Jidoka Example on a Packaging Line: More Stops, Fewer Bad Packs

Key takeaways

• Jidoka means the machine stops itself, or the operator stops it, as soon as something is abnormal, so no bad pack moves on.
• Expect the stop count to rise first. In the example, a flow wrapper went from 9 to 23 stops a shift.
• Expect quality loss to fall further: bad packs per shift dropped from 4,490 to 1,100.
• Read the change factor by factor. OEE can look flat at first, and worse if packs found bad later were never counted back to the shift.
• Once the causes behind the new stops were fixed, stops fell to 11 and OEE rose from 74.1% to 76.5%.

Jidoka on a packaging line means the machine stops the moment it detects an abnormality, such as a seal jaw running too cold. A person then fixes the cause before more bad packs are made. The stop count goes up and quality loss goes down. Read it in OEE by comparing Availability and Quality, not just the total.

This guide is from Fabrico, the OEE and light MES platform. It follows one jidoka change on a flow wrapper, with stops, rejects and OEE before and after. For the idea itself, start with our jidoka guide.

What does jidoka look like on a packaging line?

Toyota describes jidoka as "automation with a human touch". The machine tells normal from abnormal, stops and calls for help. Then people fix the cause, so the problem does not return. Our guide to jidoka and autonomation covers the history.

On a packaging line it looks like this:

• Flow wrapper: stops when a seal jaw leaves its temperature band, or after 2 bad seals in a row.
• Capper: stops when a sensor sees bottles without caps, instead of sending them on.
• Labeller: stops after 2 missing labels in a row.
• Case packer: stops when a case is short a pack, instead of closing it.

A reject station alone is not jidoka. A checkweigher that kicks out light packs all shift filters the defects but never removes their cause. Jidoka stops the machine, so somebody asks why.

Why does the stop count go up after jidoka?

Because problems that used to pass in silence now stop the machine. Before, a seal jaw could run cold for half an hour while the wrapper kept going. Now each drift is a stop, with a reason.

The new stops are short, often a minute, but many at first. Each one shows a problem while it is still small. As the team removes the causes, the count falls.

A stop should also call a person. On most lines, the andon light at the machine calls the team leader, who comes within a set time. Our andon guide walks through that workflow.

Why does quality loss go down?

• Fewer bad packs are made. The wrapper stops when the jaw drifts, before it seals hundreds of weak packs.
• Defects are caught at the source. A bad pack found at the wrapper costs 1 pack. Found hours later at the leak test, it costs a held pallet and a sort.

How do you read jidoka in OEE?

Compare each factor over the same shifts and SKU mix. Jidoka moves Availability and Quality in opposite directions.

One trap spoils most comparisons. If bad packs found later are never subtracted from the shift's good count, the old Quality looks better than it was. Then jidoka seems to cost Availability and give nothing back. Our OEE Quality guide shows how the Quality factor is calculated.

Jidoka example: a flow wrapper before and after

Sample line (illustrative numbers, not a customer): line 2, a snack bar flow wrapper rated at 300 packs a minute. A shift has 450 minutes of planned production time, so 135,000 packs is the most it can make. Each pack earns a contribution of $0.04, so a lost wrapper minute costs $12, or €12 in a euro plant. Performance held at 90.0% throughout.

Before. The wrapper ran on when a seal jaw drifted cold. The seal checker kicked out 990 packs a shift. Another 3,500 weak seals passed, and the leak test found them at the end of the shift. They were scrapped.

The change. The wrapper now stops when a jaw leaves its temperature band, and after 2 checker rejects in a row.

The causes. The new stop reasons showed two sources of cold jaws: a loose jaw sensor, and one supplier's film that needed a higher seal temperature. The team fixed the sensor mount and added a temperature band per film to the changeover standard.

• Before: 450 minus 63 = 387 minutes run, and 387 / 450 = 86.0%. Packs made: 387 x 300 x 90.0% = 104,490. Good: 104,490 minus 4,490 = 100,000. OEE: 100,000 / 135,000 = 74.1%.
• First 15 shifts: 373 minutes run, 82.9% Availability. Good: 100,710 minus 1,100 = 99,610. OEE: 73.8%.
• Causes fixed: 385 minutes run, 85.6% Availability. Good: 103,950 minus 700 = 103,250. OEE: 76.5%.
• Gain: 3,250 good packs a shift, or $130 (€130). Over 750 shifts a year, $97,500, or €97,500, if the packs sell.

The trap, in numbers. The old report never subtracted the 3,500 packs found later. It showed Quality at 99.1% and OEE at 76.7%. Against that, the first 15 shifts look 2.9 points worse, and the final result looks 0.2 points worse. Counted honestly, OEE rose from 74.1% to 76.5%.

How do you add jidoka without losing too much Availability?

• Stop on the abnormality, not on noise. 2 rejects in a row, or a setting out of its band. One random reject is the reject station's job.
• Set the response. Who comes, how fast, what they check first. A one minute stop that waits for help becomes a 10 minute stop.
• Give jidoka stops their own reason codes, so you can count them apart from breakdowns and watch them fall.
• Review them at the start of each shift. The top jidoka reason is the next cause to remove.
• Keep the stop on when OEE dips. The dip is the price of seeing the problem.

Short jidoka stops are easy to lose on paper. Our micro stops guide shows why they need automatic logging.

What mistakes make jidoka look bad in OEE?

• Comparing the OEE total only, never the factors.
• Leaving bad packs found later out of the shift's Quality.
• Judging it before the causes behind the new stops are fixed.
• Changing the short stop cutoff at the same time, so stops jump between factors.
• Blaming the operator who stopped the machine. Stopping is the job. Measure the process, never the person.

Where Fabrico fits

Fabrico is a computer vision enabled Manufacturing Performance Platform. OEE and light MES come first: stops are logged automatically, and OEE is live by line and shift. That makes it jidoka with a memory: the stop is on record even when nobody pulls a cord.

• Short jidoka stops are logged automatically, with count and minutes by reason.
• The operator confirms the reason in one tap, such as "seal jaw out of band".
• OEE split by factor, so the Availability dip and the Quality gain both show.
• Losses priced in money and ranked, so the next cause to fix is the costliest.
• A camera clip as evidence for a stop, where a camera watches the wrapper.

Fabrico measures the stops and the result. Your team sets the stop rules and removes the causes. There is no free plan and there are no tiers: each plant gets a quote. See how stops are captured on our computer vision OEE page.

Frequently asked questions

What is an example of jidoka?

A flow wrapper that stops itself when a seal jaw runs too cold is jidoka. So is a capper that stops when bottles arrive without caps. The machine detects the abnormality, stops before more bad packs are made and calls a person, who fixes the cause.

How does jidoka affect OEE?

It usually lowers Availability a little at first, because short stops are added, and raises Quality more, because fewer bad packs are made. Once the causes behind the new stops are fixed, Availability recovers. Compare the factors over the same shifts and SKU mix.

Is a reject station jidoka?

Not on its own. It removes bad packs but lets the machine keep making them. Jidoka adds the stop, for example after 2 rejects in a row, so someone finds the cause.

Why did our stop count go up after adding jidoka?

Because problems that used to pass in silence now stop the machine. Track the new stops by reason and fix the top cause first. If the count never falls, the stop rule may be too tight, or nobody is removing the causes.

What is the difference between jidoka and andon?

Jidoka is the principle: detect an abnormality and stop. Andon is the signal that calls for help when it happens, such as a light or a board at the line. Toyota says the andon lights up so workers know about the abnormality.

See your jidoka stops in a demo

Bring one packaging line and a few recent shifts. We will show its stops by reason, its OEE by factor and where the bad packs went.

Request a demo · Contact us