Author: John Grout
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You Must Be This Tall…
A Poka-yoke classic: the go/no-go gauge applied to customers of a play area in a mall. Look for this type of device anywhere kids are.
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Don’t Throw Away Our Deli Baskets!
Even fancy sandwich shops can’t afford to have their trays discarded. Preventing customers from making a mistake, in this case, means making the trash can opening smaller than the tray.
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No More Marker on the Walls!
What could be better than a mistake-proofing device that increases sales by creating a niche in a commodity product category? Crayola is selling markers that don’t write except on special paper. No more blue, green, and red-fingered toddlers. No more ruined clothing. Nice mistake-proofing. Masterful marketing. GE essentially gives jet engines away in order to get 20…
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What Day Does This Need to be Returned?
Blockbuster has figured out that helping customers get their videos back on time is good for business. This is another example that does not mistake-proof the process but does help customers get it right. If every process we interacted with did as well, the number of mistakes we made would be dramatically reduced.
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Shaved Ice, Not Shaved Fingers
Rival sells a shaved ice machine that spins the ice around, pushing the ice over a blade that shaves it into snow cone “snow.” Rival is very interested in NOT shaving any fingers. They have designed the “on” switch into the lid. You press on the lid to activate the machine. When you stop pressing…
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Notifying Management About a Dirty Bathroom
This clever idea is not a mistake-proofing device in the purest sense. However, rapid feedback is a guiding principle in mistake-proofing and this switch in a discount store restroom seems to fully exemplify that idea.
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UK Electrical Plug Protections
British 240v/50Hz electricity can injure people, so electrical plugs are designed so that live electrical pins are never exposed. 1. the pins’ position and orientation are such that the plug can only fit one way in the socket 2. the pins are insulated near the plug body so that electric shock is not possible via…
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Model Rocket Launcher Safety
Estes’ rocket launcher system has two mistake-proofing devices: 1. A safety key must be inserted in control box inorder to launch the rocket. The key is attached to a plastic cap that is supposed to be put on the end of the launch pad guide rod. Thus locking out a launch while people are nearby.…
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Treadmill Safety Stop
This treadmill has a clip that attaches to the user’s clothes. If the user falls off the back of the machine, a safety peg is pulled from the machine turning the motor off
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Garage Door Safety Stops
Well Designed garage door openers have two safety features that prevent people or pets from being crushed by a closing door: (1) a contact safety reverse feature, which opens the door if it hits a person or object, and (2) an infrared beam across the doorway that causes the door to reverse automatically if a…