Jidoka is one of the core principles of the Toyota Production System, one that empowers production-line workers to take immediate action the moment a defect is detected. The worker who discovers the defect pulls a red cord, and the entire assembly line stops. Co-workers and the supervisor rush over to that worker, forming an ad hoc problem-solving team. The team, led by the worker who pulled the cord, quickly works to resolve the problem to prevent any defects from reaching the next operation.

Using jidoka and other tools, Toyota became the quality leader in the automotive industry, admired and respected by customers, competitors, and the media. Unfortunately, Toyota’s reputation for quality has become tarnished due to the well-publicized, sudden, and unintended acceleration problem, and the associated recall since October 2009 of more than 10 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

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