A "Visual Control" (from andon, a Japanese word meaning "light"). device that indicates the "Status" of a machine, line, or process. Frequently audible alarms or warning messages accompany ANDON status lights as a secondary method of communicating a problem has arisen. ANDON's can be very effective in highly automated processes to alert support personnel of problems who must attend to several automated processes at a time or are not located in close proximity to the machines they oversee.