Shisa Kanko

The safety practice of pointing at important indicators and calling out the status. It was popularized by the Japanese railroad industry, and adopted into many Japanese manufacturing facilities. The technique helps reduce mistakes, errors and safety incidences.

In a factory where this is practiced, fork truck drivers point to the direction they will be turning, and workers who are walking nearby point which direction they are walking, to minimize confusion and risk of accidents.

The point of pointing and calling is to heighten a person’s mental focus at key moments on the job where accidents are likely to occur.

Jon Miller, The Point of Pointing and Calling

A 1994 study by the Railway Technical Research Institute showed that pointing and calling reduced mistakes by almost 85 percent when doing a simple task.

For example, at the Toyota Motors Manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, they would point every direction they were walking or driving within the facility. When they encounter another employee at an intersection. It is standard practice that every points, and anyone in a vehicle also had to honk a horn. This greatly reduced accidents in the factory and warehouse areas.

Another example in a warehouse setting would be pointing at the part numbers individually on a pick list paperwork sheet and then pointing to the part numbers on the shelf as a confirmation that the worker grabbed the correct item. They should also point to the quantity of items on the paperwork, then point to each item in the container/bin after picking them to validate the correct amount. This would reduce the chance of errors because the act of pointing or touching the paperwork and items is more intentional than just a visual check and verbal counting.

Links

• Wikipedia
• The Point of Pointing and Calling
• Shisa Kanko, a Different Kind of Checklist

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