Andon is a Lean Production technique used to prevent errors. Thanks to this system, businesses have the opportunity to increase profitability and customer satisfaction by achieving benefits such as efficiency, quality and savings in production processes. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of the Andon system for businesses. What is Andon? Andon system, which emerged in the Toyota Production System, is a Japanese term and means ‘light’ or ‘lamp’. Andon is a visual and auditory warning system used in production processes. When a problem occurs on the production line, it allows operators to report the situation immediately. In this way, it helps to detect, evaluate and solve the errors occurring in the production processes at an early stage. Thus, disruptions in the production process are minimised. Thanks to the andon system, when employees see a problem, they immediately signal, stop working and ensure that the relevant people take action quickly to solve the problem. Thanks to this system, the problem is solved at the source. What Does Andon System Provide to Businesses? Andon systems play an important role in production processes. Thanks to these systems, manufacturers instantly detect the problems they encounter and produce solutions by identifying the root causes. This rapid response capability ensures that production continues uninterruptedly and efficiently. Thus, both production quality is increased and possible disruptions are prevented. Here are some of the benefits of Andon: Ensures that Problems are Handled Quickly. With the Andon system, when an anomaly such as machine malfunction, quality problems, material deficiencies are detected, operators send an instant warning. In this way, it is easier to eliminate errors that occur at the production station. Prevents Repetition of Problems. Andon allows teams to get to the root cause of problems. The moment production stops, teams can investigate the problem and find solutions to prevent it from happening again. Production Costs Reduced. Andon helps to detect production problems at an early stage and prevent the problem from growing further. This reduces the need for rework and production costs. Encourages Continuous Improvement and Increases Customer Satisfaction. Lean production teams continuously improve their processes by identifying the root causes of problems. In this way, the quality of the products on the production line improves and customer satisfaction increases. Therefore, the understanding of continuous improvement both increases productivity and provides better products to customers. Reduced Downtime. Identifying and eliminating the root causes of problems reduces delays and interruptions in processes. This also reduces the costs arising from delays and interruptions. Thus, both operational efficiency increases and cost savings are achieved. Turnaround Time Accelerates. The Andon system eliminates disruptions and speeds up the process by organising the flow of the production line. As the teams identify the root causes of problems and find solutions, the downtime of the production line decreases. This also improves turnaround times and increases overall efficiency.
