The Andon
Set up on a line or a piece of equipment an alert signal that brings the right support within a few minutes, then turn every call into a problem that is solved for good.
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A machine stops at 9:12 a.m. The operator looks for the setter, the setter is on another line, the team leader finds out at 9:40 a.m. Nobody measured the stoppage, nobody will know tomorrow why it happened. The Andon addresses this precise case: a light signal, attached to a workstation or a line, that displays its status in real time and calls for support as soon as you leave the standard.
This course is aimed at team leaders, shop floor managers, methods and maintenance technicians who want to reduce the duration of stoppages without buying a heavy system. By the end, you will know how to define what triggers the alert on a given workstation, place the signal where it will be seen, write down who responds and within how long, then measure whether stoppages are actually getting shorter. You will also know the three classic ways to fail an Andon: the light nobody dares to switch on, the one nobody looks at, and the "problem-free" line whose problems no longer surface.
What you will be able to do
- Read the three states of an Andon (normal, degraded, stopped) and distinguish a machine trigger from an operator trigger.
- Write, for a workstation, the conditions of departure from the standard that justify calling support: method, pace, quality.
- Choose the location and the medium of the signal so that it is seen by the line leader and by support, and so that it unambiguously identifies the equipment concerned.
- Draft a response chain with roles, response time and temporary countermeasure, without pitting production against maintenance.
- Record stoppage times, set a reduction target and trace back to root causes to update the standard.
- Spot the signs of an Andon that no longer works: no calls, calls with no response, a light that has become decoration.
The path
- What the andon shows: a deviation from the standard, right away 3 min
- Before the light: stating what is normal 4 min
- Placing the signal where it will be seen 3 min
- Who comes, within how long, to do what 4 min
- After the restart: measure and get to the root cause 3 min
- The three ways to fail an Andon 3 min
Prerequisites
Work on or near a production line. Know what a work standard is (a method, a pace, a quality level written down for a workstation). No prior knowledge of Lean is required; the terms used (Jidoka, Gemba, takt time, 5 whys) are explained when they first appear.
The closing quiz
The topic ends with a 7-question quiz, and a certificate is issued on success.