Poka yoke, which translates into mistake proofing, is the use of a mechanism or device that helps avoid mistakes.
The purpose of the poka-yoke technique is to eliminate product defects by preventing them in the first place, correcting them or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. In manufacturing, this means not accepting, creating or allowing defects to move down the line.
Self-driving cars are a modern consumer-based example of poka-yoke. They operate by using multiple sensors and alerts like automatic braking and a variety of cameras to “see” everything around them in real time. Automatic braking systems are becoming a common feature in most new cars, helping prevent accidents due to human error.
There are quite a few application scenarios where poka yoke works well, such as:
- When a step in a process is determined to leave room for human error, causing mistakes and defects to occur (this is especially true of steps that rely on the operator’s attention, skill or experience)
- In a service-related process where the customer can make a mistake that affects the output
- With a step in a process involving a hand-off, where output is transferred to another worker (or customer in a service process)
- When a small error early on in a process can cause a major problem later down the line
- When the consequences of a mistake are expensive and/or dangerous
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Mistake Proofing Training/Poka Yoke, a 2-day course that shows you how the simplest, fastest and most effective way to eliminate mistakes is to alter the pathways that lead us to make them.
Mistake Proofing Training is designed for executers and decision makers of organizations, leaders, managers and supervisors, engineers, business process owner, process improvement managers and leaders, system implementers and coordinators.
Additionally, Tonex offers over five dozen other courses in Business Skills. Training covers everything from business writing and briefing skills to SOW Writing and Risk Management. Here are just a few of our courses in Business Skills:
Strategic Planning and Management Training (3 days)
Time Management and Organizational Skills (2 days)
Writing for Engineers, Scientists and Technical Managers (2 days)
Scope Management and Baseline Development (2 days)
Conflict Management Training (1 day)
Corporate Social Responsibility Training (2 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.