Problem Solving – First Principles PDF

Problem Solving – First Principles Dave Mitchell Presentation to Engineering Students 2019 The way we see problems People tend to do three things when faced with a problem: 1. They get afraid or uncomfortable and wish it would go away; 2. They feel that they have to come up with an answer and it...

Problem Solving – First Principles Dave Mitchell Presentation to Engineering Students 2019 The way we see problems People tend to do three things when faced with a problem: 1. They get afraid or uncomfortable and wish it would go away; 2. They feel that they have to come up with an answer and it has to be the right answer; 3. They look for someone to blame. Being faced with a problem becomes a problem. And that's a problem because, in fact, there are always going to be problems! Tom Hicks - The business Journal of Sonoma The way we see problems There are two important things to remember about problems and conflicts They happen all the time They are opportunities to improve the system and our relationships The learning here is that: We cannot solve all problems right away There is no panacea no silver bullet How some folks view problems  So what do you need to work on to be marketable in 2030? 1. Mental Elasticity and Complex Problem Solving 2. Critical Thinking 3. Creativity 4. People Skills 5. STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematical) 6. SMAC (Social Mobile Analytics Cloud) 7. Interdisciplinary Knowledge The skills required in the near future In 2020 In 2015 1. Complex Problem Solving 1. Complex Problem Solving 2. Critical Thinking 2. Coordinating with others 3. Creativity 3. People Management 4. People Management 4. Critical Thinking 5. Coordinating with others 5. Negotiation 6. Emotional Intelligence 6. Quality Control 7. Judgement and Decision Making 7. Service Orientation 8. Service Orientation 8. Judgement and Decision Making 9. Negotiation 9. Active Listening 10. Cognitive Flexibility 10. Creativity  Six Sigma  Six Sigma is an approach to data-driven management that seeks to improve quality by measuring how many defects there are in a process and systematically eliminating them until there are as close to zero defects as possible. 1920’s – Walter Shewhart 1980’s – Bill Smith 6σ - 3.4 defects per m 3σ - 66,807 defects per 1m Motorola holds the federal trademark for Six Sigma. In 1995, General Electric Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Welch’s very public endorsement of Six Sigma helped businesses outside of manufacturing understand how Six Sigma methodologies can be used to improve customer satisfaction in any industry.  Six Sigma Six Sigma in many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects(driving toward six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) - in any process – from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.  Six Sigma & PDCA Six Sigma Philosophy PDCA Professor Edward Deming Philosophy 1. Define 1. Plan – Define the process to 2. Measure be improved 3. Analyze 2. Do – Implement and Measure performance 4. Improve 3. Check – To see if the desired results are achieved 5. Control 4. Act – Decide what changes are needed to Improve the process then start the cycle again The steps to problem Solving Step 1 Defining the problem: What is the problem: Be specific How much time is lost (t) and at what cost($) &|or How much product is lost (Q)and the Identify the goals, and the customer deliverables (specifications and timing) Step 2 Measure: Understand the performance |the value chain Map the process for time or ($) List opportunities for value chain Analysis Analyze | Evaluate: Determine the root causes  Choose the type of Analysis – The fishbone is a popular method which is juxtaposed with the 5 Why  Determine the Root Cause of any defect 5-Why’s principle An Example  Why was the plant output 5k cases vs target of 6.5k?  There were too many unplanned stops Why  Why were there too many unplanned stops? 1  The machine was not set correctly Why  Raw or Packaging Material flaws/inconsistency 2  Why was the machine set up incorrectly? Why 3  Insufficient Training of Operator  Worn machine components Why 4  Why are worn components not identified prior to handover to production  Maintenance schedule was not followed. Why 5  Why is there Raw or Packaging material flaws? Why  Packaging Material specifications were outside of specified tolerances 6  Why were the Raw/Pack. Matls. ‘Out of spec’  The Materials fell within the same organic/biological grouping but had different physical properties which were not included in current specification criteria  Solution 1 – Reformulate – taking care to include the  Find Solution The Solution Criteria will come from the Fish-Bone and or the 5 Why technique Select a solution or the best group of solutions If two or more seem workable use a weighted average technique to break dead lock  Improve Impact Cost & Reformulate Cost Alignment Revised Maintenance Plan Lower downtime = > Run time Operator Re-training Improved Run time Less errors  Control To retain the gains made put the appropriate controls in place Throughput vs. Downtime (time & Cost) Output Downtime (t) QUESTIONS ?