poka-yoke audit

Poka-yoke (ポカヨケ?) (IPA: [poka joke]) is a Japanese term that means "fail-safing" or "mistake-proofing". A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a Lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur.[1] The concept was formalised, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System.[2][3] It was originally described as baka-yoke, but as this means "fool-proofing" (or "idiot-proofing") the name was changed to the milder poka-yoke.

Every manager and executive should perform a "poka-yoke audit": What are the persistently simple — and simply persistent — dumb mistakes we make that our technologies can help us catch and destroy? (If you have trouble coming up with five or six, I'm sure your bosses, colleagues, subordinates, and even a customer or two might constructively suggest a few...)

Source: 1. Wikipedia.org
2. related article: http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2010/02/my-favorite- anecdote-about-des.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29