Poka Yoke (Mistake Proofing)

Poka Yoke Principles
People and equipment will always be prone to making mistakes. However, our processes should help them do it right, not help them make mistakes. We usually equate speed with productivity. We complicate processes to achieve greater speed. Those complications are what cause many of the errors people and equipment make. The way to really increase productivity is to simplify our processes. This reduces the changes of error directly. The processes are more efficient even without the complication of correcting errors after they have occurred.

Poka Yoke (Mistake Proof) and Fail Safeing doesn't violate or negate good engineering practices. Instead it expands on those practices to include ways to help people and machines do the job right as well as quickly. We can't prevent all mistakes. We can make it easier to do the job right, but mistakes will still happen. Instead of allowing processes and products to continue after a mistake has been made, we can use Fail Safe to stop them. Fail safe is not a new concept. It has been used in the Safety area for many years. What is new is to apply those concepts to areas of our processes outside of safety as well.

All this sounds expensive and time consuming, but it isn't. Even without the savings in waste and lost time, processes are more efficient when designed using the tools and following the principles of Poka Yoke (Mistake Proof) and Fail Safeing.

Poka Yoke Definition
Poka Yoke is a Japanese term literally defined as 'mistake proofing'. It is often used in the context of designing devices, that prevent defects from being made or, if they are made, from moving to the next process.

Poka Yoke Applications
Poka Yoke can be used wherever something can go wrong. It is a technique, a tool that can be applied to any type of processes including: - Manufacturing, Service, Office administrative, and transactional.

Why Use Poka Yoke?
Poka Yoke will help people and equipment "do it right the first time". Not only is the product right the first time, the rate of the process is increased as well. Traditional engineering processes are designed to increase the efficiency of an operation by enabling people and machines to work faster. Poka-Yoke supports efforts to eliminate waste of:

1. Over Production


2. Inventory


3. Waiting


4. Transportation


5. Motion


6. Over Processing


7. Quality Defects


8. Reprioritization


9. People's Skills

Poka Yoke (Mistake-Proofing) Workshop Overview

Quality Management has been around for many years with each company typically having its own program for it:

• TQM


• SPC


• Six Sigma


• Zero Defect Quality


• Etc..

Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) is a part of the KAIZEN Lean toolkit that enables organizations to produce services or goods using source inspection and the Poka Yoke System.
This Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) Workshop is based on research developed by Shigeo Shingo, a much celebrated specialist in the field. Lecture and hands on implementation of the techniques take place at the participant's manufacturing facility. This workshop will educate participants in the theory and practical techniques used to:

• Prevent errors from occurring


• Immediately detect abnormalities in real time as they occur


• Immediately stop the process from producing more defects


• Correct the root cause of the process problem before resuming production

Students will then apply the techniques immediately on processes in their factory. By using on site processes as examples for the class, students are immediately able to incorporate Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) in their own operations. Students can become teachers and apply these techniques to all the processes throughout the plant. Typical results include a 70 - 80% reduction in quality defects with little or no capital investment. These results are usually obtained within one week of the class.

Learning Objectives

• What the Mistake Proofing (MP) process is and how to apply it.


• What the Fail Safeing (FS) process is and how to apply it.


• The distinctions between Judgment Inspection (Clear & Sort), Information Inspection (SPC or Inferential Statistics), and Source Inspection (ZDQ).


• The differences between Errors, Defects, and Causes.


• Ways to Prevent Errors (Level 1)


• Ways to Detect Defects (Level 2)


• Ways to Manage Questionable Product Made (Level 3)


• Application of Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) Principles

Program Agenda
Two-Day Workshop

• Why is Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) important?


• What is the Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) system?


• How is Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) different from SPC?


• Analyzing current quality practices


• Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) Method (10-step process)


• Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) worksheet


• Example of Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) - classroom)


• Implementing the changes (real-life on-the-job applications)


• Measuring the quality improvements

Who Should Attend?

• Operators and Quality Inspectors


• SPC, Six Sigma Green Belts, Six Sigma Black Belts, Quality Assurance personnel


• Maintenance personnel


• Manufacturing engineering


• Design & Quality engineering


• Industrial Engineering


• Production Supervisors and Managers

Prerequisites

Implementing Mistake Proofing and Fail Safeing (Poka Yoke) should be part of your implementation plan from Value Stream Mapping. Therefore, a good working knowledge of Value Stream Mapping, and practical mapping experience are essential.