The true nature of intuition and experience | The meaning of transforming manufacturing wisdom into data

A judgment that is difficult to put into words, born from years of experience.

In Japanese manufacturing facilities, experienced engineers have traditionally intuitively grasped the condition of equipment and changes in products.

We sometimes assess the condition by combining information that is difficult to grasp from numbers alone, such as the appearance of the furnace, the sounds coming from the equipment, and the finish of the products.

These experiences represent valuable on-the-ground wisdom accumulated over a long period of time.

Techniques that are difficult to put into words are difficult to pass on.

When a veteran's criteria for judgment—what they see, what they feel, and how they make decisions—become commonplace for them, it's not easy to explain those criteria to others.

Furthermore, different people may make different judgments.

To ensure that the same condition can be confirmed even if the person changes.

You don't need to replace everything with numbers.

On the other hand, by recording measurable conditions such as temperature, you can confirm the feeling that something is "different from usual" using common numbers.

This allows veterans and younger employees to discuss things while looking at the same information.

Data can be used for "sharing," not "monitoring."

When people hear the phrase "turning the field into data," they sometimes feel like their work is being monitored.

However, the original purpose is not surveillance itself.

It's about sharing, to the extent possible, objective information about the judgments veterans make in their minds and the changes they observe on the ground.

For example, if a veteran worker feels that something is "a little too hot," being able to check the temperature at that time and past data allows them to compare their intuition with the numbers.

Through this accumulation of experiences, we can transform "a vague feeling" into knowledge that is easier to share.

Another value of quantification is that it allows people with different perspectives to discuss things based on the same information.

The field staff and management departments are looking at the same numbers.

Even if a decision is made on-site that "changing the conditions any further would likely affect quality," it can be difficult to explain the reason to other departments.

Therefore, if objective information such as temperature and process data can be shared, we can consider "why those conditions are necessary" based on that common information.

Numbers complement, not erase, experience.

Veteran experience and measurement data are not mutually exclusive; you cannot choose one over the other.

Based on experience, you learn "what to look at," and then use data to confirm "whether that's really the case."

This combination allows us to transform on-the-ground knowledge into a form that can be used by more people.

When considering energy conservation in a factory, it's not enough to only look at the equipment that is consuming energy.

We need to consider where the heat generated goes and where it escapes from.

In episode 3, we'll explore the theme of "Where does heat escape from?" and consider heat loss in factories, starting with the basics of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation.

Read Chapter 3, "Where Does the Heat Escape From?"