What is
Andon?
Andon, in simple terms, is a visual signalling system which
is used to indicate a problem in production area that hampers the process or
causes a quality issue. In the center of the system, there is a stack light or
a screen. The human operator or the malfunctioning machine itself may activate
the stack light or screen to indicate the problem, and the service personnel
quickly attempts to solve the issue. So the downtime becomes minimal.
Origin of
the Andon System
If we look at the origins of Andon, we see that it extends
to WWII. Japanese companies, whose
industrial capabilities were so little due to recently ended war, had to find a
way to keep up with their American rivals. So Toyota came up with the
"Toyota Production System", a production mentality that minimizes
waste and maximizes efficiency. By improving this production philosophy over
time, they were able to even surpass their American rivals and become giants in
industry.
There are 2 main pillars in the "House of Toyota",
one is JIT(Just in Time manufacturing, which aims to minimize material stock
and estimate demand) and another one is "Jidoka"(can be defined as
"Autonomation" in production quality management). As you can see,
Andon system is an indispensable element of Jidoka; thanks to Andon system, the
issues in production process are notified and time needed for solution is
minimized.
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