METHODS STUDY:

PROBLEM SOLVING
TOOLS
IE151
Work Study and Measurement
Introduction
Problem Solving Tools are structured
techniques, frameworks, and methods
used to identify, analyze, and resolve
challenges by determining root causes
and implementing effective solutions.
Problem Solving Steps
Identify Problems
❑ Identify the problems of workplace Brainstorming
❑ Check each process of work Flow Chart

(1) Improve customer service

(2) Ensure safety
(3) Keep deadlines, secure production quantity
(4) Improve the work environment
(5) Improve morale
(6) Reduce cost
 Choose a Theme
❑ State the theme specifically: what will be improved to what
Theme Selection Sort problems

Customer focus How to prioritize?

Look for problems in own workplace
Prioritize/Categorize/Sort problems Use ‘Matrix’ or
Evaluate and shortlist problems ‘Pareto Diagram’.
Consult with boss/Top management
Select a theme

How to State a Theme

Use expression: what and how much and by when ?

Cost
Problem Statement Should be Specific
so that Improvement is Well Focused
Poor Problem Weakness in Correct Problem Statement
Statement Problem Statement
Problem 1: Problem statement While all tests are to be done using
We do not have contains a cause. equipment, at present 60 percent of
the equipment cases are being tested using
equipment.
Problem 2: Problem statement Clients arriving at the counter are to
We need more contains a wait for a long time to receive service.
staff premature solution.
Problem 3: Problem statement Team members do not plan and
We do not work is too vague for schedule their work together.
as a team. concrete action.
Know the Current Status & Set Goals
❑ Analyze the current status using facts/data
Check Sheet
❑ Determine the targets and deadlines

❖ Collect the current data and grasp situation

❖ Recognize the desirable situation
❖ Set a goal
❑ State the goal in numbers as much as you can.
❑ A goal must be S-M-A-R-T
What is SMART?
❑ S PECIFIC
❑ M EASURABLE
❑ ACHIEVEABLE
❑ R EALISTIC
❑ TIME Bound
Analyze Cause and Factors
❑ Identify causes of the problems Cause-Effect
Diagram
❑ Factors affecting the issue
Develop Measures for Improvement
❑ List improvement ideas
❑ Study improvement ideas
❑ Think the specifics of the improvement ideas

Use members’ knowledge and experience fully

Use techniques 5 W 1H
Technique
Incorporate ideas of the experienced
Obtain advice and approval from the supervisor.
Develop an Activity Plan
❑ Why an activity plan?
❑ To determine the schedule and members’ roles
❑ To demonstrate “What steps to be completed by when”.

Gantt Chart
Check the Effect
❑ Collect data after implementation
Use the same data sets as the current status analysis
for clear comparison
❑ Analyze data
Compare with targets
Know the level of impact of the measures
❑ Compare with targets
Evaluate intangible and ripple effects
Evaluate the problem-solving process
Prevent Recurrence/Standardize
(1) Based on the results of the measures, implement the
preventive measure(s).
• Standardize the measures that were effective
• Train personnel on the standardized processes to maintain
the effect
• Check if the effect is maintained
(2) Reflect on the activity.
• Review the results and activity process, and identify good
points and the points that need to be improved
• List remaining issues
(3) Discuss a future plan.
• Find a place where the feedback can be utilized
Problem Solving
TOOLS
Problem Solving Tools
❑ Brain Storming ❑ Pareto Diagram
❑ Flow Chart ❑ Cause & Effect Diagram
❑ Matrix ❑ 5W 1H Questioning
Technique
❑ Check Sheet
❑ Gantt Chart
Brainstorming
❑ Alex Osborne introduced it as a way of encouraging
groups to be more creative in their ideas

❑ Brainstorming is the method for generating a lot of

ideas by a group of person is a short span of time

❑ Brainstorming is used in problem identification,

problem analysis and problem solution stages by the
Quality Control Circle members
Rules of Brain storming
❑ Rule 1: No critism
❑ Rule 2: Freewheeling
❑ Rule 3: Generate as many ideas as
possible
❑Rule 4: Record/ Note down every ideas
❑ Rule 5: Incubate the ideas
Steps in Brain storming
❑ Step 1: Restate/ Write-up the rules
❑ Step 2: Write-up the subject to be Brain Stormed
❑ Step 3: Start the ideas coming
❑ Step 4: Say “Pass” if one have no idea
❑ Step 5: Record the ideas
❑ Step 6: Incubate the ideas
❑ Step 7: Evaluation
Brain Storming
Flow Chart/Diagram
❑ Flow diagram/chart is a graphical /
pictorial way to depict a process easily
❑ It can show the process sequence
❑ It helps one to understand the process clearly
❑ It can be used for better understanding and
analyzing the process for re-planning or
making change
Symbols Used in Flow Chart/Diagram
Terminal (Start/End)

Delay

Operation
(Process, activity) Movement
/Transportation

Inspection/Check
(Counting, quality, quantity)
Storage

Decision

Connector
Document
Flow Process Chart/Diagram
Matrix
1 2 3 4 5
Costly Moderate Cost No cost
Team Can’t solve Moderate Feasible within team
Unimportant Moderate important Urgent/Important

Item No Cost Feasibility Importance Total Priority

A ___ ___ ___
B ___ ___ ___
C ___ ___ ___
D ___ ___ ___
Etc.
Check Sheet
❑ It is “a sheet pre-designed to
easily collect and sort out data.”
❑ We can collect necessary
information, and check those in a
rational order without omission
❑ Using a Check Sheet, we can sort
out the data
Steps of Check Sheet
New
C CC CC B AA D Item

Item/ Fault Frequency/Check Sub Total Total Data

Type

A U
B W
C X ____
D Y
New Item Z
Pareto Diagram
❑ The Pareto principle states that, for
many events, roughly 80% of the effects
come from 20% of the causes
❑ It is also known as the 80–20 rule, the
law of the vital few, and the principle of
factor sparsity
Examples
❑ 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients

❑ 80% of a company's complaints come from

20% of its customers
❑ Microsoft noted that by fixing the top 20%
most reported bugs, 80% of the errors and
crashes would be eliminated
❑ 20% of the hazards will account for 80% of
the injuries
Drawing Pareto Diagram
❑ Step 1: Decide the kind of problem you want to investigate

❑ Step 2: Decide what data will be necessary and how to classify

them
❑ Step 3: Determine the method of collecting data and period
during which it is to be collected (use check sheets)
❑ Step 4: Design a data tally sheet to record data with space to
put their total
❑ Step 5: Collect data and calculate total

❑ Step 6: Make a Pareto diagram data sheet and fill out the
data sheet in order of quantity, in descending order
 Data Collection (step 5)
Type of Defect Tally/ Frequency Sub T
Crack |||| |||| 10
Scratch |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| || 42
Stain |||| | 6
Strain |||| |||| |||| |||| ………….. |||| |||| |||| 104
Gap |||| 4
Pinhole |||| |||| |||| |||| 20
Others |||| |||| |||| 14
Total 200
Pareto Diagram Data Sheet (Step 6)
Type of Number of Cumulative Percentage of Cumulative
Defect Defects Sum overall Total Percentage (%)

Strain 104 104 52 52

Scratch 42 146 21 73
Pinhole 20 166 10 83
Crack 10 176 5 88
Stain 6 182 3 91
Gap 4 186 2 93
Others 14 200 7 100
Total 200 100
Drawing Pareto Diagram
❑ Step 7: Draw two vertical axes and one horizontal axis

❑ Step 8: Construct a bar diagram

❑ Step 9: Draw the cumulative

curve ( Pareto curve)

❑ Step 10: Write necessary items

on the diagram
Pareto Diagram
120 100.0
100 80.0
80
60.0
60
40.0 Count
40
Cumulative %
20 20.0
0 0.0
Others
Gap
Scratch
Pinhole

Stain
Strain

Crack
Cause and Effect Diagram
❑ Proposed by Kaoru Ishikawa,
Professor of the University of Tokyo
(1968), that shows the causes of a
specific event
❑ Also known as Fishbone Diagrams,
Herringbone Diagrams & Ishikawa
Diagram
Cause and Effect Diagram
❑ It is difficult to solve complicated problems
without considering the cause & effect relation
❑ Cause-and-effect Diagram is a diagram which
shows the relation between a quality characteristic
and factors

❑ Cause-and-effect diagram is a method of mapping

out all the probable causes influencing the effect
Cause and Effect Diagram
❑ Step 1: Determine the quality characteristic & write
it on the right-hard side of a sheet of paper

❑ Step 2: Draw in the backbone from left to right, and

enclose the characteristic in a box

❑ Step 3: Next, write the primary causes which affect the

quality characteristic as big bones also enclosed by
boxes
Cause and Effect Diagram
❑ Step 4:Write the causes (secondary causes) which
affect the big bones (primary causes) as medium-
sized bones, and write the causes (tertiary causes)
which affect the medium-sized bones as small bones

❑ Step 5: Assign an importance to each factor and

mark the particularly important factors that seem to
have a significant effect on the quality characteristic

❑ Step 6: Record any necessary information

Cause and Effect Diagram
❑ It will be easy if you mark the big bones
(primary causes) with 6M’s
❑ 6M’s are
1. Man 4. Management
2. Machine 5. Method
3. Material 6. Money

❑ It’s better if you could avoid the

6th M : Money
Example
Supplier Man Machine

Quality
Problem

Environment Management Material

5W 1H Questioning Technique
❑ The questioning technique is the means by
which the critical examination is conducted
in order to make improvement

❑ Each activity being subjected in

turn to systematic and progressive
series of questions
5W 1H
Where

How Why

5W
1H
When What

Who
5W 1H Questioning Technique
❑ WHERE = Where ( in which department ) is the problem located
❑ WHY = Ask why at least three times to find the root cause
of the problem
❑ WHAT = Once you understand the source of the problem,
what corrective action is necessary and what standard
(measurement) will you use to measure your performance
❑ WHO = Identify by name who will be responsible for
implementing the corrective action (department level)
❑ WHEN = Period of implementation
❑ HOW = Considering the cost-benefit, is there a savings
based on the QCD Function (quality, cost, delivery)
5W 1H Questioning Technique
Cause 1 Cause 2 Cause 3
WHERE is the
problem located?
WHY, WHY, WHY is
it a problem?
WHAT needs to be
done?
Action and
measurement
WHO is responsible
for the action?
By WHEN will you
take corrective
action?
HOW much will it cost
or save?
Gantt Chart
❑ Developed by Henry Gantt, an American
mechanical engineer and management consultant
in the 1910s
❑ A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates
a project schedule
❑ The chart shows the actions to be implemented with
temporal milestone settings

❑ The vertical bars represent scheduled and

implemented timings of each action
Gantt Chart
Activity 3
Using the same daily activity you
chose in Activity 1, apply one
problem-solving tool to analyze
and improve the method you
used.