In this SIRF Common Interest Work Group, we are asking attendees to share their company's efforts embedding a Problem Solving Culture

In LEAN one of the most important challenges is to engage the total workforce to become successful problem solvers. This means they are capable everyday of solving problems experienced during the course of their own work. Problems are solved to root cause such that they never come back. A true Learning Organisation not only does this but also has excellent means of sharing what has been learned from every problem solving effort , to anyone who can benefit from it , so that problems may be even prevented before they even occur elsewhere.

In this SIRF workshop , we will be asking for attendees to share their experience of developing a true problem solving culture.

Successful organisational problem solving is difficult, but great lessons can be learnt from re-examining how Toyota turns it's workers into problem solvers, and what this could mean for your organisation.

In their seminal work Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, Steven Spear and Kent Bowen ( HBR Sept-Oct 1999) aimed to find the essence of what TPS is and why it has been difficult for observers of Toyota to copy their successful system. They concluded that observers confuse the tools and practices they see on their plant visits with the TPS system itself. That makes it impossible for them to resolve the apparent paradox of the system. The system grew naturally out of the workings of the Toyota company over more than five decades…it has never been written down, and Toyota’s workers often are unable to articulate it. Spear and Bowen concluded that TPS essence is 4 unwritten “Rules in Use” that Toyota follow despite them not being written down.

The rule that relates to Improvement and Problem Solving is very simple but that does not necessarily mean it is easy. The rule as stated by Spear & Bowen is that:

“All problems are solved at the lowest possible level using the scientific method under the guidance of a coach.”

Let us break this down to its elements see what this means:

Solved at the lowest possible level means that those responsible for the work where the problem exists are the ones that are involved in the problem solving. It means that marketing managers and marketing teams solve marketing problems but equally the shopfloor solve shopfloor production problems.

What does using the scientific method for problem solving mean?

It means that problems are solved by using experiments based grasping the situation by direct observation of the problem , establishing a hypothesis upfront to solve the problem, with declaring expectations of the result of the experiment before it is run. Quickly conducting the experiment and comparing the results to the predefined expectations and reflecting to learn from what was achieved – a true PDCA cycle.

How about what is meant by the guidance of a coach?

Toyota place tremendous emphasis on teaching everyone how to be a skilful problem solver. Further, Toyota teach people to solve problems by actually solving problems – true experiential learning. After learning how to do their work for which they were responsible, the new Toyota employee learns how to immediately identify problems that occurred as they did their work. Then they learn how to do sophisticated RCA ( root-cause analysis ) to find the underlying conditions and develop counter-measures — effective changes in work, tool, product, or process design—that would remove the problem. They are guided through this process by a skilled experienced problem solver – usually the team leader, or supervisor or manager, who coach the worker through the problem solving. This requires that the team leader or supervisor not only has excellent problem solving skills but that they are excellent coaches, skilled and capable of teaching problem solving skills in a directed, learn-by-doing fashion. The coaches themselves have learnt these skills because they have been taught this way themselves and learnt from their prior coaches.

What does this all mean for our own organisations if we truly want to copy Toyota’s excellent problem solving practices that have enabled them to have the reputation for sustained quality and low cost?

Some questions for reflection:

Who are your problem solving coaches in your organisation?

Do they have the problem solving skills? Do they follow the scientific method for problem solving? Do they have the coaching skills?

If not, how do you develop these?

How do your workers recognise they have a problem?

Do you have standards that when not met clearly identify for a worker that a problem has occurred? Do your workers have standard work?

Do they have time available to practice solving problems ? Are they encouraged or discouraged to stop the work to solve problems affecting the work?

In this workshop we will share how others have undertaken this important challenge.

While the rule is simple to understand like most things LEAN the art is in the execution.

We will also have the chance to discuss things like:

How to encourage good problem solving
How to train and coach problem solving
How to communicate effectively when problems are solved
How to have a problem solving processes with burdening with bureaucracy
How to empower the shopfloor teams to be good problem solvers
What are leaders roles to develop this capability within their teams
How to share the success
How to effectively reward and recognize the problem solving champions

Come along , even if you don't yet have something to share but want to learn from what others are doing and talk with those doing it. This peer to peer learning is what SIRF does best!

FAQs

Who should attend?

C.I. Leads & C.I. Managers, Plant & Production Supervisors and Managers, Process Engineers, HR, Ops Managers and anyone interested!

When do I need to register by?

May 6th

Investment?

This event is included in SIRF Roundtable membership

Who can I contact for further information?

Vic Tas NSW QLD - Brian.Niven@sirfrt.com

Vic Tas NSW Qld - Angus Mackintosh

SA /WA - Henk.Koster@sirfrt.com