practical problem solving pps

• Lean Philosophy

Eight Steps To Practical Problem Solving

The Toyota Way To Problem Solving

The art of problem solving is constantly trying to evolve and be re-branded by folks in various industries. While the new way might very well be an effective method in certain applications. A tried and true way of identifying and solving problems is the eight steps to practical problem solving developed by Toyota, years ago. The system is structured, but simple and practical enough to handle problems of the smallest nature, to the most complex issues.

Using a fundamental and strategic way to solve problems creates consistency within an organization. When you base your results off facts, experience and common sense, the results form in a rational and sustainable way.

The Eight Step Problem Solving Process

• Clarify the Problem
• Breakdown the Problem
• Set the Target
• Analyze the Root Cause
• Develop Countermeasures
• Implement Countermeasures
• Monitor Results and Process
• Standardize and Share Success

The eight steps to practical problem solving also include the Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) cycle. Steps one through five are the planning process. The doing is found in step six. Step seven is the checking . Step eight involves acting out the results of the new standard.

This practical problem solving can be powerful tool to issues facing your organization. It allows organizations to have a common understanding of what defines a problem and what steps are going to be taken in order to overcome the problem efficiently.

The Eight Steps Broken Down:

Step 1: clarify the problem.

A problem can be defined in one of three ways. The first being, anything that is a deviation from the standard. The second could be the gap between the actual condition and the desired condition. With the third being an unfilled customer need.

In order to best clarify the problem, you have to see the problem with your own eyes. This gives you the details and hands-on experience that will allow you to move forward in the process.

Step 2: Breakdown the Problem

Once you’ve seen the problem first hand, you can begin to breakdown the problem into more detailed and specific problems. Remember, as you breakdown your problem you still need to see the smaller, individual problems with your own eyes. This is also a good time to study and analyze the different inputs and outputs  of the process so that you can effectively prioritize your efforts. It is much more effective to manage and solve a bunch of micro-problems one at a time, rather than try and tackle a big problem with no direction.

Step 3: Set the Target

Step three is all about commitment and focus. Your attention should now turn towards focusing on what is needed to complete the project and how long it will take to finish. You should set targets that are challenging, but within limits and don’t put a strain on the organization that would hinder the improvement process.

Step 4: Analyze the Root Cause

This is a vital step when problem solving, because it will help you identify the actual factors that caused the issue in the first place. More often than not, there are multiple root causes to analyze. Make sure you are considering all potential root causes and addressing them properly. A proper root cause analysis, again involves you actually going to the cause itself instead of simply relying on reports.

Step 5: Develop Countermeasures

Once you’ve established your root causes, you can use that information to develop the countermeasures needed to remove the root causes. Your team should develop as many countermeasures needed to directly address any and all root causes. Once you’ve developed your countermeasures, you can begin to narrow them down to the most practical and effective based off your target.

Step 6: Implement Countermeasures

Now that you have developed your countermeasures and narrowed them down, it is time to see them through in a timely manner. Communication is extremely important in step six. You’ll want to seek ideas from the team and continue to work back through the PDCA cycle to ensure nothing is being missed along the way. Consider implementing one countermeasure at a time to monitor the effectiveness of each.

You will certainly make mistakes in throughout your problem solving processes, but your persistence is key, especially in step six.

Step 7: Monitor Results and Process

As mistakes happen and countermeasures fail, you need a system in place to review and modify them to get the intended result. You can also determine if the intended outcome was the result of the action of the countermeasure, or was it just a fluke? There is always room for improvement in the problem solving process, but you need to be able to recognize it when it comes to your attention.

Step 8: Standardize and Share Success

Now that you’ve encountered success along your problem solving path, it is time to set the new processes as the new standard within the organization and share them throughout the organization. It is also a good time to reflect on what you’ve learned and address any possible unresolved issues or troubles you have along the way. Ignoring unresolved issues will only lead to more problems down the road.

Finally, because you are a true Lean organization who believes continuous improvement never stops, it is time to tackle the next problem. Start the problem solving process over again and continue to work towards perfection.

Additional Resources

• 8D for Problem Solving – creativesafetysupply.com
• Training to Use 8D Problem-Solving Tactics – blog.creativesafetysupply.com
• The Great Root Cause Problem Solving Debate – realsafety.org
• Design Thinking: Empathy and Iteration for Innovation and Problem-Solving – creativesafetypublishing.com
• 10 Commandments to Continuous Improvement – lean-news.com
• Lean Manufacturing Implementation – The First 5 Steps – iecieeechallenge.org
• “No Problem” is a Problem – jakegoeslean.com
• The Transitional Steps Involved In The 5s Principles During Implementation – 5snews.com
• The Tools of Kaizen – blog.5stoday.com

Related posts:

• 3P and Lean
• The Vacation Paradox
• Why Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED)?
• Total Quality Management And Kaizen Principles In Lean Management
• An Engaged Employee is a Productive Employee
• Jim Womack’s Top Misconceptions of the Lean Movement
• Muda, Mura, and Muri: The Three Wastes

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Acknowledgments, adoption of practical problem solving (pps) methodology to drive business performance improvement in pdo, sultanate of oman.

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Al Adawi, Humaid Khalifa, ALAlawi, Ahmed, Johnston, Peter, ALKindi, Adil, ALHusaini, Nasser, Al Balushi, Fatik, and Zakariya Al Mamari. "Adoption of Practical Problem Solving (PPS) Methodology to Drive Business Performance Improvement in PDO, Sultanate of Oman." Paper presented at the ADIPEC, Abu Dhabi, UAE, October 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/216242-MS

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PDO has a continuous improvement (Lean) programme deployed across all areas of the business. This programme consists of various problem-solving and improvement tools and techniques. Practical Problem Solving (PPS) is a structured methodology intended to be used widely within the organisation to drive performance improvement through systematic problem solving.

This paper focuses on the methodology applied and how this has improved operational performance within the PDO's Well Engineering Directorate.

In PDO, PPS is executed on the most prevalent, high-value problems, triggered by the identification of gaps in performance (e.g. operational failures, production downtime, etc.). PPS is an 8-step problem-solving process consisting of defining the problem (e.g, Is/ Is Not, Pareto), identifying root causes (Fishbone, 5 Whys), developing, and implementing countermeasures and process controls (Visual Management, SOPs). Problem-solving teams are selected depending on the nature of the problem. The PPS itself is carried out in workshop format, with the objectives of problem resolution and training the attendees in the problem-solving process and tools.

PPS was implemented during 2019 and is now an established robust methodology for problemsolving in Well Engineering. By 2021, the number of PPSs conducted increased by 800% from 2019, and 100% from 2020, triggered by input from various sources such as Visual Management and SOPs. As a result, we have realised significant benefits, including direct cost saving, cost avoidance, reduced production deferment, improved HSE performance and staff effectiveness.

PPS has become a framework for operations management, and it is hardwired in our systems for better governance and control. Also, it has been linked to staff job competency profiles and within the organization as way of working. 500 personnel have been trained in the PPS process, 25 of these are being qualified as PPS facilitators, further developing problem-solving autonomy, increasing organizational problem-solving capability, and ensuring the future sustainability of the PPS process.

The implementation of PPS has helped understand performance and where problems exist, how they relate to each other, how they affect the business and how they can be solved. In 2021, 95% of all PPSs carried out targeted non-productive time (NPT) in the drilling & WRM processes. The result of this focus on NPT was an NPT of 4.8%, the lowest ever achieved in PDO's Wells organisation.

On our PPS journey we have always strongly focused on replicating successfully completed projects. This has ensured knowledge transfer from one team to another across the directorate thus maximising the number of problems solved.

In conclusion, the implementation of PPS has been extremely successful, saving in the order of US$41mln since the beginning of 2019. And more benefit is being reaped from improving the organization's problem-solving capability and knowledge-sharing.

PPS is a methodology used in various organisations worldwide, such as the US Army and Boeing. It is mostly associated with the manufacturing industry (particularly automotive) but less with the Oil and Gas industry. This paper shows that, when used in conjunction with other Lean tools that highlight problems as they occur (such as Visual Management), PPS can be successfully applied to the Oil and Gas Industry to drive significant performance improvements, delivering significant monetary savings in the process.

As PDO Operations becomes more complex and wider, it was clearly identified a need for change in the ways of working and thinking. It was clearly seen the need for a new approach that can help the organization move forward with a minimum regret. Thus, lean was identified as a key enabler for achieving the company's vision. In 2012 PDO embarked on a company-wide Lean transformation, impacting almost every aspect of the business. One of the main pillars of Lean Transformation is CI Diverse Execution which consists of different methodologies (Just Do It, Kaizen Event, Practical Problem-Solving (PPS), Lean Project, 6 Sigma Green Belt, and 6 Sigma Black Belt). Each method is designed to solve a specific type of problem.

PDO was seriously using different approaches to solve the operational challenges and problems (i.e. ORC) were they suffer a lot from the incorrect solutions, unhealthy work environment and extra work loads on the personal. The Practical Problem-Solving came up to support PDO on solving the problems. It is an approach or methodology used to identify and address problems in a systematic and practical manner. It is a problem-solving framework that emphasizes finding effective solutions to real-world issues. It has been adopted and utilized by various companies across different industries. Toyota Motor Corporation is often recognized for its extensive use and development of problem-solving methodologies, which have had a significant influence on the adoption of Practical Problem Solving in the business world. Also, the practical problem solving technique is used in other famous companies like: Ford, Kepner Tregoe, Boeing and etc.

This paper outlines the strategy employed by PDO to enhance business operations by leveraging the Practical Problem Solving (PPS) methodology. It explores how this data-driven approach facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the factors impacting drilling operations and performance within the oil and gas industry.

Overview of Practical Problem Solving (PPS)

The concept of Practical Problem Solving (PPS) revolves around systematically and effectively addressing problems or challenges in a practical manner. It provides a structured approach to problem-solving that aims to identify root causes, develop innovative solutions, and implement them to achieve desired outcomes. There are a lot of benefits of structured Problem-Solving process which are:

Remove time lost in debate

Identify weak points in processes

Discover systemic causes

Explain with reasons why an incident occurred

Gives a factual representation of the incident

Compare what happened against what should have happened, at any point during the incident.

The structural approach of the Practical Problem Solving technique consists of 8 steps as following:

Visualize the gap between the Current Condition and Ideal Situation.

In some cases, the companies implement temporary measures to contain the situation until implementing the countermeasures. This practice called Interim Containment Action (ICA)

Another tool is also used in the clarifying the problem which is Is / Is Not. It is meant to show the patterns on when, where, how and what factors. It shows the strength of data and how it can guide the audience to strange facts.

Break Down the Problem: The second step of the process is breaking the big vague problem down into smaller more specific problems. As the main purpose is to go see the actual problem process or situation with our own eyes. Now during this step, will also take time to study the various inputs and outputs of the process that helps to properly scope and prioritize the efforts.

In this stage, there is a famous tool that used for prioritization. It is Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. It is named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes or inputs in various phenomena.

Also, breakdown a big problem into smaller, more specific problems. Since it is much more effective to manage and solve a bunch of micro-problems one at a time, rather than try and tackle a big problem with no direction. Thus, it is always a good practice to create a process flow diagram when breaking down the problem to identify where it occurs.

Set A Target: once the problem is scoped, it's time to set a target that need to be achieved, which is step three. This is an important step as it forces the team to make a commitment. It's important to remember that this target should take them one step towards the ideal situation. It doesn't have to be desire towards perfection instead it'll focus on taking one solid step at a time.

There are two types of targets, a quantitative target which can be described with a concrete number, and the other is a qualitative target which is difficult to quantify. Either type should be tied to a performance indicator.

Moreover, the target must be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. It should state the what, how much and when instead of what to do it.

Analyze the Root Cause: This is a vital step when problem solving, because it will help on identifying the actual factors that caused the issue in the first place. In many cases, there are multiple root causes to analyze. Considering all potential root causes and addressing them properly is the main challenge.

Fish bone Diagram

Now as it turns out there are often multiple points of cause so the team must prioritize the highest possible causes by voting and then drill down using 5 Whys. For the record, 5 is not a magic number it's just a typical number suggested to get to the root cause.

Develop Countermeasures : proper root cause analysis will point to the action needed to overcome the root cause. To do this, the team will need to develop all potential Countermeasures after which it will be evaluated by various perspectives and decide which one to implement in terms of value-added. These perspectives include:

Effectiveness

Cost and manpower

While building the countermeasure, it is essential to think "how to eliminate the Root Cause" taking into consideration the following when developing ideas:

Clarify the variable factors by thinking, "What can I change?"

Get advice from team members or other stakeholder to see if there are any previously developed (and effective) countermeasures which could be used in your situation

Implement the Countermeasures: To do this the team will need to make a plan that includes who what and when enabling them to pursue multiple countermeasures process. It requires communicating the status regularly while turning the PDCA cycle.

Evaluate the results: this step is often called the follow up phase as we evaluate both the results and the process. In here, it compares the target set in step 3 and the current condition. In this step, it quantifies what benefits are encountered with solving this problem.

Sustain the Outcomes: Now that it encountered success along your problem-solving path, it is time to set the new processes as the new standard within the organization and share them throughout the organization. It is also a good time to reflect on what you've learned and address any possible unresolved issues or troubles you have along the way. Ignoring unresolved issues will only lead to more problems down the road. Once the new Standard Process has been identified, all relevant information is to be documented. Standardization includes updating the Manuals, Forms, Checklists, and flow-charts with the improved process. The new standard should be communicated in different forms such as meetings, circulation, and to opposite shift.

The final product from each PPS is a problem solving A3, as shown on figure 3 , which summarize all the 8 steps. It is an official document that is used for the replication, Sustainability and can be updated frequently through Plan Do Check Act cycles (PDCA). The PPS A3 normally shared to the stakeholders to assure the learning has been cascaded properly.

The use of PPSs becomes huge and thus PDO has built strong capabilities as PPS facilitators. The number of PPSs within one directorate, Well Engineering Directorate, has increased dramatically by 800% from 2019, and 100% from 2020. Departments started mandating the use of PPS techniques in solving their problems and have set yearly targets on building capabilities.

Impact on Business Performance

As a result, we have experienced significant advantages, which include tangible cost savings, avoidance of costs, minimized production delays, enhanced HSE performance, as well as increased staff effectiveness.

PPS has evolved into an integral framework for managing operations, seamlessly integrated into our systems to enhance governance and control. It has also been linked to job competency profiles of our staff, becoming a fundamental part of our organizational work approach. We have trained 500 personnel in the PPS process, with 25 individuals qualifying as PPS facilitators. This has not only fostered problem-solving autonomy but has also elevated our organizational problem-solving capacity, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the PPS process.

Although PPS is required when a non-wanted event happened, it is a very fortunate that we have built the strong team capabilities that can solve the problems structurally and easily.

The implementation of PPS has provided valuable insights into performance assessment, problem interdependencies, their impact on the business, and effective resolutions. In 2021 and 2022, 95% and 90%, respectively, of all PPS initiatives focused on reducing NPT in drilling and WRM processes. As a result of this concentrated effort, we achieved an NPT rate of 4.8%, the lowest ever recorded in PDO's Wells organization.

In well Engineering the Leadership team committed to assure the quality of the PPS outcomes are as expected and thus a steering committee is formed to check and approve the countermeasures built on the project outcomes are satisfied. The department recognize the certified PPS facilitators and the PPS owners in the quarterly issues newsletter. Moreover, PDO is also rewarding the certified facilitators twice a year.

PPS builds collaborative work environment between different teams and departments especially when the problem is affecting all of them. By having these aspects, PDO successfully integrated PPS into its organizational structure and culture, creating an environment where problemsolving is approached systematically and collaboratively, ultimately driving business performance improvement.

PPS Future in PDO

In 2012 the PDO Managing Directors Committee (MDC) endorsed long-term support for the CI Transformation Program ( Figure 4 ). To support long-term commitment, several guiding principles have been agreed:

There is Consistency & Focus in deployment, with regular review, and adjust but not change the direction and the vision

Continuous improvement is a front-line activity, led by managers at all levels and delivered by the line

A strong governance is put in place to ensure consistent leadership drive.

Leadership accountability is assigned for continuous improvement within each selected value stream owned by the director.

Permanently review results and then extend to other value streams.

Leadership actions, attitude and behaviors will drive continuous improvement. This will be translated into actions and targets that we will measure ourselves against.

Building internal capability, Commitment of internal full-time resources to develop as Lean coaches is essential. Support from external resources only at the beginning.

Short term deployment of Lean should be self-funding, i.e. any expenditure should pay for itself in a year or less. i.e. return on investment should be greater than 1

PDO Organization Transformation Map

As PDO is heading the sun in the transformation map, Figure 4 , still a lot of work required to reach this extend by utilizing more of PPS methodologies within the same teams, having the capabilities within the teams to enable them to solve their problems fast and properly. By now, all PDO departments and teams are at least aware about the PPS and there are almost 1 PPS facilitator in the department within Well Engineering directorate. PDO aims to build a pool of highly capable problem solvers who can lead and drive PPS initiatives. Well Engineering Directorate build a lot of Visual management boards to help teams identifying their gaps and compare their actual performance to the target. This helps the teams on focusing on their performance and identifying the opportunities. There are also, some good practices on knowledge sharing after PPS close out with the committee that is sharing the PPS outcomes in a learning event with all other pears. It makes the replication easier and faster.

PDO enforced the teams to do frequent performance and HSE huddles where they visualize their dashboards and identify the gaps. They continuously monitor their performance and evaluate the previous PPSs outcomes. If the same issue still happened a PSCA will be done to recover and improve. Moreover, PDO has built a continuous Improvement Realization Journey (CIRAJ). It is a platform for hosting all the company's initiatives. It is used by all teams in the company. The main purpose of this platform is to have a one place for all PDO's initiatives. There is a proper visualization ways and clear recognition scheme.

Through these continuous improvement and expansion initiatives, PDO aims to strengthen the adoption of PPS as a cornerstone of their problem-solving approach. By embracing feedback, fostering employee engagement, and leveraging external expertise, PDO aspires to drive sustained improvements, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve long-term success across their organization

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

The author would like to thank Adil Al Kindi and Peter Johnston from Petroleum Development Oman PDO for their contribution on deploying the PPS methodology into Well Engineering directorate. Also, the author would like to thank the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman for their permission to publish this paper. Special recognition to PDO Continuous Improvement team for their support to promote PPS methodology in PDO.

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Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Monitor and Share

A Quick Recap

• Clarify the Problem
• Break Down the Problem
• Set a Target
• Root-Cause Analysis
• Develop Countermeasures and Implement

Monitor Process and Results

Standardize and share.

There are a few points to keep in mind when doing that. First, if you had multiple countermeasures, can you check the outcome individually for each countermeasure? This is a lot easier if you implement countermeasures one by one as suggested in my last post. Otherwise the cause (i.e., the change in the system) and the effect (the improvement) will get muddled and it is hard to understand what caused what.

Second, also check for other effects of your change. Did it also improve some other factors as a side benefit? Did an improvement in the machine availability also somehow improve quality? Such additional effects are actually quite common. Any free additional improvement is nice and welcome. However, it is also possible that something else got worse. For example, did a faster machine speed make quality worse? In this case you have to consider whether the benefit of your improvement is worth the negative side effects.

Also check the views of the different stakeholders. Try to answer the question “What is in it for me?” from the point of view of the customer, company, employee, and also yourself. Is the customer happy about the change? Are the operators happy?

At this point, you have to make a decision. Is the project a success? Did you reach your performance targets and improve the KPIs. Are the negative side effects negligible? If yes, you can continue to standardize and share the results. After that, you can focus on the next biggest issue you have in your area of responsibility. It is rare that managers run out of things to fix. In the pink unicorn situation that you indeed run out of problems to fix, look harder for problems…

If you have not (yet) reached your goals, then the problem is not (yet) solved. You need to go back to understand and break down the problem some more, do more root-cause analysis, and see what you can do differently to achieve your goals.

In my experience, this is often unpleasant and difficult. The final presentation for the project was may be already done, the deadline for the implementation has passed, and focus, resources, and (your) time have already been allocated for the next project. This all needs to be turned back since the problem has not yet been solved. It is, however, a great learning experience. On the other hand, at least some bosses see it as a failure, and hence many employees are worried about how this will impact their career plans. Every company gets the employees it deserves…

For the company it is also beneficial if you can share the results. In some cases, the project you just did was merely a test on a small scale to see if it works. Maybe you have ten (nearly) identical production lines, and you fixed the problem for one line. Great. Now fix the other nine. Use the lessons learned from your project to apply it to other, similar problems. This may be another improvement project, where the learning from this current project help to speed up PDCA for the subsequent projects.

You have done it. You have solved a problem using the Toyota Practical Problem Solving approach. This is the right way to do it, and much better than continuous firefighting (albeit some companies and some people just LOOOOOVE firefighting, since it looks so good; see my post on Heroes, Firefighting, and Corporate Culture ). Now, go out, make sure your problems are solved properly rather than addressing the symptoms, and organize your industry!

PS: Many thanks to the team from the Toyota Lean Management Centre at the Toyota UK Deeside engine plant in Wales, where I participated in their 5-day course. This course gave us a lot of access to the Toyota shop floor, and we spent hours on the shop floor looking at processes. In my view, this the only generally accessible course by Toyota that gives such a level of shop floor involvement.

5 thoughts on “Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Monitor and Share”

In my opinion, when you improve but have not met the objective, the best is to stay where you have arrived and, from there, make new efforts to meet the initial objective.

I have made Comments earlier. Why are these not published?

Hi Michael, you commented on another article of this series, I think: Toyota Practical Problem Solving (PPS)—Countermeasures and Implement . I thought it was a useful comment.

I sometimes delete comments if they are spam, others are removed automatically by my spam filter, but I haven’t deleted one of yours nor is one of yours in my (recent) spam filter.

Hope this clears up the confusion 🙂

Hi Christopher, in six sigma we are taught that one-factor-at-a-time experiments are inefficient. I appreciate this clashes with Toyota’s approach. But, what are your thoughts on say putting a Taguchi design in the monitor process & results?

Hi Jonathan, good point. I have used Design of Experiments myself, too, and find them quite useful. The problem is that for a good DOE, you need to switch factors on and off or generally change the variable to find out its impact. E.g. for a simple 2 variable analysis you could have 4 points (Low/Low; Low/High; High/Low; and High/High). This would require you to “undo” previous improvements, which could be a bother and could be detrimental for the sake of understanding the system. Doing the improvements one by one may actually be best in most cases. But, an interesting point. Thanks for sharing!

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Home > Example of learning to use the A3 Practical Problem Solving Method

Example of learning to use the A3 Practical Problem Solving Method

30th September 2021 - Peter Watkins

Example of learning to use the A3 Practical Problem Solving Method.

LEA has an ongoing partnership with a great charity called the Canal & River Trust. (Learn more about them by clicking on their Logo).

As part of their Lean Learning Journey , we are developing the capabilities of some of their leaders. This will allow them to be able to Teach and Coach others to maintain & stabilise the daily work. It will also help them reach their long term goals.

The first part of their development was to learn & practice A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving . From this they can go on to Teach and Coach others in the organisation.

Developing Capability and Improving the work at the same time!

Five Leaders have just recently completed their very first 8 Step Practical Problem Solving A3 – based on solving some real organisational problems. 4 out of 5 the leaders had never followed any scientific method to solve problems before.

They went through LEA’s recommended Lean Learning Journey Process for the A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving method. This involved being coached weekly by LEA’s Senior Lean Coaches to achieve Skill Level 3: Capable.

A key part of the development process is to do a final report out to the senior managers. As a result, this involved going through and explaining their problem solving activities using a visual A3 to tell the story. The video below is one of those leaders presenting his A3 problem solving story.

Watch this short Video of an A3 explanation from Ben Arthur – Business Intelligence Manager at Canal & River Trust

This video is an example of learning to use the A3 Practical Problem Solving Method.

In this video blog, Ben Arthur explains his first ever A3 Problem Solving activity to an online audience. Ben was asked 15 minutes of question, at the end of this presentation, but we had to cut the Q & A section out due to the length. A full version will be available on our YouTube channel . You can also download a PDF of Ben’s A3 to see more of the detail than can be shown on the screen.

Do you have a structured Learning Process for Developing Capability?

Problem Solving is the number one skill to develop in people who want to apply lean thinking & practice.

Why? Because the starting point for lean is understanding what situational problems you need to solve. Then follow a robust method to solve these problems – rather than jumping to solutions.

Therefore, if you can engage everyone in identifying & solving problems you will deliver more value to your customers and organisation.

Using the LEA learning platform and supported by a Skill Level 4 Coach, leaders can progress through the Learning Process shown below to become Capable.

In short, following a structured PDCA Learning process enables people to get a good result, even on their first attempt.

Overview of our Learning Process for A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving skill development

Skill Level 1: Knowledge

Using the top part of our Visual Teach Poster (see right) the Leaders cover the basic Knowledge on the Background, Purpose, Process and People. These are all aspects of the A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving Method.

In addition, the leaders gain knowledge about why they need to use it, the underlying thinking behind the process to use it correctly. and their role when using it.

Skill Level 2: Understanding

Using our online learning platform and live coaching sessions, the leaders go on to gain a deep  Understanding . This is how to actually apply the 8 Steps of the A3 Practical Problem Solving (PPS) method.

For example in the picture, the leaders also gain some practical experience  by completing a PPS A3 from a case study exercise. They then compare it with our answer in live debriefing sessions to confirm their understanding of each step.

Skill Level 3: Capable

To become capable the leaders need to develop their skill by solving a real business problem.

After going through an initial problem selection process, they are coached “step by step” over 12 weeks in 1 hour sessions by an LEA Senior Coach.

Periodically they also go through an evaluation process to check understanding and visualisation of their A3 problem solving story.

At the end of the 12 weeks a final report out session is completed to share their problem solving story and result. The session is attended by their immediate & senior manager(s).

Have a look at Ben’s A3 as an example, just click on link above!

If you are interested in Learning the A3 8 Step Practical Problem Solving method, please take a look at our all supporting Learning Materials and courses

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