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Structured process for improving yield

Discussion in 'Lean, Six Sigma and DFSS' started by russell nugent, Apr 5, 2023.

  1. russell nugent

    russell nugent Active Member

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    Morning everyone
    We have recently had a couple of colleagues from our sister company in China visit us to focus on moulding and yield . They have a structured communication process where engineers report to managers daily and resource is allocated as a result .
    At the moment we have limited resource so same structure wouldnt work . We currently talk about yield weekly (reports sent site wide ),Monthly during quality meeting , CI meeting weekly and react to bad yield during shift .
    I was looking for some ideas on how to tackle these yield issues in a structured manner . Focus on one project , one defect , six sigma project really just looking to freshen up approach and try something different .
    All input welcome .
     
  2. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    First stop talking about solving problems. Reviews of yields and defect rates are just navel-gazing.
    Assign a few small teams (ideal size = 3) to go after the top 1-3 problems. Whatever you can afford. Each team should work at least 50% of their time on solving the problem. NOTHING gets done when you spend 10% of your time on anything…
    Use structured problem solving methods. (5-Whys, Y-X or branch and prune. See some of my resources for references and examples)
    STOP using a bunch of statistics. These are usually only descriptive or enumerative and not applicable for problem solving.
    Review progress by the team on a regular basis. Do NOT use PowerPoint and formal presentation approaches. I have used an approach where the management team goes to the floor and reviews progress with the team near the site of the problem.
     
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  3. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Read up on A3 (Toyota 8-step) problem-solving and on Improvement/Coaching Kata. It focuses on simple techniques, going to the shop floor (gemba), simple hand-written/drawn discussion boards (A3 paper) and management coaching.
     
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  4. russell nugent

    russell nugent Active Member

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    Appreciate the feedback guys and I am unaware of the Toyota 8 step .:)
     
  5. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Technically, there is no such thing. Maybe that's why... A3 and 8D are not synonymous...
     
  6. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    If you google Toyota 8 step problem solving process you will find numerous references to an 8 step process that is close to 8D but uses different words and a few different steps. There are also examples of how to place the steps within an A3. In the grand scheme of things this 8 step process is rather recent.

    I have also seen people put the 8D and DMAIC steps on an A3 piece of paper…In fact I’ve done it.

    Remember that A3 is a paper size and that the A3 method is a way to document your problem solving in simple graphical/picture format with minimal words. Brevity = clarity in the A3 ‘approach’.
     
  7. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Toyota 8-step problem solving process. I stated 8-step, not 8D or 8 Disciplines. Toyota 8-step is completely different from 8D. Note: 4 Ws is not 4 Whys. The 4 Ws are: Who, What, When, Where.
    upload_2023-4-10_7-36-17.png
     
  8. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Pardon my ignorance. I learned something this week. In all my years in the auto industry, I had never heard of the Toyota 8 Step - only A3 - hence my jumping to conclusions.

    Thanks for setting me straight. Never too old (or stupid) to learn...:D
     
  9. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Yes. Outside of Toyota, everyone likes to call it A3 (easier to say?), but as Bev noted A3 is just the paper size for the physical report. We use 8D for customer issues since it covers containment and emergency response actions but use A3/8-step for internal issues because unlike 8d, which was designed for "special cause" issues, A3/8-step is better suited for the chronic issues. One of the key steps is breaking a big chronic issue down into smaller issues that can be addressed one at a time like the old "How do you eat an elephant?" question. "One bite at a time."
     
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  10. russell nugent

    russell nugent Active Member

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    Just drafting a slide show to review with team , is there any chance of some visual examples of how 8 step structure should look .

    upload_2023-4-12_15-4-20.png
     
  11. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Look at post number 7 above.
     
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  12. John Predmore

    John Predmore New Member

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    There are 12 pages in the Toyota Way Fieldbook (chapter 18) entitled "Telling the Story Using an A3 Report", including a completed example.
     
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  13. Miner

    Miner Moderator Staff Member

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    Thanks for reminding me that I have this book. I posted a few pics to show an example A3. I apologize for the shadows. It's early.

    NOTE: Both pictures would fit on one side of a single page of A3 paper (approx. 12" x 17"). They are often handwritten/hand drawn as shown when used on the factory floor.

    A3 page 1.jpg A3 page 2.jpg A3 report handwritten.jpg
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2023
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  14. russell nugent

    russell nugent Active Member

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    Really great example , thank you . We are still at step 1 .
     
  15. Bev D

    Bev D Moderator Staff Member

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    And you have identified your real problem: Navel gazing. You need to get your organization to stop talking about it and doing something about it. All that talking is a waste of resources.
     
  16. russell nugent

    russell nugent Active Member

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    No just resource problem