Problem S o lv i n g

CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

SURESH LULLA
Founder & Mentor
Qimpro Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
 INTRODUCTION
Problem Solving today is beyond a footnote within your CV. Several individuals claim
Problem Solving as a key skill that is a part of their arsenal.

However, when it comes to actively seeking problems and applying various tools to
solve in a structured and robust wayͶmost people find themselves short.

This gap exists at a variety of positions in the corporate hierarchy, but none as
obvious as two critical junctures. These are: fresh inductees into the company who
have been recruited straight from a college, and first time managers who are taking
leadership roles.

The road to effective Problem Solving lies in the usage of four important steps. These
are: Problem Definition, Problem Diagnosis, Problem Remedy and Locking the
Improvements.

Ɛ ĞdžƉŽŶĞŶƚƐ ŽĨ ƌ :D :ƵƌĂŶ͛Ɛ WƌŽďůĞŵ ^ŽůǀŝŶŐ ŵĞƚŚŽĚŽůŽŐLJ ĨŽƌ ŽǀĞƌ Ϯϴ LJĞĂƌƐ͕
Qimpro has found merit in creating a short snapshot for young professionals,
managers and students to understand this subject better.

You will find Problem Solving demystified and explained in lucid steps, so that the
seeds to the No.1 skill required by industry are planted in your life.

After reading this eBook, you will discover how to proactively seek problems.
Further, you will learn how to methodically eliminate them. This will enable you to
bring in staggering savings for the projects and processes that you work on.

Commence your Problem Solving journey, and tell us about how you made a
difference in your sphere with these skills.
 CONTENTS

Page

Fundamental Concepts ............................................................... 1

Problem Definition ...................................................................... 3

Problem Diagnosis ....................................................................... 5

Problem Remedy ......................................................................... 7

Locking The Improvements ......................................................... 9

War on Waste: Problem Solving In Action .................................. 10

Steps of Problem Solving ............................................................ 12

Quality Improvement Tools ........................................................ 13

 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

WHAT IS QUALITY?

Over the years there have been innumerable definitions for the term Quality. Here
are a few that I have come across:
x Conformance to requirements
x Fitness for use
x Features and characteristics of a product and service that determine its ability
to satisfy stated or implied needs
x ĞŐƌĞĞ ƚŽ ǁŚŝĐŚ Ă ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ͕ ĨƵŶĐƚŝŽŶ Žƌ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŵĞĞƚƐ ƚŚĞ ĐƵƐƚŽŵĞƌ͛Ɛ ĂŶĚ
users requirements.

There are many more. However, I am most comfortable working with the definition
articulated by Dr J M Juran, Quality Guru of the 20 th century. His definition - Fitness
for use.

On a closer examination of this definition it is clear that fitness for use can only be
accomplished by:

x Having the right product and service features

x Producing and delivering the right product and service free from deficiencies.

Having the right product and service features is the reason customers purchase your
products and services, as against those offered by competitors. Customers vote for
your products and services with their money. In turn, this builds the revenues of an
organization. Having the right product and service features also leads to customer
satisfaction.

Producing and delivering products and services with some deficiencies results in
customer complaints and at times even rebellion. Deficiencies burden the
organization with wasteful costs of rework, scrap, inventory, and more. It also leads
to customer dissatisfaction.

Deficiencies create problems. dŚĞƐĞ ĚĞĨŝĐŝĞŶĐŝĞƐ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ĨŽƵŶĚ ŝŶƚŚĞ ŽƌŐĂŶŝnjĂƚŝŽŶ͛Ɛ
products and services, as well as functions, processes and systems.

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SPORADIC & CHRONIC PROBLEMS

A problem is a specific and visible performance deficiency in any manufacturing,

service or business process; and the corresponding output of product, service or
document.

In world-class quality management no process is exempt; nor is any output exempt.

Problems come in two avatars: sporadic and chronic.

A sporadic (occasional) problem is a sudden negative deviation from the standard or

status quo. The remedy lies in restoring the standard.

A chronic problem is a long standing negative situation which requires remedy

through challenging and changing the standard.

Chronic problems are not dramatic. Sporadic problems are dramatic.

KEY INSIGHTS

x Solving chronic problems requires a proactive mindset. Solving sporadic

problems requires a reactive mindset. Both are important.
x The danger is that fire fighting on sporadic problems becomes an URGENT &
IMPORTANT priority over fire prevention efforts on chronic problems that are
considered NOT-URGENT & IMPORTANT.

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 PROBLEM DEFINITION

The generic steps of problem solving are:

x Problem Definition
x Problem Diagnosis
x Problem Remedy
x Locking the Improvement

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

As a first step, we need to identify our:

x Value-creation processes that deliver effective outputs to our customers.
Outputs such as air conditioner, blood test, invoice.
x Support processes that enable our value creation processes to perform
efficiently. Support processes such as maintenance of machinery, canteen
service for employees, information on deficiencies in the value-creation
process.
x Supplier processes that deliver defect-free inputs for our value-creation and
support processes. Supplier processes such as caterer supplying meals to the
canteen, house-keeping services, and outsourced accounting service.

DĂƉƉŝŶŐŽĨƚŚĞƐĞƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ^/^ĐĂŶŚŝŐŚůŝŐŚƚƚŚĞ͚ĂƌĞĂƐŽĨĐŽŶĐĞƌŶ͛͘
Other sources of information can be:
x Customer Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction Information
x Employee Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction Information
x Community Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction Information
x Product / Service Performance Data
x Operations Performance Data
x Benchmarking of Best Practices Information
x Green Practices Information
x Cost Of Poor Quality
x DŽƌĞ͙͙͘͘

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By analyzing the data and/or information with quality improvement tools, we can
ďƵŝůĚ Ă ďĂŶŬ ŽĨ ͚ĂƌĞĂƐ ŽĨ ĐŽŶĐĞƌŶ͛͘ dŚĞƐĞ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ĨĞĞĚƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ YƵĂůŝƚLJ ŽƵŶĐŝů ĨŽƌ
strategically prioritizing the areas of concern of the organization.

LIST AND PRIORITIZE CHRONIC PROBLEMS

It is now time for the Quality Improvement Director to inherit the prioritized areas of
concern, and break these large areas into a series of chronic problems. All this
requires more data gathering and an application of quality improvement tools for
analysis. Members of the Quality Improvement Cell can prove a useful resource.

IDENTIFY THE PROJECT TEAM

Once it is clear what the problem is, the Quality Council is ready to identify the
appropriate people for the quality improvement project team and assign the task of
analyzing and solving the problem.

The problem selects the team. Anyone impacted by the problem is a candidate for
membership to the team.

KEY INSIGHTS

x We need to work on vital problems and resultant projects

x It is not the quantity if projects that a team needs to target
x Teams need to target on the quality of projects that give us a high return on
effort

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 PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS

ANALYZE SYMPTOMS
The first step for the quality improvement project team is to collect and analyze data
on the symptoms of the problem.

There are two important reasons for analyzing the symptoms.

First, Pareto analysis of symptoms may lead to a further clarification of the problem
ĂŶĚĂďĞƚƚĞƌĨŽĐƵƐĨŽƌƚŚĞƚĞĂŵ͛ƐƐƵďƐĞƋƵĞŶƚĚŝĂŐŶŽƐƚŝĐĞĨĨŽƌƚƐ͘
Second, analyzing the symptoms with a flow diagram of the process and by collecting
data firmly establishes the practice of working from reality and facts, rather than
opinions.

FORMULATE HYPOTHESES OF CAUSES

Having established a common understanding of the problem and its visible

symptoms, the team must now focus its attention on the causes of the problem.
Lasting breakthroughs in performance will occur only if the causes of the chronic level
of poor performance are identified and addressed.
Typically, however, the team members, who represent different functions and
departments within the process, have different views about the causes.
Brainstorming allows all team members to express their hypotheses.
Cause-and-effect diagrams organize those hypotheses and identify relationships
among them.
Flow diagrams and stratification may help stimulate further thought about the
causes.
The best sources of hypotheses are the line managers, the technologists, the line
supervisors, and the operators.

TEST HYPOTHESES

A hypothesis is merely an unproven assertion as to reasons for the existence of a

problem and symptoms. The team must now gather data to test these various
hypotheses.

Flow diagrams can be used to identify appropriate points to collect data, and a
variety of tools can be used to analyze it. The choice of tool depends on the type of
information the team needs from the analysis.

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This is probably the most time consuming step of the diagnostic journey.

IDENTIFY ROOT CAUSES

The goal of all data collection, analysis, and hypothesis testing is to identify the vital
few root causes.
Typically, the team delivers a presentation to the Quality Council at this point,
describing its Problem Diagnosis and corresponding breakthroughs in understanding
about what is causing the chronically poor level of performance.

KEY INSIGHTS

x Managers tend to have deep-seated beliefs that most defects are caused
during operations and are operator controllable
x The fact is that over 80% of the defects are management controllable

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 PROBLEM REMEDY

EVALUATE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

The proof and documentation of the root causes of the problem signal the end of the
diagnostic journey.

A remedy or solution is a set of changes in the process that will prevent further
occurrences of the problem by eliminating or drastically reducing the causes.

The first step in developing an effective solution involves evaluating a variety of

alternative solutions. There are two important reasons for taking the time to do this:
x One of the goals of the cross-functional team is to achieve a breakthrough in
habits in their respective functions. Each team member has a unique
understanding of the habits in their function, and so the team member may
have in mind a different solution to the problem.
x Experience has shown that often the most effective solutions to a problem are
synergistic combination of elements of independently proposed solutions. A
third alternative of sorts.

For these reasons, brainstorming sessions which generate a number of potential

ƐŽůƵƚŝŽŶƐĂƌĞĂŐŽŽĚŝŶǀĞƐƚŵĞŶƚŽĨƚŚĞƚĞĂŵ͛ƐƚŝŵĞĂƚƚŚŝƐƉŽŝŶƚŝŶƉƌŽďůĞŵƐŽůǀŝŶŐ͘

Since the solution will involve a change in the current process, a flow diagram is also
a valuable step.

Finally a team may also wish to review stratification and the grouping of causes on
the cause-and-effect diagram at this point to see if a single solution can address a
group of causes, or if multiple solutions are needed.

DEVELOP SOLUTIONS & CONTROLS

The final selection of a solution will depend on an analysis of a variety of criteria such
as cost, time to implement, potential resistance, impact on other processes, etc. The
team should develop a list of appropriate criteria and then evaluate each alternative
solution related to those criteria.

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Before a proposed solution is implemented, it should be tested thoroughly. Such
tests are also helpful in uncovering potential resistance to change, which must be
addressed before final implementation. This test will involve collecting data and
analyzing them to verify that the solution will work.

The detailed design of the final solutions and controls will typically involve the use of
a flow diagram to describe process changes and the use of data analysis tools to set
up monitoring and control systems.

ADDRESS RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

In dealing with chronic problems, we must keep in mind that the problem process
has been around for some time. The people associated with a process may resist
attempts at change ʹ they are quite comfortable with the current ways.

When we examine resistance to change more closely, we discover that in every case
we are really dealing with two changes:
x A technological change.
x A social consequence of the technological change.
The social consequence is the trouble maker. It is a sort of uninvited guest which
rides in on the back of any technological change.

IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROLS

Implementation is a joint effort between the quality improvement team and the
members of the operating department. The anthropologists have evolved various
rules of the road for introducing change.
x Provide participation: Members of the culture should participate in the
planning and in the execution of the change.
x Provide enough time: Members must evaluate the merits of the change in
relation to the threat to their habits, status, and beliefs.
x Start small: Reduces risks for members of the culture.

KEY INSIGHTS

x This is the most challenging phase for the project team

x In case the solutions involves a technological change, the team is lucky
x Many remedies involve changes in policies; goals, plans, organization,
procedures, etc. Such remedies are usually interdepartmental and involve
resistance to change

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 LOCKING THE IMPROVEMENTS

CHECK PERFORMANCE

Implementing the solutions and controls signals the end of the remedial journey. But
the problem solving effort is not yet over.

Implementing a solution, no matter how painstaking the design and testing, does not
guarantee a breakthrough in performance. The operating departments and the
quality improvement team must collect and analyze the data on the performance of
the new process. The quality improvement project is not closed until the
breakthrough in performance has been confirmed with data.

MONITOR CONTROL SYSTEMS

Finally, the problem has been solved and a new zone of Quality Control has been
established. In order to maintain the breakthrough in performance, the operating
departments must continually monitor the new control system. Simple data
gathering techniques, graphs and charts are needed to accomplish this.

KEY INSIGHTS

x Sometimes this involves minimal change

x Other times, the process may be complex

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 WAR ON WASTE: PROBLEM SOLVING IN ACTION
EXCESS GARBAGE CASE

x The Quality Council of a three shift automotive factory in Tamil Nadu was
concerned about the numerous piles of garbage and waste across their 50
acres campus.
x The Quality Improvement Director prioritized the excess garbage at the
workers canteen as a major chronic problem. This was a 360 days chronic
quality problem. The canteen was below the executive lunch room. The excess
garbage, apart from the unhygienic conditions it created, required a leased
dump truck every day, from a private operator, to clear the excess garbage
that the municipal trucks refused to carry. In the early 1990s the dump truck
operator charged Rs 8,000 per truck per day. In other words, the
Administration Manager incurred an unplanned expense on waste collection,
of the order of Rs 30,00,000 per annum. The Quality Improvement Director
shared this information with the Finance Director, who was also a member of
the Quality Council.
x The Finance Director was livid! He declared War on Canteen Waste. He was
convinced beyond doubt that the problem was chronic and significant. It was
also of a manageable size. He nominated the problem to the Quality Council
since it was gobbling the bottom line. At an extra ordinary meeting, the
Quality Council approved the nominated project.
x A project team was established consisting of members from multiple
functions: canteen manager, chief cook, three workers from the three shifts,
housekeeping head, and the Administration Manager.
x The project team was also provided a mission by the Quality Council: Reduce
canteen waste by 50 %.
x The team commenced by measuring the symptoms of the problem. Canteen
waste came in two avatars: Non-avoidable waste such as peels and packaging;
Avoidable waste such as cooked food that was not consumed. Avoidable
waste formed 70 % of the total waste. The team focus was avoidable waste.
Their goal was now to reduce avoidable waste from the canteen by 70 % in
order to achieve the overall goal of 50 % waste reduction.
x Thereafter the project team met workers to formulate hypotheses of causes:
large thalis, large ladles, short lunch break for high volume of workers, long
ƋƵĞƵĞƐ͕ EŽƌƚŚ /ŶĚŝĂŶ ĨŽŽĚ͕ ĂŶĚ ŽŶ ĂŶĚ ŽŶ͙͘͘ dŚĞ ƚĞĂŵ ƚĞƐƚĞĚ ƚŚĞƐĞ
hypotheses and confirmed the validity of causes two weeks later. It should be
noted that the data for testing the hypotheses was continuously gathered
over two weeks, for diagnosis by the project team.

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 x The remedial actions involved a whole new bunch of personnel, including the
wives of workers. The key changes included investing in smaller plates and
ladles, staggering the lunch breaks, involving the wives in setting the daily
menu to suit the South Indian tastes, and also supervising the cooking. This
was plugged as an irreversible change.
x The need for a leased dump truck vanished, saving the company Rs 8,000 per
day. Not only that, the kitchen procured lesser supplies, of the order of Rs
20,000 per day! The Finance Director was delirious! He was saving the
company over Rs 1 crore!!
x The Quality Council chose to plough back 50% of the savings to improving the
quality of the canteen and workers welfare. The employees were delighted.
x The workers nominated numerous more projects to the Quality Council
relating to waste in the factory, waste in the campus gardens, waste in their
quarters, waste in the workers transport process, etc, etc, etc. This was War
on Waste.

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 STEPS OF PROBLEM SOLVING

1. List and prioritize chronic problems

2. Identify the project team

3. Analyze symptoms

4. Formulate hypotheses of causes

5. Test hypotheses

6. Identify root cause

7. Evaluate alternative solutions

8. Develop solutions and controls

9. Address resistance to change

10. Implementation and controls

11. Check performance

12. Monitor control system

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 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TOOLS

FLOW DIAGRAMS
A flow diagram is a graphic representation of the sequence of steps that we perform
to produce some output. The output may be a physical product, a service,
information, or a combination of the three.
BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming is a group technique for generating new and useful ideas. It uses a
few simple rules for discussion that increase the chances for originality and
innovation.
CAUSE-EFFECT DIAGRAMS
Basic to quality improvement is the need to identify the root causes of a problem.
The cause-effect diagram is an effective way to organize and display the various
theories about what those root causes might be.
DATA COLLECTION
Data and facts are fundamental to every quality improvement effort. Without the
facts, our problem-ƐŽůǀŝŶŐĞĨĨŽƌƚƐĂƌĞƌĞĚƵĐĞĚƚŽĂ͞ŐƵĞƐƐŝŶŐŐĂŵĞ͟ǁŝƚŚƌĞůatively
low odds for success. In this chapter, we describe how to gather good data using
simple data-collection methods.
GRAPHS AND CHARTS
Graphs and charts are pictorial representations of quantitative data. They can
summarize large amounts of information in a small area and communicate complex
situations concisely and clearly.
STRATIFICATION
Stratification is the separation of data into categories. /ƚ͛Ɛ most frequent use is during
the diagnostic journey to identify which categories contribute to the problem being
solved.
PARETO ANALYSIS
Pareto analysis is a ranked comparison of factors related to a quality problem. It
helps a quality improvement project team to identify and focus on the vital few
factors.
HISTOGRAMS
A histogram is a graphic summary of variation in a set of data. The pictorial nature of
the histogram enables us to see patterns that are difficult to see in a simple table of
numbers.

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SCATTER DIAGRAM
A scatter diagram is a graphic presentation of the relationship between two
variables. In quality improvement, scatter diagrams are usually used to explore
cause-effect relationships in the diagnostic journey.
BOX PLOTS
Box plots, like histograms; provide a graphic summary of the pattern of variation in a
set of data. The box plot is especially useful when working with small sets of data or
when comparing many different distributions.

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 Did you know that
managers have learned
–Š‡ϐ‹‡ƒ”–‘ˆ•‘Ž˜‹‰–Š‡
wrong problems?

www.qimpro.com/pspro
Quality Fables are created from real projects solved using the
Problem Solving methodology

Paperback available Coming soon...

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‘Quality Fables’ are high density nuggets on vision, change,

innovation, and problem solving.

More Info
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ABOUT QIMPRO
Qimpro Consultants was established in 1987 by Suresh Lulla, as the first dedicated quality management consultancy in India.
Over these years, Qimpro has matured from a reseller of Juran on Quality Improvement video series; to a facilitator for accelerating transformation; to a developer
of IPs in Problem Solving, Quality Improvement, Performance Excellence, and Benchmarking for Best Practices.

ADVISORY SERVICES
Our signature claim is that Qimpro has facilitated its clients to save in excess of $3 billion as a by-product of Quality Improvement. More specifically, by
strategically addressing the Cost Of Poor Quality (COPQ) in manufacturing, services and healthcare.
Qimpro has delivered breakthrough results across sectors, in India, Asia and Africa. Breakthrough results such as: 20% decrease in operating costs; 5% gain in
market share, 10% increase in profits.
In addition, Qimpro has facilitated organizations to internalize international Performance Excellence criteria; and to thereafter even win accolades in the
Asia-Pacific region.
If your organization has similar goals, Qimpro can facilitate accelerated transformation, through a mix of services:
Cost Reduction Six Sigma
Business Excellence Harvesting Best Practices
Our aim is to deliver tangible and intangible results.
The above services are driven by IPs developed by Qimpro:
• PROBLEM SOLVING 2.0. A cutting-edge digital facilitation tool for institutionalizing a Continuous Quality Improvement culture
• INTELLIGENT COST REDUCTION. Templates for assessing the COPQ hidden in an organization
• INTERNATIONAL QUALITY MATURITY MODEL. A protocol for assessing the level of maturity of an organization
• BESTPRAX BAROMETER. An on-line tool for harvesting the Best Practices of an organization

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

Qimpro College, a division of Qimpro Consultants, is our unique vehicle for transforming human resources to world-class quality assets through Qualitist
Certifications, workshops, digital courses, e-books, Quality Fables, and on-line self-assessments.
To date over 2,000 candidates have qualified as Qualitists.

COMPETITIONS & EVENTS

Qimpro Convention is our USP. The event serves as the ‘finals’ for three major parallel QualTech Prize competitions: Improvement, Innovation, Sustainability. Each
of the three competitions recognizes team excellence in the Manufacturing, Services and Healthcare sectors. Winning teams of the QualTech Prizes at Qimpro
Convention have also earned accolades in the USA.
In 2014, we launched the Qimpro Champions League. Our aim is to make students job ready through a progression of Quality & Innovation challenges.

STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Our strategic partners include:
Quality Council of Indiana, USA
GOAL/QPC, USA
BPIR.com, New Zealand
Benchmarking Partnerships, Australia
We value the relationships with our partners, as we synergize knowledge and market opportunities.
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