The use of station warning lights, tool boards and jidohka devices in the application of Lean accomplish which of these principles?

The tools mentioned—station warning lights (Andon), tool boards (part of 5S), and jidohka devices (autonomation with error detection)—are all fundamental components of a Visual Factory. The core principle of a Visual Factory, or Visual Management, is to use sensory cues to communicate information about processes, status, and performance at a glance. These tools make abnormalities, tool locations, and production status immediately visible to anyone in the work area, enabling rapid response and problem-solving. They create a transparent environment where the state of the system is self-explaining, which is the essence of the Visual Factory principle.

A. Pilferage Minimization: While tool boards can help deter theft by making missing items obvious, this is a secondary benefit, not the primary Lean principle they represent.
C. Management Awareness: These visual tools are for everyone, especially operators, to manage their own work. Limiting their purpose to "Management Awareness" misses the key Lean concept of empowering all employees.
D. Operator Attentiveness: These tools are designed to signal a need for attention when a problem occurs, rather than being a method to generally increase an operator's baseline attentiveness.

1. Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill. In Chapter 13, "Principle 7: Use Visual Control So No Problems Are Hidden," Liker explicitly discusses Andon lights, 5S (which includes tool boards), and Jidohka as key methods for creating visual control to immediately surface problems.

2. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2005). 16.852J / ESD.352J Integrating the Lean Enterprise, Lecture 5: Lean Production. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The lecture notes describe the Toyota Production System pillars, including Jidohka ("autonomation"), which involves machines stopping and signaling when a problem occurs. This signaling is a core part of visual management.

3. Womack, J. P., & Jones, D. T. (2003). Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation. Free Press. In Part II, "The Principles of Lean Thinking," the authors emphasize the principle of "Transparency," where performance and processes are made visible so that problems are immediately seen and can be addressed. The tools listed in the question are prime examples of implementing this transparency.