It doesn't have to be a Risky Business!

We often talk about implementing improvements and ensuring you consider all aspects of Change Management (human & technical) but it struck me that we have not previously talked about identifying and assessing any potential risks.

You might want to assess that mate!

So whether you are introducing a new product or new piece of kit, implementing new ways of working, improvement projects or just want to assess your existing processes for potential risks we are going to share our tool of choice to allow you to do this.

 




Any Risk Assessment needs to follow a structured approach, involve and engage staff and in true Lean Sigma style be data driven. The Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA) tool ticks all these boxes. It is a systematic method for Identifying, Analysing, Prioritising and Documenting potential failure modes, their effects on a system, product or process performance and the possible causes of failure.

Structured Approach is Key

The FMEA assess:

• The Likelihood of Failure
• The Severity of the impact of the Failure
• The levels of Detection in place

 

How can something fail?

What is the effect of this?

What could cause the failure?

What control measures prevent it

 

FMEA Template

So how do you go about running an FMEA study:

1. Define the scope of the FMEA (what it is and importantly is NOT) 
2. Agree scoring regime (see example below)
3. Analyse and list Failure Modes for each area/step
4. Understand the effect of failure
5. Understand what detection/controls are in place
6. Calculate RPN (Ranked Priority Number)
7. Review RPNs and assign cut-off and action limits
8. Create Action Plan
9. Manage Action Plan

Suggested Scoring Regime

The tool itself is very easy to use. The challenge comes in identifying potential Risks. This can actually be easier than you think if you stick to Lean Sigma principles and use data to help you.

Identify potential sources of risk

You can use some of the basic Lean Sigma tools such as Process Maps, IPO diagrams and Cause & Effect diagrams (Fishbone diagrams) to identify potential failures or risks. You then simply plug these risks into the FMEA tool to help prioritise the areas to focus your actions on.

We have used this tool on manufacturing processes, when introducing new products into a facility and when assessing the impact of changing ways of working and in each case it has successfully reduced the risks to implementation.

So give it a try next time you are planning a change.

What's Your Problem?

I think I've fixed the problem!

One of the most common issues we come across when helping organisation's address their challenges are that often they don't know what the real problem is. Now they think they know what the problem is and they tell us and have their teams working on solutions but a common issue is that people tend to dive straight into solution mode without taking the time to fully define the actual problem. This then shows itself when the problem reoccurs sometime later. Often what happens is a sticking plaster is applied to a symptom but the real problem goes unresolved.



Identifying the Root Cause of the problem is key if you are to avoid the issue reoccurring at a later date. Now a simple yet highly effective way to get to the root cause is to apply the 5-Why's technique to the original problem. By asking "why is this a problem?" over and over you drive people's thinking to focus on cause rather than symptom.

5 Why's Example

The other 'Must Do' is to create a Problem Statement. This ensures that everyone has the SAME, CLEAR understanding of the problem, it's impact and it's costs to the organisation.
Creating a Problem Statement is Simple:

1. Start by writing down the problem as you see it.
2. Then ask "Why is it a problem?" - Consider the effects on yourself AND others. Sometimes the problem is slightly different for others, or may not even be a problem.
3. Finally ask "What is the impact on the business?" If the impact is small it is sometimes more cost effective to live with the problem. However, showing the financial impact or impact on resources, time etc can help you get management attention and support in resolving it.

Problem Statement Template

Using these two very simple tools ensures that you fix the right problem and prevent it reoccurring at some point in the future. It also makes sure everyone is on the same page, is clear on what the problem actually is, how it affects everyone and what the impact to the business is.

Fixing problems is time consuming and non-value adding so make sure you do it properly and focus on fixing the right problem!