The Lean Post / Articles / Mindset and the Andon Cord
Operations
By Mike Rother
March 4, 2018
When it comes to Andon, we like to talk about visual management, fast response, supporting employees, and other technical aspects. Yet a fundamental mindset underlying the Andon system may be an acceptance and even enjoyment of the unpredictable nature of everday life. With such a mindset it might actually seem odd to not have an Andon cord!
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About Mike Rother
Mike is co-author of two groundbreaking LEI workbooks, Learning to See: value-stream mapping to add value and eliminate muda, which received a Shingo Research Award in 1999 and Creating Continuous Flow: an action guide for managers, engineers and production associates, which received a Shingo Award in 2003. Mike’s recent books are Toyota Kata (McGraw-Hill), Toyota Kata Culture, and the forthcoming Toyota Kata Practice Guide.
Mike is an engineer, researcher, and teacher on the subjects of management, leadership, improvement, adaptiveness, and change in human organizations. His affiliations have included the Industrial Technology Institute in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan College of Engineering, the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, Stuttgart, and the Technical University Dortmund. Mike works to develop scientific thinking in individuals, teams and organizations, shares his findings widely, and is in the Association for Manufacturing Excellence Hall of Fame.
