Jidoka, Part 1
8/7/2010
LEI author Art Smalley found 1.8 billion hits for “just in time” and just 38,300 for “jidoka,” the Toyota concept of giving machines and people the ability to detect when an abnormality occurs. The search results should be reversed, according to Toyota veteran Smalley, who recalled his former boss saying, “Just-in-Time is just an extension of the U.S. supermarket concept and the German aerospace concept of takt time. Jidoka however is one of our company strengths and something to be proud of. It is what makes us unique and successful.”
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