Check that the solution worked and holds
Compare the problem’s before and after, see on the floor that the solution is still standing, and close it only when the indicator holds.
The task in figures
- Gives you back
- 0.6 h a monthper team; today it takes 0.8 to 1.8 h a month
- Elmira today
- Helps
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Who does it today
- Engineer, Senior
- Version
- Elmira Junior
What hurts today.
It is taken as solved the day the actions are done.
Nobody looks again, and the problem comes back a few months later.
Without the before and after, the result cannot be shown.
A problem is not solved the day the countermeasures are done, but when the indicator improves and stays there. So, every month, the engineer compares the before and after of the problems worked on, goes to see whether the solution is still standing (the standard is used, the part was not changed back) and only then closes them. Without this review, problems are taken as solved too early and come back a few months later.
Done today with
- In-person meeting
- On the floor
- Paper and whiteboard
- Spreadsheet
- Slides
- BI dashboard
Each step, today and with Elmira.
On WhatsApp, Elmira puts the indicator’s before and after side by side, and tells you whether the goal is still healthy. Going to see and calling it solved are still yours.
| Step | Today | With Elmira |
|---|---|---|
| Compare the indicator before and after the solution | Spreadsheet, BI dashboard20 min – 45 min | |
| Go and see whether the solution is still standing | On the floor | Your call |
| Watch that the problem does not come back | BI dashboard, Spreadsheet15 min – 30 min | |
| Write down what was learned | Paper and whiteboard, Slides10 min – 20 min | Obeyaka (web) |
| Close the problem | Spreadsheet, In-person meeting5 min – 15 min | Comes with the value office |
The conversation
- Ana, continuous improvement engineer
Elmira, how did Packaging’s waste end up after the sealing temperature was set, on October 21?
Before, from week 38 to week 42, the waste averaged 4.1%. Since week 44 it has been 2.9%, 2.8%, 3.0% and 2.7%, and “Cut Packaging’s waste” is healthy.
- Ana, continuous improvement engineer
It has held for four weeks. I will go and see the sealers before calling the problem solved.
Does this happen to your team?
Book a demo and we will show you Elmira doing this task.
More cases of problem solving
- Gather the problems people on the floor reportWhat is said in the hallway reaches nobody.
- Spot the problems in the indicators’ deviationsPeople react to every number that drops, and none gets solved.
- Keep the list of open problems and their statusThe list lives apart from the plan, and goes stale.