‘Poka-Yoke’. No, not a new kind of video-game dreamed up by Nintendo but in fact a concept behind the technology that surrounds us. Quite literally it means mistake-proofing or fail-safing in design. It is those little things that we take for granted but sorely miss in their absence.
‘Poka-Yoke’. No, not a new kind of video-game dreamed up by Nintendo but in fact a concept behind the technology that surrounds us. Quite literally it means mistake-proofing or fail-safing in design. It is those little things that we take for granted but sorely miss in their absence.
To take just one example, think about ATM’s. Relatively commonplace, these generally take a card, dispense cash and return the card. Or do they? I had never even considered the importance of the order of these rather mundane events until my visit to Asia this summer. Certainly in India, the order is card in, cash, card back. And I came so close to losing my debit card on many an occasion, yet back home I had never had any trouble remembering the card. The secret is of course that in Ireland the card is returned before the cash, so that the cash-hungry user is kept waiting while returning card to wallet, before getting the sought-after notes and heading off for more shopping/drinking!
The term Poka-yoke is Japanese and originates from the efforts of Dr Shigeo Shino who was instrumental in developing it into a technique. This week I took a look at some of the more interesting cases . . .
I wonder whether anyone doesn’t know at least one person who has made the mistake of putting the wrong fuel in their car? It is an annoying and common mistake, often requiring the entire tank to be drained and even damaging the engine permanently.
But Poka-yoke prevents against the worst possible mistake: Using diesel in a petrol engine may destroy the engine’s catalytic converter, causing thousands of euro in damage. How is it that we’re not all broke already? The nozzle on the diesel pumps at garages is slightly larger than the petrol nozzle, meaning it won’t fit into a petrol car’s filling inset. The user is warned before the flow of diesel has even begun.
The feckless driver who sets off with the pump nozzle still in their vehicle isn’t pulled around in a circle to crash into one of the other pumps
But perhaps the most exciting petrol station design is the fact that the hoses from the pumps are designed to tear off with a strong pull. So the feckless driver who sets off with the pump nozzle still in their vehicle isn’t pulled around in a circle to crash into one of the other pumps. The breakaway of the hose coupling also shuts off the flow of petrol to reduce fire risk.
The lowly bathroom sink is also an illustration of poka-yoke: You know that little hole under the taps? It stops flooding. Ingenious.
The window in business envelopes is not only a time-saver for address-writers. It also prevents mix-ups of contents to recipients, ensuring that that a client’s private statement is not sent to the Christmas prizewinner!
Airport luggage carts are great for racing. The momentum of an over-laden cart can be an almost unstoppable force, ploughing through the crowds of would-be flyers and causing injury and destruction left right and center. The poka-yoke answer? The brakes of the trolley are applied whenever the handle is not being pressed to slow the cart once it has been released. This also prevents against more sensible dangers like unattended carts rolling away.
