Among his inventions was a special mechanism to automatically stop a loom whenever a thread broke—an invention that evolved into a broader system that became one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System, called jidoka (automation with a human touch). Essentially, jidoka means building in quality as you produce the material or "mistake proofing." It also refers to designing operations and equipment so your workers are not tied to machines and are free to perform value-added work.
