Andon Cords at the Toyota Takaota Plant
by
Mark Graban
"They pull the cord and a light flashes on an 'andon board' It tells the team leader which station has a problem (and music plays). Within seconds, a team leader (having two stripes on his hat) shows up to help. There is one team leader for every eight workers, on average (or 14% of their labor waiting for problems or responding to them)."
