Analysis and classification of Karakuri technologies for reinforcement of their visibility, improvement and transferability: An attempt for enhancing lean management

Karakuri technology, a member technology of lean management, is a unique method that aims to contribute environmental and labour issues by utilizing natural physical phenomena and related useful elemental mechanisms. Recent years, their developed works and application tend to become black box-like due to maniac development as well as technology advancement. Recognizing this situation, this paper proposes to utilize a template procedure for effective analysis and improvement of this technology for successful knowledge transfer among experts and beginners. Also, aiming to extract useful information on further development and improvement, it analyses the relations among various elements of this technology by statistical quantification model. An example application is also given for demonstrating relevance of obtained information.