Autonomation

Autonomation defined

Autonomation is often described as the addition of a human element to an automated piece of machinery. In Lean Manufacturing, machines are designed to operate independently from humans giving workers the ability to perform multiple tasks and oversee the production of a variety of machines at the same time. The problem that existed with automation was that if an error was to occur, faulty materials would be made and sometimes because of the worker's duality in responsibility, these defects would go unnoticed for a period. In Autonomation, these defects trigger a response in the machinery telling it to stop. Naturally having machines stop production tells the worker that there is some sort of error that needs to be corrected. The machine stops producing before any faulty materials are made and the worker stops the production line to correct the problem and get production back on track.

Autonomation is the brain child of the founder of Toyota Industries Corp., Sakichi Toyoda. Before the Toyota Corp. was known for their automobiles they were a textiles company. Toyoda was the inventor of an automatic loom that stopped instantly any time a thread broke. This permitted an operator to be notified immediately that there was a problem and the problem was fixed before any large amount of cloth was created defectively. Autonomation is a process of quality control that aims to accomplish the following four goals; to detect abnormalities, to stop the production of the machine, to have the worker correct the condition of the fault, and to investigate the root cause of the error so that a countermeasure or long term solution can be found that will prevent further stops from having to be made.

Why is Autonomation so important?

As consumers we often times take for granted the fact that the Autonomation process ensures that we are receiving a quality product almost every time that we make a purchase. Modern equipment seems to come standard with sensors to detect broken tools, jams, defects and other abnormal conditions. But as recently as the 70's Autonomation was still largely a concept for dreamers and abnormalities would have to be detected by the trained human eye. Because of the contributions of those who pioneered the Toyota system of manufacturing and all of the corresponding innovations brought about by the creators and main contributors to lean manufacturing, today we enjoy the benefits of Autonomation in our daily activities and consumptions.

The role of Autonomation

The role of Autonomation is to yield high-production, low- variety operations. Naturally this process is integral to the implementation of any Lean Manufacturing strategy. Autonomation has many roles, but the majority of those roles can be summed up in the following points:

• Develop the knowledge of how to eliminate "muda" (waste) by ensuring that all products meet quality standards. This is done by becoming skilled in recognizing abnormalities or defects in the process or the product as soon as soon as these abnormalities make themselves known.
• Have the capability to immediately stop a production machine at any point where staff feels there are abnormalities present thereby preventing defective items from being delivered to the next production phase.
• Train staff to know when and how to recognize abnormalities in automated production. This allows for adjustments/repairs to the machine to be made quickly so that the production line can be stopped if necessary but does not create too many delays in the production line itself. Install procedures for assessing the process which caused the production line to be halted so that corrections can be made.
• Take all necessary measures to prevent such problems from recurring and integrate processes for improvement based on the actual needs of the customer.

Jidoka

Jidoka is the Japanese word from which the term Autonomation is derived. Directly translated Jidoka can have several meanings. One such meaning is "Automation with a human intelligence." Jidoka, as practiced by the Toyota Corporation, uses limit switches or devices that shut down a process from producing when the required number of pieces have been made, a part is defective or the mechanism becomes jammed. The point of Jidoka is to separate people from machines and therefore allow the people to focus their attention on several different areas of production rather than on the performance and output of a single machine. Jidoka is also closely related to the concept of Pokayoke.

Pokayoke (also spelled "Poka-Yoke")

Pokayoke refers to the "mistake-proofing" of the production line. In Autonomation there is usually a device within the machine that has the purpose of stopping the production process before any material with a defect is made. Once the process is stopped the worker has the responsibility of checking the machine and providing feedback to who ever is responsible for that machine regarding what sorts of problems exist and what can be done to correct these problems. In order to complete the process of Autonomation or Jidoka, not only does the defect need to be discovered and production stopped, but there also needs to be a process of mistake-proofing where the process is evaluated and changed to remove the possibility of making the same mistake again.

Recognizing the confusion over Jidoka

Any time a Japanese term is translated into English there are some variations in meaning that must be taken into consideration. Japanese is known as a language that is less precise than English, thereby making several meaning of the term Jidoka not translate well. Furthermore, in western culture, concepts of Autonomation are often viewed as ordinary common sense or practices that are ordinary and should be common place for today's standards. Many manufacturers remain at least slightly uneasy about the prospect of stopping an entire line of production, as some times Jidoka will mandate. This belief that everything must be stopped in order to correct a problem leads manufacturers to think back to a time of manual assembly of goods, thereby leaving a bad taste in any mass producer's mind. Jidoka and Autonomation may have subtle differences but the point that remains constant is the importance of the addition of people in the automation process.

Implementing Autonomation

Just as with any new process or procedure, it is the implementation of the new that is intimidating and even daunting for many. In Autonomation the implementation can be especially daunting for those companies who have not yet achieved an automated system process. According to Shigeo Shingo a leading expert in the field of implementing lean processes and more specifically, lean processes that were created as part of the Toyota Production System, "there are twenty-three stages between purely manual and fully automated work. To be fully automated machines must be able to detect and correct their own operating problems which is currently not cost-effective. However, ninety percent of the benefits of full automation can be gained by Autonomation."

The main advantage in Autonomation is that through the system there exists a way of immediately and rapidly identifying mistakes that occur in the process. The workers on the production line also benefit from a more diverse work day by having variety and playing an integral role not only in identifying the problem but also in suggesting solutions to improve the process. Workers are very much more responsible for the intensity of their work days based in the individual effort that they are willing to exert in order to make their role in the production process as effective as possible.

The benefits of implementing Autonomation far outweigh the temporary difficulties that may be encountered along the way even if the only justification made for the new implementation is so that the inspection process stops defective products from being made in the first place, rather than identifying a defective process once it has been made and there is no way to correct the problem. Detection of a defective product at the point of defect rather than once a finished product has been produced is the reason why so many manufacturers find it beneficial to implement the Autonomation process.

Automation vs. Autonomation

There are some who use the terms automation and Autonomation interchangeably, but there are some important differences that need to be recognized so that misunderstandings and misinterpretations can be avoided. Automation is the employment of machines to do the work of people. Autonomation is similar in that human features of intelligence are given to machinery so that the machines can detect their own problems rather than having to have the constant supervision of a worker. When an defect is detected the machine knows to stop itself. Human interaction is then re-introduced in order to ensure that the problem is corrected and that no defective products are made. So you see, there is no safety net against defect to automation as there is in Autonomation. Furthermore modern Autonomation often involves an element of help from the installation of software that can be created and programmed for a highly specific task; thus making Autonomation a feature that virtually every production line machine is capable of having.