Essay On Poka-Yoke

Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines

Whether you are a student, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, many things can go wrong as you try to be successful. As individuals are as teams, we may attempt to set up systems and routines or use devices to achieve success. Sometimes we fail. The term “Poka-Yoke,” Japanese in origin, describes a mechanism used to avoid mistakes or wrenches thrown in these routines or devices that prevent us from achieving success .
There are many examples of errors that Poka-Yokes can helps us with every day. For instance, as a student, when I was younger I used to do badly on tests, partially because I was always hungry in the mornings. A Poka-Yoke I instigated to help prevent this disaster was eating a quick, healthy breakfast before school. Another issue that prevented me from achieving success was forgetting my homework, as well as some of my school supplies. Using the Poka-Yoke system, I began checking my schoolbag before I went to sleep at night, assuring I had my homework, as well as my school supplies in place before I left the following morning.
Employees also make many mistakes that poka-yokes can help prevent. An employee may find they are not as efficient at their job in the afternoon due to low blood sugar, despite having eaten lunch. A successful mechanism, or poka-yoke, would be to bring a small snack to eat on their afternoon break in order to work efficiently through the afternoon. Business owners also may make mistakes as they attempt to achieve success. They may achieve success in so many areas of their business they begin to believe they require no help running their business at all, inevitably running it into the ground. A simple poka-yoke is understanding that because you are good at delegating work, and running a business efficiently, it does not mean you are an accountant or an entrepreneur. A poka-yoke for business owners would be to accept help.
In sum, everybody makes mistakes. Poke-yokes are available to help prevent those mistakes. Whether one is a student or a business owner, there is always room for error. Fortunately, there are devices available for all walks of life that can help us be successful.

References

Kenyon, G. N., & Sen, K. C. (2015). Process Improvement Methods and Tools. The Perception of Quality, 119-140.