Course Outline:

This course uses a "teach & do" format where you will learn practical problem solving skills that apply in manufacturing, healthcare, administrative, professional and technical processes equally. Students will learn how the PDCA process is at the root of all kaizen activity and Lean thinking, and how A3 Reports, Kaizen Newspapers and other templates can be used to document and communicate the practical problem solving process.  The course will cover:

• Problem Solving Overview
• Experimentation, hypothesis testing and the scientific method
• Practical problem solving skills to Lean and kaizen
• Four-step problem solving process
• PDCA problem solving and common pitfalls
• Using of SQDC (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost) check sheets and other data gathering and analysis documents
• Capability maturity models and the five levels
• Using the A3 Report
• Support system and resources sustain practical problem solving
• Leadership roles in a problem solving culture

Learning Objectives:

At the successful completion of this course, students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Explain the difference between PDCA and traditional problem solving
• Use the four step process for practical problem solving
• Use various problem solving skills and templates
• Document the problem solving story on an A3 Report
• Quickly identify the problem solving capability level of your organization
• Explain the connection of practical problem solving to TPS fundamentals
• Explain the PDCA management processes and support system needed

Benefits:

This course will allow the student to:

• Define a standard approach to problem solving
• Develop problem solvers in your organization
• Hold more effective meetings
• Sustain gains from kaizen events
• Implement policy deployment / Hoshin Kanri more quickly

Who should Attend:

This course is designed to give you practical problem solving skills as part of your Lean implementation.  The target audience includes:

• Front line workers, administrators, engineers, managers, supervisors, Lean specialists, Six Sigma specialists, change agents
• Any organization in any industry interested in solving problems

Duration:

8 hours