Page 181 - FLL Virtual Binder 2018

P Use as few words as possible.
P Make sure everyone agrees completely on the problem statement and that
the problem statement is clearly expressed for observers to understand.
P Don’t overload the fish bone. If a group of potential causes begins to dominate the diagram make a separate diagram for those potential causes. Remember you can do cause and effect diagrams on each potential cause if necessary.
P Make sure all the identified causes are in fact causes rather than solutions. If someone suggests a solution ask him to restate it as a potential cause.
P The more accurate the data, the better the solution.
P The focus here is to identify the root causes so that they can be cured and not
the symptoms of the problem.
P Clarify the precision of the causes as much as possible. Keep asking: Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
The Why Technique
• The objective of asking why multiple times is to get past the symptoms to the root cause of the current condition.
• Investigate each of the causes in the categories of the fish-bone diagram to ensure that the root causes listed really are the root causes.
• When done, the team collectively sees what causes the observed effect. Example: Problem - Line shut down during the third shift
Why did the line shut down? A: It was a lubrication problem - lubricant ran dry.
Why did the lubrication run out? A: The operator did not notice the level was low.
Why did the operator not see? A: He was working in another part of the plant.
Why was he working in another part of the plant? A: We had to get a special customer order out.
Why did the customer order have to be filled out on third shift when the job is done routinely during the day? A: Because our best customer had an emergency and the shift supervisor decided to help them out.
Front Line Leadership Module: Problem Solving
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