How to set your team up for success
Imagine this scenario… Pat the Plant person comes into the control room and says in frustration, “The @#$$%&! piece of equipment broke AGAIN!!! We need to do an investigation and fix it NOW!”
The team on shift were frustrated and working on getting the plant up and running safely. Once they were able to meet the next day, they started the incident investigation. However, the problem statement was too vague, and they started ‘boiling the ocean’ instead of focusing in on the specific issue. Folks got frustrated again, and finger pointing ensued…
While that is an imaginary and somewhat dramatic scenario, it does point out the need to get the problem stated accurately. A well-defined problem statement is half the battle in trying to solve an issue. This will help set up a team for success when participating in a problem-solving process. Think about using the 5W2H methodology to define the problem accurately.
- What — what happened? Be specific and talk about the actual incident, including the impact.
- Who – who was involved? These people will have direct observations and be valuable to the problem solving sessions
- Where – location and process area?
- When – date/time
- Why – is the initiating event understood?
- How – how did it occur
- How many – did it occur more than once? What is the frequency of failures?
Let’s use Pat’s description as the problem statement (without the expletives):
The piece of equipment broke again!
And now let’s ask the 5W2H questions and get some additional information:
- What happened? Filter Press #1 went off line. Production was stopped and product could not be delivered to the customer.
- Where is that? It’s in the Operations Press Building
- When did this occur? 8:32 pm on 3/23/2024
- Who was involved: Pat the Plant Person and the night shift team
- Why: Sensor 321 malfunction
- How: Sensor 321 is a process interlock which shuts off the press
- How often: It happened twice in that shift
The newly crafted problem statement now reads:
FilterPress # 1 in Operations Press Building went offline 3/23/2024 at 8:32 pm after a series of malfunctions from Sensor 321 which shuts off the press as a process interlock. This was the 2nd time during the shift that this occurred, causing 4 hours of downtime and loss of delivery of product to the customer.
This new problem statement is specific and allows the team to focus on the problem and look at the facts. In addition, by focusing on data and facts, it avoids the ‘blame game’ mentality and sets the team up for success. Conducting a Why Tree analysis is a lot easier with a well-defined problem statement, and the team can now hone in on the root causes and develop actionable results.
Avoiding this ‘blame-game’ and allowing for a collaborative and data-centered approach to problem solving starts setting the mindsets and behaviors of the organization to a more positive high-performance team-based approach. With every technique and tool that is used towards Operational Excellence, you want to make sure you set the tone right for the team. The consistent and continual approach will eventually shift the mindsets and behaviors of the organization to be more proactive and focused on continuous improvement.
The 5W2H methodology is useful not only in the incident investigation analysis (safety, process, quality) but also in defining the problem for a Continuous Improvement project. It allows for specificity in defining what the exact issue or ‘pain-point’ is for the customer (internal/external) and you can then drive down the road to an improved process.
Do you see the difference between the problem statements? Which one would you prefer to use in the incident investigation? Let’s chat!
Need help? Let’s shine a light on the opportunities to create value for your company together!
Note: This is a fictional process/plant, and Pat the Plant Person is a fictional character that I created over a decade ago… Please don’t try and find Pat to blame them.
Some additional sources to peruse: