5 Why Form
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Goals of troubleshooting
1. Don’t blame, learn
A. Avoid the temptation to point fingers. All Team Members must be good at troubleshooting, especially with their own work. If there is fear of blame, people will avoid honest troubleshooting.
B. Learn more about our process-so we can get better.
C. A Lean organization is a Learning organization.
2. Get to the root cause.
3. Create a lasting solution so that the same problem NEVER happens again.
What to troubleshoot
1. Any non-standard condition, event, or result. Don’t limit it to product defects.
A. Product defects.
B. Machine failure or breakdown
C. Team Member asking question for information that should be known
D. Paperwork incomplete, incorrect, or not ready in time.
When to troubleshoot
1. Immediately if at all possible. The sooner the better.
A. When memories are fresh.
B. When machine, tool, or process conditions may still be present.
C. When you can prevent further defects.
2. Adopt a “stop the line” mentality. This creates urgency to solve the problem thoroughly and promptly.
3. Avoid a “set it aside and we’ll take a look at it later” approach.
4. Avoid a quick-fix or band-aid mentality.
Notes for leaders of troubleshooting teams
1. Do not permit the team to blame or talk down another employee or department.
2. Remind team members of the goal: root cause & permanent solution.
3. By the 3rd or 4th “why”, the focus is usually on management issues: failure to train, improper process, etc. It is helpful to acknowledge this clearly.
4. Keep a future focus: “Think how nice it will be to finally fix this problem.”
5. Document the troubleshooting & turn it in to an appropriate manager.
6. Make sure the solution was implemented, procedures updated, etc.
7. Develop a way to share the lessons learned with others.
Good's Millwork SOPs 