Jidoka

Jidoka "The term jidoka can be defined as "automation with a human touch."

The word traces its roots back to the automatic loom invented by Sakichi Toyoda, Founder of the Toyota Group. The Toyota term "jido" is applied to a machine with a built-in device for making judgments, whereas the regular Japanese term "jido" (automation) is simply applied to a machine that moves on its own.

Jidoka refers to "automation with a human touch," as opposed to a machine that simply moves under the monitoring and supervision of an operator. Since the loom stopped when a problem arose, no defective products were produced.This meant that a single operator could be put in charge of numerous looms, resulting in a tremendous improvement in productivity." Concept of Jidoka www.toyota.co.jp/en/vision/production_system/jidoka.html