Lean Marketing House » Control http://leanmarketinghouse.com Simple, Effective, Affordable and Repeatable Fri, 18 May 2012 03:50:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 What to do with the Root Cause? http://leanmarketinghouse.com/what-to-do-with-the-root-cause/ http://leanmarketinghouse.com/what-to-do-with-the-root-cause/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:42:00 +0000 admin http://leanmarketinghouse.com/what-to-do-with-the-root-cause/ We have found the root cause but how do we correct it? The correction may seem easy at this point but how do we know it is just not a band-aid. My preference is to go back to the Fishbone diagram and use the same method we use in discovering the root cause to discover the best solution. I also use the matrix to visualize and confirm the final choice. root.jpg

One of the important things you now must do is to consider the control device you will use to monitor the progress. In manufacturing we consider limit switches, stop/no go gauges. However, in service industries it can be much more difficult. In event planning though it could be something like an ineffective advertisement. You could build into it milestones that if it not achieved that certain positive or negative consequences occur.

Another example may be in developing advertisement copy; you may have certain acceptance criteria that are built into the process. It could be time sensitive, for example. You must remember even what seems like the best solution, if is uncontrollable will not lead to good results. You may want to consider another alternative and a result is that the perceived best action may change or become clearer as you improve. The method:

  1. Start with the Root Cause of the mistake. Brainstorm ways to eliminate the mistake(Fishbone).
  2. Note on each idea how you will handle the mistake: Don’t Accept, Don’t Make, Don’t Pass On.
  3. Consider the cost and time of solving the problem
  4. Place in matrix on Easy/Hard to do, Big/Low Payoff.
  5. Review the controls to use.
  6. Make your choice.
  7. Proceed and monitor.

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]]> http://leanmarketinghouse.com/what-to-do-with-the-root-cause/feed/ 0 If you control it well, it flows well! http://leanmarketinghouse.com/if-you-control-it-well-it-flows-well/ http://leanmarketinghouse.com/if-you-control-it-well-it-flows-well/#comments Sun, 14 Jun 2009 02:19:00 +0000 admin http://leanmarketinghouse.com/if-you-control-it-well-it-flows-well/ Simple, concise control is now what you need. If we cannot build it into the project we have to go back to the Measure phase or even to the Define phase. Without controls, we will return to the old way of doing things and when asked about it three months later we will say, “Oh, we tried that, it just did not work!” If you did your job, in the previous stages, the controls that are needed should be readily apparent.

Control is about having a documented repeatable process that can be monitored for variation. Walk the participating parties through a mock exercise and see what takes place. If you want, for the fun of it, videotape the process. Are you ready?

My Control process basically consists of:

1. The operation is documented.

2. Process control plans are created

3. Scorecard is created

4. Problem encounter plan

You just did your walk through and created your operation plan. Just write down what you are going to accomplish and how you are going accomplish it. Pass it around and get an agreement on it, not only from the people that developed it but the people that are performing the work. Check once again if it satisfies the customers needs. After that, draw a concise process plan. This is your final checklist on how you are going to go about the implementation. If you are not satisfied, you may have to go back a step or two and make some adjustments. But do not leave holes in it or say this is good enough. Create a perfect process flow chart that allows anyone to do the job that has the required “skill set” and if they have questions they can refer to the operation plan for clarification. I look at both working hand and hand.iStock_000000618646XSmall.jpg

The scorecard is control chart that lets you input data to evaluate the process. It must be easy to do and part of the process. The data should not be labor-some to acquire or it simply will be put off in busy times. Data should be as instantaneous as possible, so that you can monitor a change downstream from the flow to see what may have caused the issues. Remember garbage in = garbage out. Hint: Your scorecard should check the consistency of the collection of data also.

The fourth step is what I call the savior step. Have a process in place or a go-to person that can react immediate to problems encountered, lack of data input, discipline, etc. This is your insurance that the process stays on track and is a success. It is not a onetime deal. If you decide one day that you cannot improve the process anymore, start working on the tools you use to create the process and refine them to dig deeper. It is a never ending quest. The result of this is that it is the only true competitive advantage that you have to stay ahead of your competition! So get there and stay there!

If you build a great control system the process will flow very well! When a process flows well you typically get great results! You can think of all the analogies to this statement but seldom can think of one that disputes it, can you?

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