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Pointing and Calling Method is widely used in Japanese industry
How many times have we taken an action without thinking about what we are doing? Run home and realize we don’t remember the last five minutes of the drive, have turned into auto-pilots, and perform operations through muscle memory without thinking about what we are doing. Have you put the hat back on the toothpaste? When we do something over and over again, it becomes a habit, and with the habit, we become mind-free. And it’s insecure. What if your employees are doing the same thing with checks and processes to run your plant safely?
The Japanese train system is one of the fastest, safest systems in the world. With 12 billion people transported each year, the rail system has taken incredible safety measures you can take to improve efficiency and safety in your manufacturing facility. They were the first to implement a pointing and calling system, the same pointing in occupational safety to avoid mistakes by identifying important signals and calling status.
Does it work?
In 1994, the Japanese Railway Technical Research Institute estimated pointing and calling in an experiment in which volunteers were asked to complete a simple, but variable, task. Volunteers made 2.38 errors in 100 actions when no specific action was taken to prevent errors. Significantly calling or pointing to…
