POKA-YOKE

We use it to stave off miscellaneous errors. Japanese engineer Shigeo Shingo is the originator of this method – he accumulated solutions to exclude any sort of mistakes during procedures. In everyday life there are many conveniences of this kind e.g. driving a car, reheating food in microvawe or plugging charger to a socket.

Clinical process vs. risk

Every hospital, which clinical process poses a major risk of mistakes, looking for modern and efficient solution. Poka-yoke in clinical process is very useful method, which prevents errors, adverse events and near misses. Patient which use of medical service want that process will be fast, proficient and without any complication. High safety level depends on qualified personnel and needed infrastructure. If infrastructure is well designed it is error proofing.

Repeated activities let the guards down

Frequently repeated the same or similar activity can lull into a false sense of employee security. Routine could be potentially root of mistakes, it is very important to use well designed medical equipment. So that medical staff can use time for creating value added activities for the patient.  Effective poka-yoke shouldn’t lead to wrong output of activity. Poka- yoke solutions are divided into 2 types:

Poka-yoke examples

Medical equipment, machines and clinical processes with poka- yoke secures:

• wrong plug in medical machines
• performance wrong activities in next process stages
• omission activity in clinical process or its realization in wrong order