Which Different Problem Solving Techniques Could I Use In My Business?

There are many different attitudes towards problem-solving in various industries, however, most people are waking up to the fact that they need to invest more time in this in order to make the business more efficient and effective.  With globalization getting more and more powerful every year, the world is a competitive place.

Anything that can be done internally to improve your process and reduce the risk of quality escapes can only be a helpful thing.  There are many different problem-solving tools that can be used depending on the scale and complexity of the issue.

Green / Black Belt Projects

An industry recognized improvement tool is green and black belt projects. This is often referred to as a DMAIC project which stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control.  This sort of project is used for more difficult projects and could be led by someone almost on a full-time basis.  For a greenbelt project, the normal expectation is for completion in 3-6 months but for more complex black-belt projects, this could go on for 6 – 12 months.  The project will normally go deep into the process and ensure process compliance before embarking on the improvement opportunities.  Tools such as Measurement Systems Analysis and Cause and Effect Diagrams would be common tools that you would see as an input to these type of projects.

Organization Design Consulting

Problem-solving is a specific niche skill set and it could take companies some time to get the right skill set in place to do this effectively. You don’t have to be alone in this and there are different organization design consulting companies that commit their time and resource into working with companies on these sort of things. For example, there’s the global firm On The Mark who has been working in the industry for 30 years. You will find that they can help lead DMAIC projects and 8Ds or you can employ them with a business plan to actually upskill your own team in these quality toolkits.

8D

An 8D investigation is recognized across many industries and is usually led by an 8D investigator who forms a team of key stakeholders who they think will be key in solving the problem.  Effectively, they will give a robust problem statement, contain any issues to ensure no escapes to the customer, protect the customer, complete a root cause analysis and then implement the corrective actions ensuing any read across activity is included.  You will find that this sort of problem-solving toolset is used widely in the automotive and aerospace industry and would normally be a mandated method to use in response to any customer escapes.

Value Stream Mapping

If you are looking for productivity or process efficiency improvements, then completing a Value Stream Map on the overall process could significantly help with this.  Here, you could immediately identify bottlenecks in your process and agree on robust corrective actions to address.  This is another activity that involves a lot of stakeholders from your company if it is to be completed effectively.

Make sure to use the best method for your business.