Problem Solving Tools

Engr. Abdun Noor, Centre for Management Development, bd.abdunnoor@gmail.com

ProblemSolvingStepsProblemSolvingSteps
Plan
Do
Action
Check
Sample Test/
Trial & Error test

Identify ProblemsIdentify Problems
 Identify the problems of workplace
 Check each process of work
Many problems in the
workplace
Starting point for KAIZEN
KAIZEN targets for 3Ms for improvement.
Ms stand for (a) Muda (b) Muri (c) Mura
Muda- Wastage (Avoid all wastages)
Muri – Strain (causing inefficiency-
Avoid strain, work smarter)
Mura – Errors/Discrepancies
(Avoid errors)
(1) Improve customer service
(2) Ensure safety
(3) Keep deadlines, secure production quantity
(4) Improve the work environment
(5) Improve morale
(6) Reduce cost
Brainstorming
Flow Chart

Choose a ThemeChoose a Theme
 State the theme specifically: what will be improved to
whatTheme Selection
Customer focus
Look for problems in own workplace
Prioritize/Categorize/Sort problems
Evaluate and shortlist problems
Consult with boss/Top management
Select a theme
Sort problems
How to prioritize?
Use ‘Matrix’ or
‘Pareto Diagram’.
Importance
Impact
Feasibility
etc.
Cost
How to State a Theme
Use expression: what and how much and by when ?

Problem Statement Should be Specific so thatProblem Statement Should be Specific so that
Improvement is Well FocusedImprovement is Well Focused
Examples below show, how the problem statement may be reformulated
Poor Problem
Statement
Weakness in Problem
Statement
Correct Problem Statement
Problem 1:
We do not have the
equipment
Problem statement
contains a cause.
While all tests are to be done using
equipment, at present 60 percent of
cases are being tested using equipment.
Problem 2:
We need more staff
Prob. Stat. contains
a premature solution.
Clients arriving at the counter are to
wait for a long time to receive service.
Problem 3:
We do not work as
a team.
Problem statement is
too vague for
concrete action.
Team members do not plan and schedule
their work together.

Check
Sheet
Know the Current Status & Set GoalsKnow the Current Status & Set Goals
 Analyze the current status using facts/data
 Determine the targets and deadlines
 Collect the current data and grasp situation
 Recognize the desirable situation
 Set a goal
 State the goal in numbers as much as you can.
 A goal must be S-M-A-R-T

What is SMART?What is SMART?
 S
 M
 A
 R
 T
PECIFIC
EASURABLE
CHIEVEABLE
EALISTIC
IME Bound

Analyze Cause and FactorsAnalyze Cause and Factors
 Identify causes of the problems
 Factors affecting the issue
Cause-Effect
Diagram

Develop Measures for ImprovementDevelop Measures for Improvement
 List improvement ideas
 Study improvement ideas
 Think the specifics of the improvement ideas
Use members’ knowledge and experience fully
Use techniques
Incorporate ideas of the experienced
Obtain advice and approval from the supervisor.
5 W 1H
Technique

Develop an Activity PlanDevelop an Activity Plan
 Why an activity plan?
 To determine the schedule and members’ roles
 To demonstrate “What steps to be
completed by when”.
Gantt Chart

Implement MeasuresImplement Measures
 Act and implement improvement measures
 Allocate resources, make person(s)
responsible and implement activities as
per schedule

Check the EffectCheck the Effect
 Collect data after implementation
Use the same data sets as the current status analysis for
clear comparison
 Analyze data
Compare with targets
Know the level of impact of the measures
 Compare with targets
Evaluate intangible and ripple effects
Evaluate the problem-solving process

Prevent Recurrence/StandardizePrevent Recurrence/Standardize
(1) Based on the results of the measures, implement the preventive
measure(s).
• Standardize the measures that were effective
• Train personnel on the standardized processes to maintain the effect
• Check if the effect is maintained
(2) Reflect on the activity.
• Review the results and activity process, and identify good points and the
points that need to be improved
• List remaining issues
(3) Discuss a future plan.
• Find a place where the feedback can be utilized

Some Problem Solving ToolsSome Problem Solving Tools
 Brain Storming
 Flow Chart
 Matrix
 Check Sheet
 Pareto Diagram
 Cause & Effect Diagram
 5W 1H Questioning Technique
 Gantt Chart

Brain StormingBrain Storming
 Alex Osborne introduced it as a way of encouraging
groups to be more creative in their ideas
 Brainstorming is the method for generating a lot of
ideas by a group of person is a short span of time
 Brainstorming is used in problem identification,
problem analysis and problem solution stages by the
Quality Control Circle members

Rules of Brain StormingRules of Brain Storming
 Rule 1: No critism
 Rule 2: Freewheeling
 Rule 3: Generate as many ideas as possible
 Rule 4: Record/ Note down every ideas
 Rule 5: Incubate the ideas

Steps in Brain StormingSteps in Brain Storming
 Step 1: Restate/ Write-up the rules
 Step 2: Write-up the subject to be Brain Stormed
 Step 3: Start the ideas coming
 Step 4: Say “Pass” if one have no idea
 Step 5: Record the ideas
 Step 6: Incubate the ideas
 Step 7: Evaluation

Brain StormingBrain Storming

Flow Chart/ DiagramFlow Chart/ Diagram
 Flow diagram/chart is a graphical / pictorial
way to depict a process easily
 It can show the process sequence
 It helps one to understand the process clearly
 It can be used for better understanding and
analyzing the process for re-planning or
making change

Symbols Used in Flow Chart/DiagramSymbols Used in Flow Chart/Diagram
Terminal
(Start/End)
Decision
Document
Delay
Movement
/Transportation
Storage
Connector
Operation (Process,
activity)
Inspection/Check
(Counting, quality, quantity)

MatrixMatrix
Item No Cost Feasibility Importance Total Priority
A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
B _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
D _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Etc.
1 2 3 4 5
Costly Moderate Cost No cost
Team Can’t solve Moderate Feasible within team
Unimportant Moderate important Urgent/Important
U
W
X
Y
Z
3rd
5th
1st
4th
2nd

Check SheetCheck Sheet
 It is “a sheet pre-designed to easily collect
and sort out data.”
 We can collect necessary information, and
check those in a rational order without
omission
 Using a Check Sheet, we can sort out the data

Steps of Check SheetSteps of Check Sheet
Item/ Fault
Type
Frequency/Check Sub Total Total Data
A
_ _ _ _
B
C
D
C DB AC
New
Item
New Item
C ACC
U
W
X
Y
Z

Pareto DiagramPareto Diagram
 Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who
observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in
Italy was owned by 20% of the population
 Vilfredo Pareto developed the principle by
observing that 20% of the pea pods in his
garden contained 80% of the peas

 The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
 It is also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of
the vital few, and the principle of factor
sparsity

ExamplesExamples
 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients
 80% of a company's complaints come from 20% of its customers
 Microsoft noted that by fixing the top 20% most reported bugs, 80% of the errors and crashes would be eliminated
 20% of the hazards will account for 80% of
the injuries

Drawing Pareto DiagramDrawing Pareto Diagram
 Step 1: Decide the kind of problem you want to investigate
 Step 2: Decide what data will be necessary and how to classify them
 Step 3: Determine the method of collecting data and period during
which it is to be collected (use check sheets)
 Step 4: Design a data tally sheet to record data with space to put
their total
 Step 5: Collect data and calculate total
 Step 6: Make a Pareto diagram data sheet and fill out the data sheet
in order of quantity, in descending order

Data Collection (step 5)Data Collection (step 5)
Type of Defect Tally/ Frequency Sub Total
Crack |||| |||| 10
Scratch |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ||||
|||| ||
42
Stain |||| | 6
Strain |||| |||| |||| |||| ………….. ||||
|||| ||||
104
Gap |||| 4
Pinhole |||| |||| |||| |||| 20

Pareto Diagram Data SheetPareto Diagram Data Sheet (Step 6)(Step 6)
Type of
Defect
Number of
Defects
Cumulative
Sum
Percentage of
overall Total
Cumulative
Percentage (%)
Strain 104 104 52 52
Scratch 42 146 21 73
Pinhole 20 166 10 83
Crack 10 176 5 88
Stain 6 182 3 91
Gap 4 186 2 93
Others 14 200 7 100
Total 200 100

Drawing Pareto DiagramDrawing Pareto Diagram
 Step 7: Draw two vertical axes and one horizontal axis
 Step 8: Construct a bar diagram
 Step 9: Draw the cumulative curve
( Pareto curve)
 Step10:Write necessary items
on the diagram
Draw Pareto Chart in MS Excel easily; check the link for instructions
http://www.excel-easy.com/examples/pareto-chart.html

Cause & Effect DiagramCause & Effect Diagram
 Proposed by Kaoru Ishikawa, Professor of the
University of Tokyo (1968), that shows the
causes of a specific event
 Also known as Fishbone Diagrams, Herringbone
Diagrams & Ishikawa Diagram

 Cause-and-effect diagram is a method of mapping
out all the probable causes influencing the effect
 It is difficult to solve complicated problems without
considering the cause & effect relation
 Cause-and-effect Diagram is a diagram which shows
the relation between a quality characteristic and
factors

 Step 1: Determine the quality characteristic & write
it on the right-hard side of a sheet of paper
 Step 2: Draw in the backbone from left to right, and
enclose the characteristic in a box
 Step 3: Next, write the primary causes which affect the
quality characteristic as big bones also enclosed
by boxes

 Step 4:Write the causes (secondary causes) which
affect the big bones (primary causes) as medium-
sized bones, and write the causes (tertiary causes)
which affect the medium-sized bones as small bones
 Step 5: Assign an importance to each factor and
mark the particularly important factors that seem to
have a significant effect on the quality characteristic
 Step 6: Record any necessary information

Lack of
Skill in
Spoken
English
Students
Teachers
Environment Management
Lack of
Opportunity
Lack of time
of guidance
Lack of time
of practice
Lacking
Fear of
making
mistakes
Fear of being
ridiculed
Fear of being
isolated
Fear
Medium of
instruction isn’t
English
Medium of
teaching isn’t
English
Inside
Class
Not being
strict
Not speaking in
English with
Students
Outside
Class
Lack of interest in
extra curricular
activitiesLack of
seriousness
Lack of
encouragement
Lacking
Not
being
strict
Speaking English
isn’t encouraged
Less emphasis on
teaching English
Education
System
Home
Environment
Lack of
Encouragement
Hardly English is
spoken at homes

 It will be easy if you mark the big bones (primary
causes) with 6M’s
 It’s better if you could avoid the 6th
M : Money

Another exampleAnother example
MachineManSupplier
MaterialManagementEnvironment
Quality
Problem

5W 1H Questioning Technique5W 1H Questioning Technique
 The questioning technique is the means by
which the critical examination is conducted
in order to make improvement
 Each activity being subjected in turn to
systematic and progressive series of
questions

5W 1H5W 1H

 WHERE = Where ( in which department ) is the problem located
 WHY = Ask why at least three times to find the root cause of the problem
 WHAT = Once you understand the source of the problem, what corrective action is necessary and what standard
(measurement) will you use to measure your performance
 WHO = Identify by name who will be responsible for
implementing the corrective action (department level)
 WHEN = Period of implementation
 HOW = Considering the cost-benefit, is there a savings based on
the QCD Function (quality, cost, delivery)

Cause 1 Cause 2 Cause 3
WHERE is the problem
located?
WHY, WHY, WHY is it a
problem?
WHAT needs to be done?
Action and measurement
WHO is responsible for the
action?
By WHEN will you take
corrective action?
HOW much will it cost or
save?

Gantt ChartGantt Chart
 Developed by Henry Gantt, an American
mechanical engineer and management consultant in
the 1910s
 A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule
 The chart shows the actions to be implemented with
temporal milestone settings
 The vertical bars represent scheduled and
implemented timings of each action

Gantt ChartGantt Chart
Sl. No. Activity Jun’13 July’13 Aug’13 Sep.’13 Oct’13 Nov’13 Dec’13 Jan’14
1 U
2 V
3 W
4 X
5 Y
6 Z
Plan
Implemented/Actual

Problem Solving Tools

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