossible to hurt yourself with a rotating dyer because the moment to cover is opened to rotation stops. Same is true with your cables, you can’t insert a cable on the wrong slot.

Facilitation is making it obvious for everyone on how to correctly do the task. The electrical wires are color coded which makes it easy to identify the wires to. You can do similar trick with your keys and mark locks with color tab.

If facilitation is making the correct obvious, Detection means making the error obvious to everyone. For example, if you forgot to pay in a department store or tag forgotten to be removed , the alarm will go off to make sure everyone knows about it. It is the idea is to provide self-check and immediate feedback.

Mitigation is probably the last resort. Mitigation means to factor-in the error into the scenario and plan accordingly in order to minimize the unwanted effect. For example, just in case this phone is dropped into water, the effect is minimized because it is protected.

Poka Yokes simply are ingenious and relatively inexpensive mechanisms that prevent errors. Tell me about your favorite Poka Yoke!

Lean Blessings,

 Dan

Dan Davis joined Watts Water Technology in 2018 and is responsible for driving Continuous Improvement utilizing the One Watts Performance System. His key focus areas include driving the vision and roadmap for the Company’s continuous improvement initiatives, implementing robust tools and measurement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma, and leading the Company toward best-in-class status in operations and transactional activities.

Prior to his current role Mr. Davis was responsible for the continuous improvement program at Xylem for the AWS division. He held several leadership roles at FMC Technologies, including Continuous improvement Leader & Plant Manager. Prior to that, he served in a series of increasingly responsible leadership roles in the industrial businesses for the Stanley Black & Decker, Global Continuous Improvement Leader and Plant Manager Responsibility. At Tractor Supply Company, Mr. Davis was responsible for launching their Continuous Improvement Program (Tractor Value System).

Mr. Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineer from Milwaukee School of Engineering