Andon - Lean Manufacturing

The software Andon is a collaborative communications tool for manufacturing, developed by W. Edwards Deming.

In the 1950s, W Edwards Deming developed a new set of management principles he called: "The Theory of Operations". One of these principles was the idea that "Employees continually make decisions in their work without waiting for instructions from management." In order to make this possible an effective communications tool was needed between front line supervisors and workers on the shop floor. The result was Andon - Lean Manufacturing's"communication system.

Andon consists of a communications board (also known as the Andon Communicator) and its accompanying communications software. The communication board contains a large number of horizontal and vertical indicator lights. When any of these indicators light up, it is an announcement to all other workers on the line that something has changed or changed again on the production line. It also means that there is some new information for those people who need to know it in order for them to react appropriately."

The communication board was designed by W Edwards Deming, who based his design on his experience at Ford Motor Company during World War II. To paraphrase one writer, Deming concluded that the traditional information system at Ford was not working. When problems occurred, the foreman would go to the line to find out what was wrong and try to solve the problem. That worked well in theory, but in practice, once a foreman left his office, he lost control of his workers, and had very little accurate information upon which he could base a course of action.

At first Deming tried to fix this through management training by telling them how important it was for them to get hands-on experience with their people on the front lines of production. But that didn't work. He went on to define a better system for information feedback between the management office and the shop floor.

Andon is a collaborative communications tool for manufacturing, developed by W Edwards Deming. The communication board (also known as Andon Communicator) contains a large number of horizontal and vertical indicator lights. When any of these indicators light up, it is an announcement to all other workers on the line that something has changed or changed again on the production line. It also means that there is some new information for those people who need to know it in order for them to react appropriately.

The communication board was designed by Deming based on his experience at Ford Motor Company during World War II. To paraphrase one writer, Deming concluded that the traditional information system at Ford was not working. When problems occurred, the foreman would go to the line to find out what was wrong and try to solve the problem. That worked well in theory, but in practice, once a foreman left his office, he lost control of his workers, and had very little accurate information upon which he could base a course of action.

At first Deming tried to fix this through management training by telling them how important it was for them to get hands-on experience with their people on the front lines of production. But that didn't work. He went on to define a better system for information feedback between the management office and the shop floor.

Andon consists of a communications board (also known as Andon Communicator) and its accompanying communications software. The communication board contains a large number of horizontal and vertical indicator lights. When any of these indicators light up, it is an announcement to all other workers on the line that something has changed or changed again on the production line. It also means that there is some new information for those people who need to know it in order for them to react appropriately.

The communication board was designed by W Edwards Deming, who based his design on his experience at Ford Motor Company during World War II. To paraphrase one writer, Deming concluded that the traditional information system at Ford was not working. When problems occurred, the foreman would go to the line to find out what was wrong and try to solve the problem. That worked well in theory, but in practice, once a foreman left his office, he lost control of his workers, and had very little accurate information upon which he could base a course of action.

At first Deming tried to fix this through management training by telling them how important it was for them to get hands-on experience with their people on the front lines of production. But that didn't work. He went on to define a better system for information feedback between the management office and the shop floor.

Andon is a collaborative communications tool for manufacturing, developed by W Edwards Deming. The communication board (also known as Andon Communicator) contains a large number of horizontal and vertical indicator lights. When any of these indicators light up, it is an announcement to all other workers on the line that something has changed or changed again on the production line. It also means that there is some new information for those people who need to know it in order for them to react appropriately.

The communication board was designed by Deming based on his experience at Ford Motor Company during World War II. To paraphrase one writer, Deming concluded that the traditional information system at Ford was not working. When problems occurred, the foreman would go to the line to find out what was wrong and try to solve the problem. That worked well in theory, but in practice, once a foreman left his office, he lost control of his workers, and had very little accurate information upon which he could base a course of action.

At first Deming tried to fix this through management training by telling them how important it was for them to get hands-on experience with their people on the front lines of production. But that didn't work. He went on to define a better system for information feedback between the management office and the shop floor.

Andon is a collaborative communications tool for manufacturing, developed by W Edwards Deming. The communication board (also known as Andon Communicator) contains a large number of horizontal and vertical indicator lights. When any of these indicators light up, it is an announcement to all other workers on the line that something has changed or changed again on the production line. It also means that there is some new information for those people who need to know it in order for them to react appropriately.

The communication board was designed by Deming based on his experience at Ford Motor Company during World War II. To paraphrase one writer, Deming concluded that the traditional information system at Ford was not working. When problems occurred, the foreman would go to the line to find out what was wrong and try to solve the problem. That worked well in theory, but in practice, once a foreman left his office, he lost control of his workers, and had very little accurate information upon which he could base a course of action.

At first Deming tried to fix this through management training by telling them how important it was for them to get hands-on experience with their people on the front lines of production. But that didn't work. He went on to define a better system for information feedback between the management office and the shop floor.

Andon is a collaborative communications tool for manufacturing, developed by W Edwards Deming.

Conclusion

The above are some of the central points I gained from reading about Deming and hearing him speak at seminars. I highly recommend that any organization interested in learning more about Total Quality Management read Deming's books. These books are very informative and easy to read, even though they were written over 25 years ago when some of the language was quite unusual (although not as difficult as how he wrote in 1943). If a company is interested in learning more about TQM, then there is no better place to start than with Deming.

Deming has influenced many thinkers and philosophers since he started teaching TQM.