PDCA Problem Solving Technique & Tools

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved.
PDCA
Problem Solving
Technique & Tools

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 4
Outline
1. Introduction to Problem Solving
2. Concept of Problem Solving Teams
3. Overview of Process Management
4. PDCA Approach to Problem Solving
5. Basic Problem Solving Tools
6. Project Reporting Using A3 Storyboard
7. 10 Common Mistakes
8. Critical Success Factors
This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:
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© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 7© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 7
Methods to Increase Productivity
How to Increase
Productivity?
Quantitative
Approach
More People
More Machines
Work Longer
Qualitative
Approach
Work Harder
Eliminate Waste &
Simplify
Focus of
Problem
Solving

The Blind Men and the Elephant
Problems are often perceived differently
by different people.
It is a
snake!
It is a
wall!
It is a
branch!

Problem Solving Funnel
Breakdown
Go See
Grasp the situation
 Actual vs. standard
 Actual vs. ideal
Point of cause
 Time and place where
events cause abnormality
5 Why
Analysis
Why?
Root cause
Countermeasures
Big vague
concern
Source: Adapted from ‘Lean Production Simplified’, Pascal Dennis

Impact of Problem Solving
ProblemSolving
(ProcessImprovement)
Time
Original Zone of
Control
New Zone of
Control
Performance
Sporadic Departure
from Standard
Holding the Gain - Control

Benefits of Problem Solving
 Increased customer satisfaction
 Increased market share
 Lower costs
 Faster delivery time
 Increased profitability
 Increased efficiency
 Improved morale

Other Equivalent Terms
 Quality or Kaizen Circles
 Continuous Improvement
Teams
 Quality Improvement Teams
 Process Improvement Teams
 Cross-Functional Teams
 Customer-focused Teams
 Small Group Activity

Objectives of Problem Solving Teams 2
 To motivate workforce through:
• Opportunities for employees to utilize their talents
• Recognition given for achievements
 To improve overall company performance in the long
term through:
• Higher productivity
• Better quality products/services
• Reduced costs, etc.

Fundamentals of Problem Solving Activities
 Group based
 Participation by all members
 Continuous process
 Application of problem-solving (“QC”) tools
 Projects/themes are related to the work or the workplace

Problem Solving Team’s Maxims
 Don’t blame others
 Speak with facts and data
 Concentrate on the vital few and not the trivial many
 Treat the next process as your customer
 Adopt the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to solve problems

Problem Solving - Organizational Roles 2
Role Description
Problem Solving
Facilitator
Is a manager or executive who motivates, helps, trains
and guides Problem Solving leaders and members.
Problem Solving Team
Leader
Guides and leads the Problem Solving team.
Problem Solving Team
Member
Is a member who together with colleagues form the
Problem Solving team.This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:

Process Management
3

Key Process Elements
 Supplier (internal / external)
• Inputs
• Input requirements
• Voice of the process (feedback)
 Customer (internal / external)
• Outputs
• Output requirements
• Voice of the customer (feedback)

Process Ownership
 A person responsible for the process
 Has scope of authority for managing the process
Process
Ownership
Who
What
When
How

Process Improvement
 Modifying or re-engineering the process to increase its
effectiveness and efficiency without compromising
customer satisfaction
• Effectiveness: Doing the right things
• Efficiency: Doing things right
• Excellence: Doing the right things right

Problem Solving Techniques
 Various methods exist:
• PDCA Problem Solving  The focus of this presentation
• A3 Problem Solving
• 8D (Eight Disciplines)
• Six Sigma (DMAIC)
• Benchmarking
• Kepner Tregoe
 All techniques adopt the PDCA cycle

The 8 Steps of PDCA Problem Solving
Select the ThemeSelect the Theme
Plan the SchedulePlan the Schedule
Grasp the Present SituationGrasp the Present Situation
Establish the TargetEstablish the Target
Analyze the Cause & Identify Corrective ActionAnalyze the Cause & Identify Corrective Action
Implement Corrective ActionImplement Corrective Action
Evaluate the ResultEvaluate the Result
Standardize & Follow-upStandardize & Follow-up
PLAN
ACT
CHECK
DO
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Step 2: Plan the Schedule
 The project plan shows the approximate length and time
required to complete the project. The schedule is made
known to all members and the management.
 A Gantt Chart may be drawn to show how many days,
weeks or month it will take to complete each step in the
problem solving cycle. The team must show the
‘Planned’ and ‘Actual’ period for each step.
PP
DDCC
AA

Step 3: Grasp the Present Situation
 A careful thought should be given to determine the most
critical factor based on the 80-20 principle. A Pareto
Diagram may be constructed to check the vital factor(s)
from the trivial many.
 The team may decide to ‘narrow-down’ on only the vital
factor(s), or on any impact area(s) selected. When there
are 3 factors or less, make use of the Bar Chart. Here,
the team may consider the problem as a whole as there
are no trivial many.
PP
DDCC
AA

Step 4: Establish the Target
 Target should be set in terms of percentages and should
be realistic and achievable but yet challenging for the
team. A serious effort must be made to explain how the
target is set.
PP
DDCC
AA

“When we fail to grasp
the systemic source of
problems, we are left
to ‘push on’ symptoms
rather than eliminate
underlying causes.”
Peter Senge
The Fifth Discipline

Step 6: Implement Corrective Action
 The trial implementation is important to check if the
proposed solution works. This could be illustrated in the
form of an Arrow Diagram. Alternatively, the team could
use diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. to elaborate and
explain how the trial was conducted.
 The proposed solution when implemented should not
disrupt the next step in the work process. Show the
dates for the various activities that took place.
PP
DDCC
AA

Step 7: Evaluate the Result
 A Pareto Comparison or a Bar Chart Comparison
could be used to present the changes diagrammatically.
If the target has still not been achieved, the team may
return to any of the earlier step to investigate. Any
variance in target set/achieved, or how the target
set/achieved is similar must be explained.
PP
DDCC
AA

Step 8: Standardize the Action & Follow-up
 In the Follow-up Action, team members should
periodically monitor the new process to ensure that the
desired results are maintained. This can be illustrated
using the Process Decision Program Chart. The dates
for all these activities must also be stated. If necessary,
further improvements may be made to fine-tune the new
method or procedure. The frequency of monitoring could
be reduced over a period of time (e.g. 6 months or a
year later). The frequency could be reduced as the new
procedure should be been established and stabilized.
Also, the team members may have another completed
project to monitor.
PP
DDCC
AA

Proper Application of the PDCA Cycle
 A good team will follow the problem-solving cycle closely
in order to be thorough and comprehensive in managing
the problem at hand. This is a crucial aspect of the
problem-solving team activities. Make sure that the
various steps of the problem-solving cycle is evident in
the project presentation.
 The PDCA cycle must be applied correctly. If the desired
results are not achieved, or the management did not
accept a proposed solution, the team must return to any
of the earlier step to revise and review the project.

Where Are the Tools Used?
Phase Problem Solving Steps Applicable Tools
Plan
1. Select the Theme
Brainstorming / Matrix Diagram / Selection Criteria / Team
Consensus
2. Plan the Schedule Gantt Chart
3. Grasp the Present Situation
Data Collection / Flowcharting / Pie Chart / Check Sheet /
Pareto Diagram / Bar Chart / Histogram
4. Set the Target Pareto Analysis / Conduct Experiments / Check Past Trends
5. Analyze the Cause & Identify
Corrective Action
Brainstorming / Cause & Effect Diagram / 5 Whys / Tree
Diagram / Control Chart / Scatter Diagram / Alternative
Solutions
Do 6. Implement Corrective Action Arrow Diagram / Process Flowchart / Pictures / Diagrams
Check 7. Evaluate the Result
Collect New Data / Check Sheet / Pareto Comparison / Bar
Chart Comparison / Radar Chart / Target Variance
Act 8. Standardize & Follow Up
In the standardization plan, document the new procedures.
Display in notice board or website or conduct briefings.
Show the follow-up actions using the PDPC

Stratification

Stratification – Example 2

Stratification Considerations
 Survey data usually benefit from stratification
 Always consider before collecting data whether
stratification might be needed during analysis. Plan to
collect stratification information. After the data are
collected it might be too late.
 On your graph or chart, include a legend that identifies
the marks or colors used

Check Sheet – Example 1

Check Sheet – Points to take note
1. Is the objective vague?
2. Is there any omission in checking?
3. Is the check carried out with plans?
4. Is it too late to do the check?
5. Are the entries correct?
6. Is it too time-consuming to prepare a draft for the check
sheet?
7. Is it too complicated?
8. Are there any individual differences in the checking?

Example: Control Chart
Phase 1 Phase 3Phase 2
Xbar Chart
Data points outside the control limits suggest that there are
special causes to the process deviation

Control Charts – Special Causes
UCL
LCL
UCL
LCL
UCL
LCL
UCL
LCL
Outliers Shifts
Trends Cycles
X
X
X
X
X
1 data point falling outside the
control limits
6 or more points in a row steadily
increasing or decreasing
8 or more points in a row on one side
of the centerline
14 or more points alternating up and
down

Run Chart – Example 1
Run chart for good installations
98.60%
98.70%
98.80%
98.90%
99.00%
99.10%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Period
%goodinstallations

Pareto Chart

Pareto Chart – Data Collection
Pizza Defects Pizza Defects - Ranked
Category Frequency Category Frequency % of Total Cum %
Wrong Toppings 29 Wrong Toppings 29 25% 25%
Tastes Bad 10 Pizza Cold 25 21% 46%
Forgot Breadsticks 7 Pizza Late 22 19% 64%
Wrong Price 2 Wrong Crust 13 11% 75%
Driver Had No Change 4 Tastes Bad 10 8% 84%
Pizza Cold 25 Forgot Breadsticks 7 6% 90%
Pizza Late 22 Driver Had No Change 4 3% 93%
Wrong Crust 13 Smashed in Box 3 3% 96%
Smashed in Box 3 Wrong Price 2 2% 97%
Driver Rude 1 Driver Rude 1 1% 98%
All other 2 All other 2 2% 100%

Pareto Chart
 Procedure
1. Set the method and time period for the data collection.
Collect the data and classify them according to problems,
causes or subject matter.
 Where possible, classify the data according to the ease in taking
the necessary action.
 Establish a convenient time period for data collecting, such as a
week or month, for data collection.
2. Arrange the data of the items in the order of the most data,
and enter each item’s data respectively. At the same time,
add up the cumulative figure.
3. On the graph, draw the vertical axis (y) and horizontal axis
(x). Put the scale unit on the vertical axis.

Pareto Chart – Tips & Tricks
 Horizontal Axis (classification by causes)
• People matters – by operators, by sections, by testers, etc.
• Material matters – by materials, by manufacturers, by route,
etc.
• Equipment matters – by machinery, by gauge, by line, etc.
• Methodology matters – by work method, by work conditions,
etc.
• Time matters – by time, by day, by week, by month, by
period, by season, etc.

Exercise: Pareto Chart (con’t)
Guidelines:
1. Write the data in order, from largest to the smallest.
2. Calculate the total.
3. Calculate the cumulative values.
4. Calculate the percent of the total for each item.
5. Calculate the cumulative percentages.
6. Draw the bar chart.
7. Add the percent scale on the right side.
8. Plot the cumulative percentage points.
9. Draw the percent line.
10. Write labels and other information.
Sample table to build the Pareto Chart:

Cause & Effect Diagram (Manufacturing)
EffectCauses
cause
Machines
Measurements Materials
Methods
Mother Nature
Manpower
(Environment)
Problem
Statement

Example 2: Cause and effect diagram used in solving
the problem of “Late Payment of Invoices”
Computer
System
Internal Mail
System
Staff
Finance
Policy
Documentation
Older System
Downtime
Excess
Demand
Access Limitations
Low Priority
Manual Sort
ProcessNew
Maintenance
Contractor
Excess
Demand
Cost-Reduction Program
One Pick-Up Daily
Workspace Equipment
Lost&Misplaced Mail
Turnover
Inexperienced Staff
Manual
Files
Crowded
Space
Resigned
No Limit Manager
Missing Documentation
Branch Offices
Forward Payments Weekly
Reorganization
of Purchase Org.
Centralized
Payment
Authorization
Audit Recommendation
for Tighter Control
Missing
Purchase Orders
Maximize
Cash
Payment
Delays
Increased
Workload
Turnover
Hiring
Freeze
Access Limitations
Low Priority
Morale
Paycuts
Overtime
Reduced
Productivity
Deadlines
Suspected
root causes
Legend
Late
Payment
of
Invoices

Exercise: Construct a C&E Diagram
based on the report below
Time: 20 mins

Histogram
 When to use (con’t)
• When seeing whether a process change has occurred from
one time period to another
• When determining whether the outputs of two or more
processes are different
• When you wish to communicate the distribution of data
quickly and easily to others

Scatter Diagram

Scatter Diagram – Example 2
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
0 5 10 15 20
QuantitativeValues
Part Clearance
Relationship between Variables

Scatter Diagram Considerations
 Even if the scatter diagram shows a relationship, do not
assume that one variable caused the other. Both may be
influenced by a third variable.
 When the data are plotted, the more the diagram
resembles a straight line, the stronger the relationship.
 If a line is not clear, statistics determine whether there is
reasonable certainty that a relationship exists. If the
statistics say that no relationship exists, the pattern
could have occurred by random chance.
 If the scatter diagram shows no relationship between the
variables, consider whether the data might be stratified.

Flowcharts

How to Construct a Flowchart
1. First, familiarize the participants with the flow chart
symbols.
2. Draw the process flow chart and fill it out in detail about
each element.
3. Analyze the flow chart. Determine which steps add
value and which don’t in the process of simplifying the
work.

Brainstorming
 Purpose
• To creatively generate new ideas
 When to use
• When new ideas are required
• To generate a large list of possibilities
• When problem is “blur” and many people are involved
• For binding teams together (creative synergy)This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:

Gantt Chart
 Purpose
• To show the actual time to spend in tasks
 When to use
• When planning, to show actual calendar time spent in each
task
• When planning work for several people
• To track progress of work against scheduled activities
• To show who does what and when
• To communicate the plan to other people

5 Whys
 Purpose
• To identify and structure the causes of a given problem
 When to use
• When investigating a problem, to identify and select root
causes to address
• When effect of a problem is known, but possible causes are
unclear
• When problems involve human factors or interactions

5 Whys – Key Points
 Do not forget that the sought outcome of a 5 Why
exercise is a root cause of the defined problem, not the
resolution of the problem itself; that will come later.
 5 Whys is not a standalone Problem Solving technique
but more of a tool to aid in this process.
 If you can come up with a reasonable answer, the 5
Whys exercise would be successful. If it cannot be done,
then quite probably more data needs to be collected to
get a better grasp of the problem and then the 5 Why
process can be re-started.

Affinity Diagram
 Purpose
• To gather large amounts of textual data (ideas, opinions,
issues) and organizes them into groupings based on their
natural relationships
• The affinity process is often used to group ideas generated
by brainstorming
 When to use
• When new ideas or new patterns of thinking are required
• To generate a large list of possibilities
• Sift through large volumes of data

How to Create an Affinity Diagram
 Step 1 – Generate Ideas
• Use the Brainstorming tool to generate a list of ideas
• The rest of the steps in the Affinity process will be easier if
these ideas are written on Post-Its
 Step 2 - Display the ideas
• Post the ideas on a whiteboard, a wall, or a table in a random
manner

How to Create an Affinity Diagram
 Step 5 – Draw the finished Affinity Diagram
• Write a problem statement at the top of the diagram
• Place header and superheader cards above the groups of
ideas
• Review and clarify the ideas and groupings
• Document the finished Affinity Diagram

Pareto Chart of Scrap in XT3120 Production
Example of Problem Solving Storyboard
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Labels Balance
Weight
Gasket Screws Others
PercentofScrap
Type of Part Scrapped
Types of Scrap in XT3120 Production
Labels form the largest group of scrap.
But which particular label is the highest?

Identify the Magnitude of Causes
Domain Defects Causes % % Total
Method Out of position Wrong orientation/process changes 52 52
Machine Print illegible Smear 1
Worn printer ribbon 5
Printwheel dirty 23 29
Man Print illegible Contamination/dirty 2
Damage Fold/torn 10 12
Material Damage Handling/delivery 2 2
Example of Problem Solving Storyboard

Project Reporting Using
A3 Storyboard
6

When to Use an A3?
 Anytime you wish to clearly tell a story – especially when
you wish to simplify or clarify a complicated story

A3 Storyboard Format
COUNTERMEASURES
FOLLOW UP
CHECK RESULTS
ANALYSIS
GOAL
CURRENT STATE
Detailed description of the current situation
(e.g. process flow, trend chart, Pareto analysis,
gap identification and problem statement).
Specific goal to address the gap or target state
from the current state.
Depiction of analytical techniques to uncover
the root causes of the problem or factors that
affect the problem in the current state.
Alternatively it may be a description of a
proposed target state to achieve.
A summary of who will do what by when in
order to resolve the problem situation or
achieve the target date.
Quantitative comparison of actual results
versus your goal.
Summary of follow up action items (e.g.
lessons learned, communication to other
parties, training, standardization, or other
areas).
BACKGROUND
Relevant historical data and information.
THEME Concise statement of what this A3 report is about.1
2
3
4
5 8
7
6

A3 Storyboard – Example 3

10 Common Mistakes
7

Critical Success Factors
8

“Continuous effort -
not strength or
intelligence - is the
key to unlocking our
potential.”
Sir Winston ChurchillThis document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:

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