Another technique in the Poka-yoke process that can be applied to tooling would be something that when we deliver turnkey projects we incorporate and call, ‘Offset checks,’ into our part programs. What an offset check is, it’s use of a macro program designed to check and offset value and verify it is within a nominal value. What this does is provide an added safety measure in case an incorrect value was entered that prevents the access to be associated with that. 

We will embed a macro program into the machine and each tool that will be used in a part program process, from the CNC controller standpoint based on this macro program, the tool length, for example, would have to be within a specified tolerance.  Let’s say, for example, the tool length on that tool must be between 5.5 inches and 5.75 inches. Now, say you take tool #7 and you're loading that data for tool #7 into the control, and you push the wrong button, miss a decimal point, and the control sees you put in a tool that has an offset of say 57.5 inches instead of 5.75 inches. Well, by use of the macro associated with tool #7, it’s going to verify and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem here,’ so the machine is not going to attempt to machine the part, have a major crash, and eliminate the part.  We use this quite often to eliminate problems that can occur by mis-entering a tool offset. That’s a great Poka-yoke method there.