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Why Were You Late for Work?

18 June, 2017 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

Logic Tree

Logic Trees There is a simple way of diagnosing a problem, and then finding a solution.  It is called “the five whys?” No doubt you have heard of it, it is a way of refining a problem until you get to its cause. When faced with a problem ask why it happened. Then ask again. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Operations Analysis, Tools & Techniques Tagged With: communication, logic tree, problem solving

The Solution to Everything

28 November, 2016 by James Lawther 6 Comments

Hammer

Management is full of solutions… There is always another management solution.  Something that we must invest in.  Over the past 20 years or so the solutions I have seen include: Analytics Big Data Big Scale Value Analysis Customer Journey Mapping Customer Relationship Management Customer Satisfaction Measurement Business Process Re-engineering Business Process Outsourcing Near Shoring Off […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: problem solving, purpose, solutioneering

4 Ways to Solve a Problem

8 June, 2016 by James Lawther 2 Comments

The one that got away

An apocryphal story: A man you know is hungry.  There are 4 ways you could solve his problem: Slap him about a bit. This will take his mind of it.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Give him a fish to eat.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Give him a fishing rod and show them how to fish.  Hunger gone, problem solved. Develop a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: continuous improvement, error proofing, problem solving, root cause analysis

Go, Look, Understand

2 June, 2016 by James Lawther 3 Comments

Go Look Understand

Problem solving To solve a problem you need to understand the problem. Understanding comes at all sorts of places: Opinions We all have opinions, mental models of how things work and people behave.  Our opinions help us box off and make sense of the world. Data Numbers and patterns.  Information that helps us see how […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: back to the floor, gemba, problem solving

Problem Solving – All Buck and No Bang

15 February, 2016 by James Lawther 6 Comments

quick fix

There are two ways to solve a problem: First order problem solving: Also known as the quick fix. This type of problem solving removes the issue.  E.g. getting the information you need to finish a task.  But it doesn’t do anything to stop the problem happening again. Fixing a problem this way often causes a […]

Filed Under: Blog, Process Improvement Tagged With: collaboration, problem solving, rework, root cause analysis, work around

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