Jidoka
TL;DR
Building quality into the process by stopping the line when defects are detected, rather than fixing mistakes later.
The immune system embodies jidoka—detecting and halting threats immediately rather than allowing defects to propagate. When a cell shows signs of viral infection or cancerous mutation, immune cells trigger apoptosis (programmed death) to stop the problem at its source. DNA repair mechanisms similarly halt replication when errors are detected. The biological principle: catching problems early prevents cascading failures downstream.
Business Application of Jidoka
Building quality into the process by stopping the line when defects are detected, rather than fixing mistakes later. Core Toyota Production System principle developed by Taiichi Ohno.