6 Problem - Solving Tools to use in Manufacturing
Finding effective solutions to complex problems isn’t easy. Using the right tools can help your team be more efficient in determining the root cause of a problem. In this blog post, I discuss some of the common problem solving techniques that are used in manufacturing settings.
The blog will start with a discussion on the nature of problems and the complexity involved with investigating them. Next, 6 problem solving tools that are often used in manufacturing settings will be discussed, these are:
- 5-Why Problem Solving Tool
- Deming’s PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)
- Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D)
- Kepner-Tregoe
- 5-why Process
- Six Sigma Problem Solving
The Variety of Problems
Remember that not all problems are the same, and organizations of different sizes, business stages and industries require different problem solving tools. Solutions are also likely to be different based on the team attempting to deliver them. Structured problem-solving techniques are logical and organized while our natural thinking is not.
Not all problems are the same
Natural Thinking and Problem Solving
Our natural thinking is unorganized and uncontrolled. It is at times logical, other times illogical. It can be rational and whimsical. It jumps uncontrollably between different topics interrupting concentration. It pulls together unusual objects and functions creating wholly new concepts.
Disorganized Thoughts and Problem Solving
We think disorganized thoughts but must organize them for communication – a tedious process. Problem situations arise as collections of objects, attributes, functions, unwanted effects, causes, and extraneous information, which we must identify, sort, cull, and minimize – logical thinking.
Our goal should be
… to reduce a problem situation consisting of objects, attributes, functions, unwanted effects, extraneous information, and images …
to a well-defined problem.
In the video below I describe what a problem statement is. Writing a problem statement helps you “define” the problem you are working on.
Problem Solving Tools
1. 5-Why Problem Solving Tool
2. Deming’s PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)
3. Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D)
4. A3 Problem Solving Methodology
5. Kepner-Tregoe
6. Six Sigma and it’s Problem Solving Tool
1. 5 Whys Problem Solving Tool
To seek out the cause of an issue or problem, you ask why it happened. But probing just one layer gets you just the first cause of the problem. The root cause is usually much deeper. you have to keep probing. You have to keep drilling down until you are justified that you have got to the root cause of the problem.
You have to keep drilling down until you have got to the root cause of the problem.
In it’s “purist” form, 5 why only means that you ask why 5 times or until you can no longer come up with anymore causes. Here is an example of a completed 5 Why analysis exercise.
Problem: There was an injury caused by a fall.
Why did the person fall? The floor was wet.
Why was the floor wet? There was a leaking valve.
Why was the valve leaking? The gasket was bad.
Why was the gasket bad? There is no Preventative Maintenance program for checking the valve gaskets.
To find out more about the 5 Whys Technique, complete 5 Why Analysis Online Training Course.
2. Deming’s PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) Problem Solving Tool
Deming’s PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle is the most known, and it refers to problem solving in 4 steps. The concept of PDCA was first developed by Shewhart (1939), at Bell Laboratories, in the US, then introduced in Japan by Dr. Edwards Deming early 1950s. Toyota was among the first manufacturing companies to adopt the concept for process improvement. The main focus of the approach is on preventive problem solving to reduce variation in all parts and to build all products and systems right from the first time based on planning.
Plan Step: This step should be the biggest one, meaning that project definition, team selection and phenomena description should be done in this phase. Also, it is expected that project planning and timing is defined in this phase. Root cause analysis and solution definition are also done in this step.
Do Step: The “Do” phase means implementation of solutions. In this step, it is intended to implement the action plan identified in the first step.
Check Step: In this step, the results of the actions implemented in the “Do” step are analyzed. A before-and-after comparison is performed verifying whether there were improvements and if the objectives were achieved. The “Check” step consists of analyzing the results of the changes, determining learning lessons from carried out changes, comparing with setting targets to see whether solutions brought adequate results.
Act Step: In the “Act” step, if changes lead to improvements, they are adopted and applied on a larger scale. Otherwise, they are abandoned.
The process can be iterative and may require several cycles for solving complex problems. In general,the PDCA cycle is a continuous process shown in Figure 3, i.e., it is not an end-to-end process. When you reach the last step of “Act” and the outcomes meet the planned targets, you should start all over again and constantly look for better and continuous improvements.
3. Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) Tool
The 8D approach originated 1974 by the US Department of Defence, ultimately taking the form of the military standard 1520 Corrective Action and Disposition System for Nonconforming Material.
The Ford Motor Company took this military standard, which was essentially a process for quality management, and expanded on it to include more robust problem solving methods. In 1987, they published their manual, Team Oriented Problem Solving (TOPS), which included their first iteration of the 8D methodology.
It has been widely adopted by many organizations. It follows an eight disciplines that help teams identify, correct and eliminate recurring issues in manufacturing.
Discipline 1 – Build The Team
Discipline 2 – Describe the Problem
Discipline 3 – Implement a Temporary Fix
Discipline 4 – Eliminate Root Cause
Discipline 5 – Verify Corrective Action
Discipline 6 – Implement Permanent Fix
Discipline 7 – Stop It Happening Again
Discipline 8 – Celebrate Success
One of the main strengths of 8D is its focus on teamwork. The 8D philosophy encourages the idea that teams, as a whole, are more powerful than the sum of the individual qualities of each team member. It’s also an empirical methodology; that is to say that it is a fact-based problem solving process.
4. A3 Problem Solving Methodology
A3 refers to a European paper size that is roughly equivalent to an American 11-inch by 17-inch tabloid-sized paper. The A3 format is used by Toyota as the template for three different types of reports:
- Proposals
- Status
- Problem solving
It’s main idea is that all projects with problem definition, solution, checking and standardisation can be explained on one A3 sized paper. Otherwise, if you can’t explain them on that paper size it means that you still do not know your process and solution well. By limiting the report to one page, teams are forced to be concise and thoughtful about including only relevant information needed to solve problems. This is usually used for problems which can be solved in maximum one to two weeks. This approach is also good for teaching new employees how to systematically approach to problem solving.
- Identify the problem or need.
- Understand the current situation/state.
- Develop the goal statement – develop the target state.
- Perform root cause analysis.
- Brainstorm/determine countermeasures.
- Create a countermeasures implementation plan.
- Check results – confirm the effect.
- Update standard work.
These steps follow the Deming Plant-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, with steps 1 through 5 being the ”Plan”, Step 6 being the “Do”, Step 7 being the “Check” and Step 8 being the “Act”.
The process can be iterative and may require several cycles for solving complex problems. In general,the PDCA cycle is a continuous process shown in Figure 3, i.e., it is not an end-to-end process. When you reach the last step of “Act” and the outcomes meet the planned targets, you should start all over again and constantly look for better and continuous improvements.
5. Kepner-Tregoe
Founded in 1958 by Dr. Charles Kepner and Dr. Benjamin Tregoe, Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. is a global organisation providing consulting and training services around problem solving, decision making and project execution methodologies. This method has become very popular in IT and technical fields but can be applied to a wide range of problems.
The Problem Analysis process divides decision-making into six steps:
- Define the Problem
- Describe the Problem
- Establish possible causes
- Test the most probable cause
- Verify the true cause
6. Six Sigma and it's Problem Solving Tool
DMAIC approach is actually PDCA given in 5 steps used by, but not limited only to Lean Six Sigma. It is usually used for bigger amount of statistical data and requires more time to solve meaning it is mostly used for medium and large scale problems.
Six Sigma (6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. It was introduced by American engineer Bill Smith while working at Motorola in 1986. The purpose of Six Sigma is to bring about improved business and quality performance and to deliver improved profit by addressing serious business issues that may have existed for a long time. The driving force behind the approach is for organizations to be competitive and to eliminate errors and waste.
A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of all opportunities to produce some feature of a part are statistically expected to be free of defects. It could also be viewed as a break through strategy. That significantly improve customer satisfaction and shareholder value by reducing variability in every aspect of business.
How Six Sigma Problem Solving Is Different
Actually it is really not so different from how people normally go about solving day-to-day problems, except in Six Sigma, nobody knows what is really causing the problem at the beginning of the project. And because all attempts to solve the problem in the past have failed, largely because conventional wisdom and gut theories were wrong about the cause of that problem, people conclude that the problem cannot be solved. These types of problems are really the best candidates for Six Sigma.
A Six Sigma project is usually executed by the DMAIC process. Each phase of the methodology should be followed in the sequence define, measure, analyse, improve and control. However, once data have been gathered and analysed the project should be reviewed and, if necessary, re-defined, re-measured and re-analysed. The first three phases should be repeated until the project definition agrees with the information derived from the data. The methodology should only proceed to the final two phases once the project definition is stable.
The Six Sigma DMAIC methodology differs from conventional problem solving in one significant way. There is a requirement for proof of cause and effect before improvement action is taken. Proof is required because resources for improvement actions are limited in most organizations. Those limits preclude being able to implement improvement actions based on 100 hunches hoping that one hits the mark. Thus, discovering root causes is at the core of the methodology.
Define Phase
The outcome of this phase is a project charter that lists what is observed to be wrong. The project charter should state the description of the problem and include data about the size of the problem and its financial impact on profit. The scope of the project, together with the objectives that should be realized at the end of the project, should be clearly defined in both operational (including safety matters if appropriate) and financial terms.
The Measure Phase
The purpose of the measure phase is to develop a data collection plan, to collect the data, to evaluate the data, and to create a baseline of recent process performance. The “measure” phase is the phase where all the data about the variables that are believed to influence the problem should be collected. Before starting to collect data, however, an assessment should be made of the efficacy of the measurement processes that the project will depend on. All measurement systems to be used should be capable of providing data to the required level of accuracy and repeatability. This includes measurement processes that result in discrete “attribute” type data. If there is any doubt about the quality of the data, any statistical analysis that is subsequently undertaken might be invalid.
Analyse Phase
The purpose of the analyse phase is to identify the gaps between baseline performance and targets, to understand the root sources of variation, and to prioritize improvement opportunities.
Improve Phase
The purpose of this phase is to establish a robust improvement to the process. The activities to be considered range from the practical, such as mistake-proofing certain operations, to using optimization techniques and making processes robust against noise variables though DOEs, as appropriate. During this phase, identify any “road blocks” that will prevent the selected solution from being implemented, and overcome them. Ways to overcome any potential “road blocks” should be identified before the process modification is implemented.
Control Phase
The purpose of this phase is to establish a robust improvement to the process. The activities to be considered range from the practical, such as mistake-proofing certain operations, to using optimization techniques and making processes robust against noise variables though DOEs, as appropriate. During this phase, identify any “road blocks” that will prevent the selected solution from being implemented, and overcome them. Ways to overcome any potential “road blocks” should be identified before the process modification is implemented.
Conclusion
All teams and organizations encounter challenges as they grow. There are problems that might occur for teams when it comes to miscommunication or resolving business-critical issues. You may face challenges around growth, design, user engagement, and even team culture and happiness. In short, problem-solving techniques should be part of every team’s skillset.
Finding effective solutions to complex problems isn’t easy, but by using the right process and techniques, you can help your team be more efficient in the process.
If there’s one thing you can count on as a business professional, it’s that you’ll never run short of new problems to solve! Thankfully, there are a variety of problem solving tools available to help you resolve these issues. The Six Sigma DMAIC method is best suited for resolving chronic problems. Acute problems are better dealt with by other purpose problem-solving methods such as 8D.
Want to learn more?
Check out our self-paced eLearning courses that cover a number of structured problem solving tools.
If you want to learn about problem solving tools check out our selection of courses on the topic: The Learning Reservoir Problem Solving Course Catalog
Stay up to date with our latest news by subscribing to The Learning Reservoir’s newsletter! As a subscriber, you’ll receive exclusive access to our latest blog posts, expert insights, and updates on our latest courses and training programs. Plus, you’ll be the first to hear about our special offers and promotions. Don’t miss out on this valuable resource – sign up today!
Share This Post
Dr. Fiona Masterson
Fiona is the Managing Director and founder of The Learning Reservoir. Fiona has over 20+ years of experience in the Life Sciences, Food and Drink industries and third level education. Her Doctorate focused on the regulation of drug/device combinations products in the US and European Union. She has also published peer review publication on combination products.