Global Quality Systems Solutions

There are so many problem solving techniques in the manufacturing industry that it is not easy to identify the right technique that will help you identify the root cause of your problem.

According with the Encarta Dictionary, the definition of a problem is the following:

• A difficult situation, matter, or person
• A question or puzzle that needs to be solved
• A statement or proposition requiring an algebraic, geometric, or other mathematical solution.

In the Manufacturing Industry, problems are classified as:

1. Chronic Problems: Problems that last over a long period that usually causes a long-term change in the process.
2. Sporadic Problems: Problems that appear in scattered or isolated instances or locations. When the condition of the problem disappears, the effect of the problem might disappear but not the cause.
3. Performance Problems: The absence or change of the intended function.
4. Conformance Problems: Deviation from a process/product desirable performance level that induces an undesirable effect.

According to Aristotle, there are four types of causes:

1. Material Cause: The matter out of which a thing is made. “Marble of an Statue”
2. Efficient Cause: The source of motion generation or change. “Sculptor of the Statue”.
3. Formal Cause: Species, kind, or type. “Shape of the Statue”.
4. Final Cause: The intended function of an invention. “Work of Fine Art”

The Systematic Problem Solving technique is very similar to the technique applied in the 8 Disciplines Methodology when assuming that there is a Conformance Problem that has the following characteristics:

1. There is a deviation from the process/product expected performance that generates an undesirable effect.
2. The undesirable effect has to be eliminated.
3. There is no easy solution. 

Using the analogy of the Statue of Aristotle, the Systematic Problem Solving technique divides the problem definition in the following categories: Material, Dynamics, Location, and Magnitude.

Do not underestimate the power of the Systematic Problem Solving technique, but do not assume that one technique cures all types of problems

Fernando Perez

Quality Coach and Instructional Designer