How to implement an Andon system that drives continuous improvement

Most plant managers are well aware that an andon system is used to alert people when a machine, a process, or some other element of the production flow needs attention or requires help. It can indicate downtime of a critical machine, a sign that the machine is out of material or that there is a quality problem. What most techies may not know, especially if they haven't spent much time in Lean Manufacturing, is that an Andon System can be activated by both individuals and teams, which is great. Operators can press a button, and machines and even processes can send a signal. But if the factory does not have a basis to support that signal with the relevant actions and activities, then it is nothing more than a system alert.

The last thing plant managers need is for another signal or alert of the day to be quickly ignored by the people who are supposed to pay attention to it. So, if you are planning to implement an Andon system, it is important that you understand why you are incorporating Andon, where it comes from, and how to use it judiciously to improve productivity. Just as important is to ensure that all teams that will be involved in activating and receiving alerts and signals from the Andon System also know and understand the objectives.

Toyota developed the use of the Andon System as a way to immediately flag problems and force action based on a light that shows problems that arise during the production process, with the intention of stopping and solving them to prevent them from happening again. The Andon System indicates problems; the technical team is immediately aware and can react to the machine, material, quality or safety problem; the problem or potential concern is addressed and resolved; Product quality and process robustness are assured before the production line is released to resume operation.

So if the stop and fix methodology, along with the effort involved in building and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the plant, are so important to manufacturing success in the Mexican industry, why is it sometimes ignored? this simple concept?

Have you ever heard these complaints and excuses in your production processes?

There's no time to stop and repair - just hit the reset button and keep it running.
Here we go again, without material again. I hope I don't have to work overtime for this.
The machine keeps jamming. I'm tired of this situation.
I must work again at a lower speed to avoid stoppages.

Application case to explain what the implementation of an Andon system should be like

A particular case that may be of interest to explain how to implement an Andon system that helps the continuous improvement of the plant is that of a factory in the food sector where they wanted to implement an emergency notification system. The plant's machines already had columns of signaling lights (Turrets), so they decided to use them as a way to signal when the equipment was turned off. The problem with this idea was that there were so many lights flashing all the time that no one knew if the situation was real or not. Consequently, plant managers decided that they needed to keep the light signaling columns on each line and use it as a sign that a machine was operating. However, it seemed that they always encountered the same problems, false or misleading signals: someone forgot to turn off the light from a previous incident, or a person did not realize that they had just turned on the light, indicating a problem. when there really wasn't one.

It is clear that we are facing a management problem, production management needed to reach a point where the operators, along with all the other technicians involved, understood what was intended to be obtained from the process. They had to build a standard procedure that was easy to follow and repeatable. They had to be transparent and clearly communicate how the process works, what they wanted to achieve, and what the short- and long-term goals were. There was no other way to ensure everyone's participation. And without a clear understanding and without everyone being on board, the Andon system implementation project was doomed to failure, even before it began.

They had to step back and ask, "What are the benefits of an Andon System for our particular case? What results can help us justify this investment? The following conclusions were reached:

An Andon system is a tool that allows you to paralyze the production line and solve problems that can cost a lot of money.
It is a visual management system that allows problems to be immediately visible, in real time, thus increasing the availability of machines.
The status of the line and machines is clearly visible to everyone in the plant, which helps collaborative and better informed work.
Create transparency in the production process.
Improves communication between different roles and departments such as production, operations, maintenance and quality.
Increases responsibility for both operators and support teams responsible for addressing issues on the line.
Bring to light opportunities for improvement

After thinking about the benefits of implementing an Andon System, those responsible for promoting the project within the plant realized that using this tool to help production operators get the help they needed was essential. They quickly realized that what they really wanted was a way to create an emergency response system in the plant, (sense of urgency).

System for emergency response management on production lines

It must be frustrating to call the emergency phone number and have this be the response you hear: “Thank you for calling 911. Your emergency is very important to us. Please leave a detailed message and someone will contact you shortly.

When launching an Andon System, all production would have to do is make a “call” (Dispatch, Work Order, etc.) and provide some information. That call will immediately be routed to the correct support department responsible for responding to the issue. Whether that means quality engineering, maintenance, or raw material sourcing, the urgency to respond quickly and help solve the problem is the culture the company needed to cultivate. They desperately required an easy way to break the slow response between different departments and find a way to work together to solve problems.

They also needed to be able to capture relevant data in a much easier way than they currently did. With an easier-to-use vehicle for entering information, they could quickly retrieve and analyze data. Ideally, this would allow them to go back and finally have a much clearer picture of the recurring issues in their entirety for better analysis. Armed with accurate information, they could take intelligent improvement actions for their processes. Data allows them to point the finger at what needs to be improved and identify apathy to make way for implementing corrective actions. If plant operators and technicians have reliable and readily available data, they will make good decisions.

The power of an Andon system

An Andon system makes waste visible, showing it to the team of technicians so they can react to it to solve problems one by one. It allows unexpected events to be recorded for a quick response that helps reduce costs and optimize time, while increasing the levels of information to better respond to contingencies.

By solving problems and involving everyone, including machine operators, production managers, maintenance technicians and other support groups, the plant will achieve:

Raise the skill level of staff.
Improve the quality of improvement actions.
Realize the objective of a culture of continuous improvement.
Ensure that safety remains first and most important.
Expedite the resolution of the various problems presented in the production process.
Prevent operators from wasting production time looking for help to solve their problem and the OEE of the processes being compromised.
Analyze the real causes of the problem even when the process is active. This avoids stopping the production line.
It reduces the time and effort of supervisors to constantly monitor the system.

Why implement an Andon System – and why NOW more than ever

To allow manufacturing personnel to raise safety or quality issues and resolve them before resuming production. So that operators can deal with problems and make decisions with a faster response time, which increases efficiency.

Helping production operators and technicians recognize and respond to problems quickly has never been more critical than it is today. Every indicator tells us that these circumstances are not going away anytime soon. By eliminating the need for people to meet face to face, or even be in the same geographic location, we have opportunities never before imagined. And not only to improve measurable aspects such as performance and quality. As managers and plant managers who lead the production of our companies, we not only have opportunities, but also responsibilities. Responsibility not only to help safeguard safety in the workplace. We have a responsibility to ensure better results for our company.

With a robust yet easy-to-use Andon system like the one offered by MES AUTOMATION, your workers will truly be able to see, react and respond to any issue – quickly and in real time. Everyone involved in production and supervision does not have to be physically present to understand the situation. Between remote monitoring, timely updates, the ability to immediately assess any situation, everyone in the company will have the tools they need. Not only to understand the situation, but to remedy the problems.

Discover how the MES AUTOMATION Andon system They can help you solve some of your biggest plant problems and help you avoid coming face to face with problems you've never seen before.