What is "Autonomation"?

“Autonomation” is a term that was coined in the excellent book The Toyota Production System by Taiichi Ohno, (Productivity Press, 1988). Translated from the Japanese principle of “Jidoka”, it is also known as “intelligent automation” or “automation with a human touch”.

Ahead of its time when the concept was originally developed by the Toyota Production company in the 1930s-1950s, very simple “autonomation” was used to notify workers and automatically stop entire manufacturing lines when a weaving machine developed a problem during production (many people do not know, but Toyota was originally very involved in the textile business before focusing on developing automobiles!).

This original concept led to Toyota’s famous Poka-Yoke and Andon mistake-proofing systems. The next evolution of these concepts is also heavily represented in Industry 4.0 ideology, as the ultimate goal of Industry 4.0 (“smart” manufacturing processes) is to have equipment be able to autonomously detect and correct its own operating issues.

Directly upgrading Industry 2.0 (mass production) or Industry 3.0 (computer-aided automation) -based processes and equipment to be fully Industry 4.0 ready can be a very expensive undertaking. Autonomation provides an alternative, more cost-effective path for many manufacturers.

By taking true production data directly from automation controls or sensors and adding context through inputs from people on the plant floor, you can achieve autonomation and put your factory and organization on the path to Jidoka, or Intelligent Automation so you can ultimately achieve Industry 4.0.