New Book Part 7

My new book Part 7

In my last post, we looked a bit deeper into the last type of problems that exists, the hybrid problem.  I explained that when you have an expected level of performance, which has never been achieved and it suddenly worsens, you are in the midst of a hybrid problem.  I also presented something I refer to as the 4C’s of problem solving, Contain, Cause, Correct and Control.  In today’s post I will explain in more detail what these 4C’s are.

The 4 C’s of Problem Solving (con’t)

In my last post, I told you that no matter what type of problem you are faced with, there is usually always pressure and anxiety associated with it.  You have demands placed on you that can be overwhelming at times.  You must take action and implement counter measures, but that doesn’t preclude you from following some sort of logical process.  You must remain calm and composed, and sometimes that is difficult to do in the face of a crisis.  Most of the time the immediate actions you take, after the problem surfaces, are crucial.  It is important to realize that the basic actions we take, in the face of all problems, follow the same logical cycle or sequence of Contain, Cause, Correct and Control.  So let’s look at these 4C’s in more detail.

Contain the Problem – No matter whether the problem is located within your plant or facility, or has already reached your customer, the first action is to always contain or confine the problem.  That is, you must stop the bleeding immediately, and limit its scope.  If the problem is defective product, you must not permit it from entering the value stream of good product.  It is always good practice to physically isolate the problem, if there is product involved.  If the problem involves people, such as a labor unrest, you must defuse it quickly, so it doesn’t grow to unmanageable levels.

Find the Cause of the Problem – Once you have caged and confined the problem, it is imperative that you find the root cause or origin of the problem.  Systematically define and analyze it, and search for the cause or causes.  If it is a quality problem, for example, you must find the source of the problem or change that has occurred.  If it’s a people problem, you must understand what caused the unrest to surface.

Correct the Problem – As soon as the cause of the problem has been determined, you must take swift and pragmatic action to find an effective counter measure and implement it with expediency.  Make certain that you don’t just start making changes without justification or reason.  Often times you will have options with one solution being short term, and the other more long-term.  What you must decide is how urgent the solution must be implemented, and it could be that you find yourself implementing a temporary, short term solution just to get out of the crisis.  It is okay to do this as long as your intention is to implement the longer-term solution later.

Control the Problem – Once the problem has been resolved, always implement some kind of control that will prevent the problem from recurring.  When problems persist, and recur at customer locations, your credibility takes a hit, so avoid this by implementing a control.

Remaining calm in the face of problems is imperative, so if you will just stop and remember these four actions, you can transform a stressful and taxing situation, into one of relative calm and tranquility.  In the face of pressure, clear headed thinking and practical actions are crucial, so simply remember the 4 C’s, Contain, Cause, Correct and Control, and you will be in control of the situation.

In my next post, we will shift gears and talk about what I believe are the four best tools for solving problems. As you go through my postings, if you have any questions for me, send me an email to ras8202@live.com.

Bob Sproull

Another New Book

Just to let everyone know, I have another book scheduled for release in November of this year.  The new book is entitled, The Focus and Leverage Improvement Book: Locating and Eliminating the Constraining Factor of Your Lean Six Sigma Initiative.  It's a book that is based upon many of my blog posts here and will probably be helpful for anyone trying to improve their systems and processes.  I'll provide updates as we get closer to its release date.
Bob

My New Book Part 6

My new book Part 6

In my last post, we looked a bit deeper into two of the three different types of problems that exist as follows: 

1. Problems that have resulted from a change or adjustment from existing conditions or change-related problems.
2. Problems that are persistent and have seemingly been around forever and are therefore chronic problems.

In today’s post I will complete the DNA of problems by looking at the final type of problem which I refer to as a hybrid problem.

The DNA of Problems (con’t) 

Hybrid Problems

Now that we understand the differences between a change-related problem and the chronic problem, you might wonder if it's possible to have both types of problems acting together simultaneously?  The answer is an emphatic and categorical yes!  When you have an expected level of performance, which has never been achieved and it suddenly worsens, you are in the midst of a hybrid problem.

Consider the situation in the above figure.  Here we see actual % EBITDA by month, compared to budgeted % EBITDA.  The actual % EBITDA has been below budget by approximately 2.5 % for the first seven months of the year.  In August, the situation worsens, and the gap between expected performance (i.e. % EBITDA) and actual performance grows to about 8 %.  A situation that I’m sure was filled with pressure and negative energy, just became worse.

If you were the owner of these dreadful and deplorable financials, imagine how you would feel and what your actions might be.  You have two competing priorities here.  On the one hand, you must determine what changed to make the already dismal situation deteriorate, while on the other you must close the gap to the budget.  You are in the midst of a hybrid problem, with each part of it competing against the other.  The logical approach would be to return to “ground zero” by finding the change that caused the performance shift, reverse it if possible, and then develop a plan to improve the % EBITDA.

Although both are serious problems, one is short term and requires immediate attention, while the other is chronic and requires thoughtful and considerate action!  One thing to remember when you are faced with a hybrid problem, is to separate the problem into its constituent parts.  Disconnect the change related problem, from the chronic problem, because the solution to each will be different.

The 4 C’s of Problem Solving

No matter what type of problem you are faced with, there is usually always pressure and anxiety associated with it.  You have demands placed on you that can be overwhelming at times.  You must take action and implement counter measures, but that doesn’t preclude you from following some sort of logical process.  You must remain calm and composed, and sometimes that is difficult to do in the face of a crisis.  Most of the time the immediate actions you take, after the problem surfaces, are crucial.  It is important to realize that the basic actions we take, in the face of all problems, follow the same logical cycle or sequence of Contain, Cause, Correct and Control.

In my next post, we will complete our discussion on the 4 C’s of problem solving.  As you go through my postings, if you have any questions for me, send me an email to ras8202@live.com.

Bob Sproull

My New Book Part 5

In my last post, I presented three different types of problems that exist as follows:

1.       Problems that have resulted from a change or adjustment from existing conditions or change related problems.
2.       Problems that are persistent and have seemingly been around forever and are therefore chronic problems.
3.         Problems that are both chronic and change related, or what I call hybrid problems.

I also described the make-up of change-related problems and listed three requirements that must be satisfied in order for a problem to fit into this category of problems.

The DNA of Problems (con’t) 

Chronic Problems

There is another type of problem that is not necessarily the result of a change, but rather a problem that has been around seemingly forever.  Many times, when you ask someone how long this problem has existed, you get a response like “We’ve always had this defect!” or “This machine has never produced what the others have.”  I have named this kind of problem a Chronic Problem, and for those of you that have ever been involved with the Ford’s or GM’s or Chrysler’s of the world, you will recognize it immediately. [1] Kepner and Tregoe refer to this kind of problem as Day-One Problems. 

As the name implies, it’s the kind of problem that has been with us since day one.  Maybe it’s the launch of a new machine that is supposed to be identical to one or more already in place. But, since the start-up, it has never performed quite like the others.  Or maybe the supplier of a raw material has two factories and product received from one factory, has out-performed the other factory from the first delivery of the product.

In this type of problem there is still the expected level of performance (Machine Target) of the new machine, compared with the actual performance of the other machines making the same or similar product.  The deviation is the output between the lower performing machine, and the other two, supposedly identical machines.  The same rules for deciding, whether or not a problem is a problem apply here, as well as the problem-solving tools and techniques.

The major difference between change-related problems and chronic problems is where we focus our efforts.  In change-related problems, we focus most of our efforts on determining what changed to create the new level of performance, and when the change occurred.  But, when we have a situation where the performance of one item has never been what it “should” be, compared to one that performs to expectations, we can assume that one of the conditions necessary to attain the expected level of performance, does not exist and never has.

In this case, we must focus most of our efforts in the area of distinctions, or differences between where or when we have the performance problem compared to where or when we don’t.  That is, there is something distinct or different when comparing the supposedly identical units, processes or materials.  If we are to successfully solve chronic type problems, then we must find the critical differences or distinctions between the two objects, and take actions that are specifically aimed at eliminating or reducing the differences!

In my next post, we will complete our discussion on the DNA of problems by presenting the third type of problem, the hybrid problem.  As you go through my postings, if you have any questions for me, send me an email to ras8202@live.com.

Bob Sproull

[1] Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe, The Rational Manager – A Systematic Approach to Problem Solving and Decision Making, 1965

My New Book Part 4

In my last post, I explained in detail the 10 behaviors that I believe must be the DNA of problem solvers and must exist if problems are to be effectively solved.  In today’s post, I will be presenting the DNA of problems.  Not all problems are created equal and knowing which type of problem you are dealing with is critical to solving the problem.

The DNA of Problems  

Not all problems are created equal.  That may seem intuitive or obvious to you, but it really isn’t.  When I say that not all problems are created equal, I’m not referring to the basic problem itself, but rather the framework or structure of the problem.  There are different categories or types of problems and it is enormously important that you recognize and distinguish what type of problem you are working on because the approach to one type of problem may not work for another type.  Problems are divided into three fundamental categories as follows:

• Problems that have resulted from a change or adjustment from existing conditions or change-related problems.
• Problems that are persistent and have seemingly been around forever and are therefore chronic problems.
• Problems that are both chronic and change related, or what I call hybrid problems.

Let’s look at each problem type in a bit more detail.

Change Related Problems

[1] Kepner and Tregoe, in their problem-solving classic, The Rational Manager, characterize problems simply as deviations from expected performance, but let’s look at this more closely.  Kepner and Tregoe tell us that a performance standard is achieved when all of the conditions required for acceptable performance are operating as they should.  This includes everything in our work environment including people, materials, systems, processes, departments, pieces of equipment, basically everything.  Kepner and Tregoe further tell us that “if there is an alteration in one or more of these conditions, that is if some kind of change occurs, then it is possible that performance will alter too.” 

Changes happen every day in our lives, so the question becomes, “When is the deviation that we observe considered to be a problem?”  It has been my experience (and that of Kepner and Tregoe), that in order for a deviation to be considered a problem, one or more of the following requirements must be satisfied:

• The deviation or performance shift must be recognized and perceived as being negative to the organization.  That is, the deviation must result in a negative effect to things like a loss in throughput, a deterioration of quality, a safety performance issue, etc., that translates directly into something like a missed delivery to a customer, a loss in revenue or margin erosion, a customer complaint, an injury, etc
• The cause of the performance deviation isn’t known.  That is, the root cause is not immediately established using “normal” problem-solving techniques, which results in an extended period of time at the new negative performance level.  Obviously, if the cause isn’t known, then the solution won’t be known either, so the performance problem lingers.
• Both the root cause and the solution are known, but the solution can’t be implemented because it either costs too much or takes too long.  As pressure mounts to have the problem fixed more often than not the symptoms get treated and a “quick fix” is implemented.  This in turn, usually prolongs the problem episode, or sets the stage for it to return or actually deteriorate even further.

If the root cause and the solution are known and implementing it doesn’t take too long and/or cost too much, then the deviation is not deemed to be a problem because it simply gets fixed.  In effect, it has no visibility within the organization, at least not in the upper echelon.  But when you add the critical factors of cost, time, lost revenues, etc., deviations will most likely be portrayed and characterized as problems.

In my next post, we will continue our discussion on the DNA of problems.  As you go through my postings, if you have any questions for me, send me an email to ras8202@live.com.

Bob Sproull

[1] Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe, The Rational Manager – A Systematic 

     Approach to Problem Solving and Decision Making, 1965