Poka-Yoke: The Art of Mistake Proofing
The source, titled “OpEx – Poka Yoke Mistake proofing.pdf,” outlines a comprehensive approach to achieving operational excellence through mistake-proofing, also known as Poka-Yoke. It emphasises that defects account for a significant portion of production costs and stresses the importance of preventing errors at the source rather than merely inspecting them out. The document introduces principles for achieving zero defects, focusing on process control over individual blame, and explores various categories of error and their prevention strategies. It details six mistake-proofing techniques—elimination, replacement, prevention, facilitation, detection, and mitigation—providing examples for each. Finally, it presents a seven-step framework for implementing error-proofing and a five-part project methodology for designing defects out of processes, encouraging continuous improvement and team invol