Sequence

TEC 5970/INT 5970 Problem Solving

Problem Solving Sequence

Problem solving methods are used in every stage of quality and process improvement, especially when the process is revealed as being out of control. A logical systematic approach to problem solving must be taken, following the basic sequence of problem recognition, isolation and solution. The value of this method lies in its ability to define a problem to arrive at a solution through a logical process. The goal of the systems approach is not only to eliminate the symptom, but also to identify the root cause and to get rid of it completely.

We will study the general sequence of problem solving using systems approach. Various problem solving techniques will then be discussed to effectively tackle the problems. Several successful cases will be presented at the end of this course to strengthen the practical applications of these techniques.

I. Problem Solving Sequence

A typical sequence of problem solving includes:

Step 1: Problem Recognition

It is essential for a successful business organization to recognize problems in the process or product. Problem recognition can be as hazy as a feeling that a process can run better or that the situation can somehow be improved. For example, management may believe that the company's market share for a specific product can be increased. Problem solving team may believe that the operation can run more smoothly and more efficiently. Problem recognition can also be as obvious as looking at the scrap bin and realizing that some specific part of the process is causing substandard product. Most often, however, problems are embedded in a process and must be searched out using problem-solving methods.

It is important to bear in mind Deming's philosophy of continuous improvement. Any process would have some places which need improvement at different stage regardless how good a company is. If we do not have the desire of continuous improvement, we may ignore problems that are emerging or affecting the product and eventually lose our competition. It is extremely important for a company to create a culture favoring continuous improvement. Commitment from all levels of management, especially by top management, is critical for the success of problem solving. Decisions of problem solving need to be implemented.

Everyone in the organization must be involved in problem solving and must be trained to use problem solving techniques so that their efforts will fit into a coordinated, company-wide, problem solving structure. Companies facing today's competition can not rely on a few people to find and solve problems. A comprehensive approach must be taken to create an organization structure that will involve all employees in problem solving. Employee suggestions and customers feedback are extremely important. For instances, in Nissan Motors, any suggestion that saves at least 0.6 seconds in a production process is seriously considered by management.

When a company puts quality first in its set of goals and incorporates an ongoing quality process, tools for problems solving are systematically used for problem recognition. With employees trained in these problem solving tools, they will be much more capable of recognizing and solving problems.

Problems may be indicated by many ways, for example:

1. Control charts
2. Too much scrap
3. Feedback from market or customer complaints
4. Feeling for better process performance
5. Employees' suggestion
6. Lots of work-in-place materials
7. Work area in disarray
8.
9.

Step 2: Problem Definition

Continuous improvement is not equal to unplanned change in the process for the sake of trying something new. We are continuously sorting out problems and solving them. When a problem symptom is found or identified, the problem must be clearly defined. A good definitive problem statement is the first step in the problem's solution. It identifies a specific goal so that particular steps can be taken toward achieving the goal. Most problems are complicated by symptoms that hide the root cause of the problem, and the effort spent trying to eliminate a symptom without attacking the root cause is often time wasted. A good problem definition helps separate symptom form potential root causes.

In defining or redefining problems we usually will ask several questions on why. For example:

Ask why: Why do I want to reduce the cost of final inspection?

Answer: To reduce total quality costs.

Redefine: In what ways might I reduce total quality costs?

Ask why: Why do I want to reduce the total quality cost?

Answer: To improve profitability.

Redefine: In what ways might I improve profitability?

Four steps can be used to help clearly define a problem:

1. Where is the problem?
Decide on a point of attack.

2. What are the problem symptoms?
Describe problem symptoms.

3. When do symptoms occur?
Identify symptom patterns.

4. How Extensive is the problem?
Determine problem size.

The main objective of problem definition is to set a clear goal of problem solving so that the problem solving team will not lose their right direction when different opinions are raised. When we have collected information to solve the problem, we will know what will be related and useful, and what are not. Managers in any organization generally deal with messes; problems must be identified and extracted from the "messes." To understand the "messes," we must first determine how a process works and what it is supposed to do. By clearly defining a problem, all involved can reach a common understanding and will not waste time by collecting irrelevant data. Variations can be eliminated by removing inconsistencies in the problem solving process so that the problem solving team is productive.

An effective facilitator is essential for a problem solving team to be successful. Contributors to problems are often faults of the production system. They include hasty design and production of parts and assemblies, poor design specifications, failure to understand the specification, inadequate testing of incoming materials, failure to understand process capability, inadequate training of employees, lack of instrument calibration, and poor environmental characteristics such as light, temperature, and noise. From time to time, a problem solving team will set priority and concentrate on the most severe and rewarding problem.

Step 3: Problem Analysis

Problem analysis involves collecting appropriate data and using those data with the help of the problem solving tools to suggest various ways of resolving the problem. Understanding the true state of problem depends on data collection, observation, and careful listening. Past and current data must be gathered and analyzed to establish a base of information for problem identification and idea generating. Proper design of the quality information system and the organizational structure is a prerequisite for effective problem solving.

The first step in data collection is to develop operational definitions for all measures that will be collected. For example, what does it mean to have "on-time delivery?" Does this mean within one day of the promised time? One week? One hour? Clearly, any data are meaningless unless they are well defined and understood without ambiguity.

The Juran Institute suggests 10 important considerations for data collection:

1. Formulate good questions that relate to the specific information needs of the project.

2. Use appropriate data analysis tools and be certain the necessary data are being collected.

3. Define comprehensive data collection points so that job flows suffer minimum interruption.

4. Select an unbiased collector who has the easiest and most immediate access to the relevant facts.

5. Understand the environment and make sure that data collectors have the proper experience.

6. Design simple data collection forms.

7. Prepare instructions for collecting data.

8. Test the data collection forms and the instructions and make sure they are filled out properly.

9. Train the data collectors as to the purpose of the study, what the data will be used for, how to fill out the forms, and the importance of remaining unbiased.

10. Audit the data collection process and validate the results.

These guidelines can greatly improve the process of problem analysis and finding root causes.

It is important to identify constraints to solving the problem or implementing solutions. These are the factors that might have to be anticipated and eliminated as problems arise. Common constraints are cost, size, regulations, environment, permits and culture. It is also important that a problem be defined to determine whether it is solvable within the required time period and with the available resources. Modern industrial problems are complex. Usually a major problem will have to be solved over several steps. For example, a profitability problem may be caused by different departments. The most important and rewarding factor needs to be identified and to be worked with priority. One person may not have the skills or knowledge to solve them. So interdisciplinary (crossfunctional) teams are created to solve these problems. These teams consist of representatives from the area where the problems is located as well as experts from peripheral areas who can supply information.

This step will generate ideas for removing the problem. One of the difficulties in doing so is the natural instinct to prejudge ideas before thoroughly evaluating them. There is a natural fear of proposing a "silly" idea or looking foolish. However, it is not uncommon for such ideas to form the basis for a creative and useful solution. Effective problem solvers must learn to defer judgment and develop the ability to generate a large number of ideas.

Step 4: Choose Appropriate Action:

There may be several avenues of attacking the problem. Broad representation on the quality team pays off at this stage. Each potential course of action must be examined from different perspectives in order to zero in on the best one. Each proposed solution is evaluated in terms of its ability to overcome the constraints and to achieve corporate objectives. Questions that must be addressed include what facilities or equipment are needed, what are the costs, how much time is required for implementation, what is the effect of supervisors and workers, what results are expected, and what are the barriers to implementation. Proposals are ranked and quantified based on corporate requirements. The solution that is the most cost effective, the easiest to implement, generates the most revenue, saves the most money is selected.

The selected solution should attack the root cause of the problem. For example, if the identified cause of a failed pump is a defective seal, then replacing the seal would get the pump operating, but not prevent premature pump failure. The seal is not the root cause solution. A properly designed and implemented preventive maintenance program could have extended the life of the seal.

Step 5: Implementation and Solution Analysis

The solution is implemented so that problems do not recur. At this stage, we must determine answers to the following questions:

1. Who will be responsible?

2. What must be done?

3. Where will it be done?

4. How will it be done?

People in the area where the problem is located are responsible for its implementation. These people have a personal interest in its implementation and the elimination of the problem. These people also monitor implementation over time, so that the problem does not recur.

The potential consequences of each action should be evaluated. The implementation phase of problem solving must consider personnel planning, budget issues, facilities, scheduling, and methods. Schedules are established, and goals and project milestones are identified and tracked. A new procedure may be used, a new piece of equipment may be installed and debugged, or people must start paying attention to some aspect of the process that had been previously ignored. All these rely on the good organization of problem solving team.

The problem solution must be formally recorded along with the problem definition and analysis. The solution is monitored for effectiveness, cost, and reliability. If the solution does not solve the problem, further corrective action may be necessary. In corrective action, the team goes back to identifying the problem, keeping in mind that the goal is continuous improvement. This forms a feedback loop, so that a solution is optimized. If the problem is identified as design related, the optimum design and parameters are sought.

Step 6: Prevent Backsliding

The final phase in the problem solving sequence is the prevention of back sliding. Ensure maintenance of the new methods and techniques that have been incorporated to eliminate the problem. Corrective action should be finalized and well kept for the organization. The new procedures that solved the problem need to be documented and maintained and new design needs to be in place.

We should realize that continuous improvement is imperative for any company to survive in the competitive global economy. In old times, a firm producing low quality products might still dominate the market because various reasons such as tariffs, cultural restrictions, cost, technique knowledge, transportation and so on. Now there is no such thing as long-term ownership of a market. In a global economy, many of these constraints no long exist. If a market for a product or service evolves, an organization somewhere will emulate or improve on the existing products.

Summary

Many problems we face are complex in nature. To solve those complex problems effectively, the team needs to follow the structured steps in order to tackle the root causes. The disciplined approach will help team achieve the best efficiency in solving problems and help the organization to become the leader in its class.

WORKING EXAMPLE

This example involved about 30 clerical and professional workers in a Hewlett-Packard office taking telephone orders. Management felt that a large amount of the work being performed was related to resolving problems caused by mistakes in processing and shipping the orders.

A work sampling study was performed to classify these activities and understand the nature of the problems better. The study was conducted over three days and resulted in 130 observations of the activities of 10 people. The activities were grouped by major category and counted. The supervisor asked the following questions about each activity: "If there are no errors in the process and everything is running perfectly, would you be working on this activity?" If the answer is no, that means the activity is nonproductive and should be avoided. The results of the seven most frequently observed activities are listed in the following table:

Activity	Type	Frequency
Processing customer returns	Nonproductive	20
Entering orders into computer	Productive	14
Converting orders to fix a problem	Nonproductive	8
Making changes to orders	Productive	8
Expediting shipments	Nonproductive	7
Answering questions about order status	Nonproductive	6
Taking orders over the telephone	Productive	4

Sixty-one percent of these activities were classified as nonproductive work (41/67 = 61%). The most frequent activity, processing customer returns, was a result of shipping the wrong product, duplicate shipments, or wrong quantity delivered to customers. The amount of time spent on this activity was the equivalent of six people. The supervisor immediately made changes in the work procedures to improve the processing of returns. At the same time, a team was formed to reduce the number of products returned.

Let us discuss the following questions regarding the sequence of solving this problem.

1. How was the problem recognized? (Step 1. Problem recognition)

2. How was the problem defined? (Step 2. Problem definition)

3. How was the problem analyzed? How was the data collected and organized? (Step 3. Problem analysis)

4. What was the solution? What is the root cause of the problem? (Step 4. Choose appropriate action)

5. How was the solution implemented. Did the supervisor pay attention to the root cause. What did he/she do? (Step 5. Implementation)

6. Was the solution effective?

7. What measures were taken to prevent backsliding of the problem? (Step 6: Prevent Backsliding)

8. What do you think should be doing for the problem besides what has been done by the supervisor?

II. Common Problem Solving Tools

1. Brainstorming
2. Check table
3. Flow chart
4. Story-board
5. Cause and effect diagram (fish bone diagram)
6. Pareto analysis
7. Tally chart and histogram
8. Control charts and capability analysis
9. Defect concentration diagram
10. Scatter chart
11. Design of experiments