Step 1 - State the problem: state the characteristics of the problem clearly
A leading question or firmhypothesis；Specific, not general;Having content (not a list of facts or an undisputed claim);Actionable;Focus on what the decision-maker needs to do next.
Step 2 - Break down the problem
Divide the problem into severalpartThe work of solving problems can be divided into several parts that can be solved intellectually. Different parts can be divided according to priorities, and work responsibilities can be assigned to each person.
principle:Assumption and final product oriented;oftenrepeatedlyAssume andData analysis；Simplify the analysis as much as possible;Estimate its importance before careful analysis;Use 80/20 and simple thinking methods;Get data from experts;Flexible attitude towards new data;Share good ideas with the project team;Be prepared for difficulties;Be bold in innovation.
Comments:Don't stick to numbers - ask "What question do I want to answer?";Don't go around in circles;It is not easy to use tools such as large linear plans;Broaden your vision. Don't "see trees but not forests";Don't go overboard;Often give clearer guidance than "library data";Remember that assumptions can also be overturned;Test your point of view;Look far ahead;Look for breakthrough ideas.
Step 6 - Synthesize the analysis results and establish the demonstration
Step 7 - Tell a story (state the context)
Prepare a story diagram: Draw the complete structure of your argument, and use the message text at the top of each diagram to form a logical and convincing story.
Ford's 8D case
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1. Form a problem solving team：
Usually, the problem solving team comes from the personnel of the relevant departments.Sometimes there will be higher level supervisors involved. Their participation has two reasons, one isGive more professionalguidanceSecondPrevent eachdepartmentShifting responsibilities to each other to solve problems faster。
2. Problem description：
Most of the time, we see some companies solving problems. Because everyone seems to know what the problem is, they go directly to find solutions when discussing solutionsmethodAnd improvementmeasures。This is a bad practice.Even though all team members know the process of the problem, we still need to discuss the phenomenon of the problem according to certainbasic principle(e.g. 4M2S:Man, machine, material, method, work flow system, location）Make a careful description.This description has three purposes:A. Let each member understand the context of the problem more clearly, and think about the phenomenon of the problem with scientific thinking, B. YesDescribe the problem according to the principle of "three appearances" (on-site, realistic and realistic) to avoid subjective deviation of each member when thinking about improvement measures。Usually, many companies stipulate that descriptions follow certain principles, such as 4M2S.
In the problem description, there are several points to be noted: firstDetermine the impact scope of the problem anddegree；SecondTo determine the number/frequency of problems；C. YesTo determine the subject of the problem, that is, what the subject isFor a part, a batch of materials, or a person, the details of these entities, such as material number and batch, should be recorded.
3. Tentative countermeasures to solve problems：
When many problems occur, the impact will be very large, and the problems are also very complex, so it is difficult to find out the real reason for them at the moment.At this time, what we need to do is to immediately take ameasuresStop the problem from expanding or let it be solved temporarily.The next step is to analyze carefully, find the root cause of the problem, and make root cause countermeasures.Generally, the feasibility of tentative countermeasures requires careful analysis by the whole team, and the main consideration here is tocustomer, EmployeescompanyWhat is the impact of.For example, if the car that has been sold to the market is found to have potential problems, the first thing that the car company should do is to recall the existing vehicles in the market.For another example, if defective parts occur in the factory, the tentative countermeasure may be to replace the parts first and find a batch of qualified parts for temporary use;There may also be no qualified parts, so the supplier may add some inspection items, and immediately produce a batch of qualified emergency sent to the factory for production.
4. Find the root cause of the problem and verify the root cause：
In terms of finding the root causes of problems, most excellent companies often use the following methods:fishbone diagramand5-WHYAnd other basic solutions.Of course, not every problem needs to follow these methods. Each company can have its own common methods, but in terms of finding the root cause of the problem, it must conduct multiple cause peeling to find the real reasonrootOtherwise, only the shallow causes of the problem can be found.In a strict sense, many companies find no reason when they solve problems, but only aphenomenon。
The use of the five whys is a good tool to trace the root cause. When asking why, we should pay attention to understand the detailed process of the problem, and understand the scene, reality and reality.After a detailed understanding of the "three appearances" of the problem, it is not necessary to ask the "why" of some coarse ores, otherwise the "why" asked will not have good pertinence and guidance.
When the root cause of the problem is discovered, a verification plan should be made for different root causes.Because we use brainstorming（BrainstormingIn the process of problem analysis, the conclusions after analysis, that is, the root cause we found, need further verification, and also determine the accuracy of the root cause and the bad leakage point. Only after finding and confirming the bad leakage point, can we make effective improvement measures.
5. Make it permanentcountermeasure（Permanent Corrective Action：PCA）：
Once we have determined the root cause and leakage point of the problem, we can formulate the correspondingPermanent countermeasure, and then there are countermeasuresThe role of curing the root cause。(withhave a feverFor example:lung, middle earPharynx and larynx, meningescecum, inflammation of teeth, etc.withforeign bodyFor example:............)
In formulating permanent countermeasures, we should pay special attention to several key points, that is, countermeasures must havePerson in charge、The deadline for completing the formulation of countermeasures (if it cannot be made temporarily, a phased deadline is also required)、Start date of countermeasure implementation、How to confirm the effect of countermeasures -- KPI。
When determining the responsible person, in our past consulting practice, we found that many companies only wrote XX when solving problemsdepartmentJust take responsibility.Because there is no specificpersonnelResponsible, problems are not easy to solve, and are often delayed.So when determining the person in charge, we must determine a specific person. If it is a team, we must determineteamThe leadership will do.（Responsibility attribution table）
Understanding of the deadline for improvement measures.In many cases, it is easy to clearly know when the problem can be solved, and the deadline for the completion of the countermeasures can be easily formulated, but in other cases, it is difficult to determine the deadline for the completion of the countermeasures.Similarly, in our past consulting experience, we found that many companies did not determine a specific deadline for completion due to the latter reason, so the tracking of problems was intermittent, or even ended.Therefore, it is very important to determine a specific deadline. If it is difficult to determine other deadlines such as implementation of specific countermeasures at that time, then a reasonable deadline range can be formulated, and the deadline of the deadline range can be regarded as the deadline for completion.For example, when a supplier has poor quality, we can ask the supplier quality manager of our company to determine the completion of an improvement countermeasuretermMaybe he will say, "This problem needs to be solved by the supplier. How can I determine the deadline?" Under such circumstances, we can tell him: "Hey, listen, normally speaking, this problem can be solved in three months. Do you think three months is too much?Well, we all think that three months is not too much. Three months later, that is, October 28, please submit the improvement results to the meeting. "Only in this way can the person in charge of the problem improvement have a sense of urgency and take the initiative to help track the supplier to solve the problem, or he may wait for the results.
Similarly, the implementation deadline and effect confirmation date of the improvement measures should also be clearly specified.
6. Implement and confirm the effect of countermeasures：
When the countermeasures are formulated, we should not only implement them, but alsoMonitor the implementation process, check whether there are some unexpectedDeviation, take timely corrective measures。
7. Horizontal expansion and recurrence prevention：
When the implementation effect of improvement measures is confirmed to be satisfactory, the next consideration is to determine what kind of improvement we can make in the system and processCompletely preventSimilar situations occur again elsewhere.First, list the causes of this problemRelated products or services, similar manufacturingtechnological processandsystemAnd then apply the improvement measures to these process systems as well.As a link in improvement, horizontal deployment plays a very important role because it prevents futureSimilar problemsWhen a problem of one kind is solved in one place, make sure thatlinkIt doesn't happen anymore.
8. Thank you at the end：
After the problem has been solved, the effect has been confirmed, and the horizontal development has been carried out, we need to thank the team members who participated in the problem solving together, list their names in a table, explain their contributions to this improvement, and then send this thanks to all departments and personnel related to the improvement benefits, so that they can know your team members,Let's congratulate and thank them.If it is a full-time team, then the team has been dissolved and returned to their own departments.
In addition, establish high frequency daily problem solvingmechanism
The above eight steps to solve problems are not all problems that must be solved according to these steps. You can make choices according to specific problems, but some basic contents are necessary, such as temporary countermeasures, permanent countermeasures, horizontal deployment, etc.When we know how to solve problems, we can establish a high frequency problem solving team. Only one or two members of the team can be fixed, and other members can be mobile.
Especially in the manufacturing site, there will be various production problems every day, such as poor materials, assembly errors, inspectionequipment failure wait.For these problems, we should select the top 20% of the problems that have the greatest impact according to the historical data statistics, and solve the problems that occurred on the same day on the site every day through the above problem solving methods.In many companies, we have seen that many problems often have to wait until the next day, or even longer, at some routine meetings to be discussed.In one of our past clients, with the help of our consultants, they implemented two projects calledBrainstormingandProblem Solving GroupAfter the implementation of the management system, many on-site problems often take less than 5 minutes from the occurrence to the submission to the problem solving organization. The company has become the company with the best efficiency and efficiency of factories in the global group.
Learned the method of problem solving, and established a fast and real-time problem solving mechanism. An efficient site will be built soon.
