CONFIDENTIALThisreportissolelyfortheuseofclientpersonnel.Nopartofitmaybecirculated,quoted,orreproducedfordistributionoutsidetheclientorganizationwithoutpriorwrittenapprovalfromMcKinsey&Company.ThismaterialwasusedbyMcKinsey&Companyduringanoralpresentation;itisnotacompleterecordofthediscussion.OverviewDocumentFebruary10,2000StructuredProblemSolvingApproachAcer,Tilburg2EXECUTIVESUMMARY(I)Productionfacilitiesfaceavarietyofinternalandexternalproblemswhichcanbetackledbystructuredproblemsolving-whetheritisdealingwithsuppliers,strugglingwithproductionequipmentandmaterialorhandlingcustomercomplains.Alotoftheseproblemscanbesolvedinawaythatuses•simplemethodsofdatagathering•existingknow-howorsimpleideasand•low-costsolutions.Thusstructuredproblemsolvingisameaningfulwaytomakeefficientuseofthemeagerresourcesavailableinaleanproductionsystem.Adecisiontoapplystructuredproblemsolvingmighttypicallyarisesinsituationswherethereisagapbetweenthepresentandtheidealsituation,e.g.:…notmeetingcustomerrequirements.…notmeetinginternaltargets(quality,cost,leadtime).…facingadifferencebetweenownperformanceandtheoneofthecompetitor.…adeviationfromthestandard.3Aspartofalargerimprovementprogram(e.g.TotalProductiveMaintenance,FirstTimeQuality)thestructuredproblemsolvingapproachcanprovidehelponceaproblemisexactlydefined.Heavilybasedonaculturethatallowscontinuousimprovement,thisapproachisakeytoeliminatewaste,reducevariabilityandenhanceflexibility.Eventually-dependingonthespecificsituation-theaimistoimproveoneormoreofthefollowing:quality,cost,leadtimeorproductivity.Thestructuredproblemsolvingapproachcanbeappliedinmanyindustries.Itinvolvessixmainsteps:1)IdentifyProblem2)AnalyzeProblem3)GeneratePotentialSolutions4)SelectandPlanSolution5)ImplementSolution6)EvaluateSolutionThisdocumentdescribesamethodologyandtoolsthatarenecessarytoanalyzeandeliminateorreduceproblemsinoperationalandadministrativeenvironments.Theremainderofthedocumentcontainstheclassic7QCtoolsandexamplesofproblemsolving..EXECUTIVESUMMARY(II)4Basicconceptsandprinciples•DefinitionandBackground•Benefitsandlinkstoleanproduction•Application:6-Step-MethodandToolsExamples•ExamplesofapplicationsImplementationapproachandmaterials•Timelineandprerequisitesforstructuredproblemsolvingapproach•SuggestedreadingandFirmcontactsSTRUCTUREDPROBLEMSOLVINGAPPROACH5DEFINITIONOFSTRUCTUREDPROBLEMSOLVINGWhilethetheoreticalapproachofproblemsolvingiseffectiveduringbasiclaboratoryresearch(deductivemethod)thestructuredproblemsolvingapproach(inductivemethod)istheonlyeffectivewayofsolvingworkplaceorwork-relatedproblems.Structuredproblemsolvingdefinesaproblemas...thegapbetweenthepresentsituationandtheidealsituation.ControlcharacteristicPresentsituationDesiredsituationPROBLEMThestructuredproblemsolvingapproachisamethodofsolvingproblemsrationally,effectivelyandefficientlybyusinga6-stepprocess,the7QCtoolsandothertoolsforanalysisandideageneration.6TRADITIONALAPPROACHVS.STRUCTUREDPROBLEMSOLVINGRatherthanjumpingto“quickfixes”structuredproblemsolvinguncoversrootcausestofindtherightcountermeasuresforalong-termsolutionProblemProblemSolution(Permanent)Solution(QuickFix)7COMMONPITFALLSINDEALINGWITHSHOPFLOORPROBLEMS•Fire-fightinginsteadoflong-termcountermeasures.•Noperseveranceandjumpingtosolutionsinsteadofinvestingtimeinthoroughanalysis.•Workingwithoutmanagementsupportforunpo...
