What is Andon and how does it help us?
The word Andon is derived from the Japanese word for "paper lantern." Taiichi Ohno, the developer of the Toyota Production System, can reasonably be considered the inventor of Andon in manufacturing.
In manufacturing, Andon is a system for notifying job foremen, managers, maintenance personnel, and other workers of a quality and/or process situation or problem. This alert can be made, activated manually by a worker, or activated automatically by production equipment. This makes it possible to correct quality or process problems before they become a larger and more costly problem. It is also easier to find the root cause of the problem, because mistakes are not covered by subsequent processes.
There are two main types of Andon: manual and automatic.
The manual type of Andon refers to a button at the workstation or a cord hanging above the assembly line. When activated, it creates a signal that a problem has occurred. It also triggers the Andon light of that specific piece of equipment or production line. The color change helps responders quickly determine the area that needs assistance. While other types may have additional colors, such as blue and white, a simple lighting system displays three primary colors: green, yellow, and red.
The automatic type of Andon refers to a system that can automatically detect when there is a problem at a particular station. The main difference from the manual type of Andon is that there is no human effort involved in alerting the system. The system can also send notifications, messages, or other digital notifications to team leaders or other departments.
With their defined color codes, the status of production lines is automatically updated on the Andon board or display for current production conditions. Modern Andon systems continuously collect and display critical information about the status of equipment and assembly lines, providing real-time visibility into production processes.
Andon primarily helps companies detect production problems at their earliest stages, intervene as soon as possible, reducing downtime at equipment or workstations and preventing the movement of defective products further. This reduces downtime, rework and ultimately production costs.
When the line is stopped in an Andon system, operators, leaders or support staff are around the problem area. The idea is to find the root cause, which reduces the likelihood of it happening again, reducing the risk of recurrence.
By getting to the root of the problem, teams continuously improve their processes. As a result, the production line delivers quality products, which leads to company profitability and customer satisfaction.
In manufacturing, Andon is a system for notifying job foremen, managers, maintenance personnel, and other workers of a quality and/or process situation or problem. This alert can be made, activated manually by a worker, or activated automatically by production equipment. This makes it possible to correct quality or process problems before they become a larger and more costly problem. It is also easier to find the root cause of the problem, because mistakes are not covered by subsequent processes.
There are two main types of Andon: manual and automatic.
The manual type of Andon refers to a button at the workstation or a cord hanging above the assembly line. When activated, it creates a signal that a problem has occurred. It also triggers the Andon light of that specific piece of equipment or production line. The color change helps responders quickly determine the area that needs assistance. While other types may have additional colors, such as blue and white, a simple lighting system displays three primary colors: green, yellow, and red.
The automatic type of Andon refers to a system that can automatically detect when there is a problem at a particular station. The main difference from the manual type of Andon is that there is no human effort involved in alerting the system. The system can also send notifications, messages, or other digital notifications to team leaders or other departments.
With their defined color codes, the status of production lines is automatically updated on the Andon board or display for current production conditions. Modern Andon systems continuously collect and display critical information about the status of equipment and assembly lines, providing real-time visibility into production processes.
Andon primarily helps companies detect production problems at their earliest stages, intervene as soon as possible, reducing downtime at equipment or workstations and preventing the movement of defective products further. This reduces downtime, rework and ultimately production costs.
When the line is stopped in an Andon system, operators, leaders or support staff are around the problem area. The idea is to find the root cause, which reduces the likelihood of it happening again, reducing the risk of recurrence.
By getting to the root of the problem, teams continuously improve their processes. As a result, the production line delivers quality products, which leads to company profitability and customer satisfaction.
