Accendo Reliability

Your Reliability Engineering Professional Development Site

  • Home
  • About
    • Contributors
  • Reliability.fm
    • Speaking Of Reliability
    • Rooted in Reliability: The Plant Performance Podcast
    • Quality during Design
    • Critical Talks
    • Dare to Know
    • Maintenance Disrupted
    • Metal Conversations
    • The Leadership Connection
    • Practical Reliability Podcast
    • Reliability Matters
    • Reliability it Matters
    • Maintenance Mavericks Podcast
    • Women in Maintenance
    • Accendo Reliability Webinar Series
    • Asset Reliability @ Work
  • Articles
    • CRE Preparation Notes
    • on Leadership & Career
      • Advanced Engineering Culture
      • Engineering Leadership
      • Managing in the 2000s
      • Product Development and Process Improvement
    • on Maintenance Reliability
      • Aasan Asset Management
      • CMMS and Reliability
      • Conscious Asset
      • EAM & CMMS
      • Everyday RCM
      • History of Maintenance Management
      • Life Cycle Asset Management
      • Maintenance and Reliability
      • Maintenance Management
      • Plant Maintenance
      • Process Plant Reliability Engineering
      • ReliabilityXperience
      • RCM Blitz®
      • Rob’s Reliability Project
      • The Intelligent Transformer Blog
    • on Product Reliability
      • Accelerated Reliability
      • Achieving the Benefits of Reliability
      • Apex Ridge
      • Metals Engineering and Product Reliability
      • Musings on Reliability and Maintenance Topics
      • Product Validation
      • Reliability Engineering Insights
      • Reliability in Emerging Technology
    • on Risk & Safety
      • CERM® Risk Insights
      • Equipment Risk and Reliability in Downhole Applications
      • Operational Risk Process Safety
    • on Systems Thinking
      • Communicating with FINESSE
      • The RCA
    • on Tools & Techniques
      • Big Data & Analytics
      • Experimental Design for NPD
      • Innovative Thinking in Reliability and Durability
      • Inside and Beyond HALT
      • Inside FMEA
      • Integral Concepts
      • Learning from Failures
      • Progress in Field Reliability?
      • Reliability Engineering Using Python
      • Reliability Reflections
      • Testing 1 2 3
      • The Manufacturing Academy
  • eBooks
  • Resources
    • Accendo Authors
    • FMEA Resources
    • Feed Forward Publications
    • Openings
    • Books
    • Webinars
    • Journals
    • Higher Education
    • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • 14 Ways to Acquire Reliability Engineering Knowledge
    • Reliability Analysis Methods online course
    • Measurement System Assessment
    • SPC-Process Capability Course
    • Design of Experiments
    • Foundations of RCM online course
    • Quality during Design Journey
    • Reliability Engineering Statistics
    • Quality Engineering Statistics
    • An Introduction to Reliability Engineering
    • An Introduction to Quality Engineering
    • Process Capability Analysis course
    • Root Cause Analysis and the 8D Corrective Action Process course
    • Return on Investment online course
    • CRE Preparation Online Course
    • Quondam Courses
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Live Events
  • Calendar
    • Call for Papers Listing
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Calendar
  • Login
    • Member Home

by Dianna Deeney Leave a Comment

QDD 026 Solving Symptoms Instead of Causes?

Solving Symptoms Instead of Causes?

How we describe and approach the issues we need to solve can affect how we react to them.  We know we’re supposed to be solving for root causes. But are we, instead, really just addressing symptoms? Are we celebrating the quick fix and then moving on without addressing the root of our issue?

“If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution.” – Steve Jobs

Recognize the common mishaps of us solving symptoms instead of really getting to the causes. And, clearly describe our problem in two parts (statement and description of facts) to be confident that we’re moving toward solving the causes.

 

View the Episode Transcript

 

Citations

 

Episode Transcript

Have we had issues that we fixed, only to have them come back again? Do we really correct a root cause to fix the problem, or are we just addressing inconvenient symptoms? Let’s talk about how we’re defining problems and causes after this brief introduction.

Hello and welcome to Quality During Design, the place to use quality thinking to create products others love for less. My name is Dianna. I’m a senior level quality professional and engineer with over 20 years of experience in manufacturing and design. Listen in and then join the conversation at QualityDuringDesign.com.

How we describe and approach the issues we need to solve can affect how we react. We could be under pressure to get something fixed, quick. Maybe a production line is down, or a customer really wants an answer or resolution. Some people call these ‘fires’; we’re constantly putting out fires only to have the same ones pop up over and over again. We know we’re supposed to be solving for root causes, but are we instead really solving symptoms? Are we celebrating the quick fix and then moving on without addressing the root of our issue?

We can think of issues as having three characteristics: one is a symptom, the second is the problem itself, and the third is the causes. There is a difference in these characteristics. If we recognize the mishaps of solving symptoms and know how to properly structure a problem statement and description, that will set us up to stop fighting the corporate fires and instead encourage us to be detectives to solving our cases once and for all.

First is recognizing the common mishaps of us solving symptoms instead of really getting to the cause. One mishap is jumping to conclusions. Do we find ourselves saying things like, “Yeah, I’ve seen that before. I think the cause is this.” But memories can be biased. We can’t rely on them as fact. We need to avoid the, “I believe,” “I think,” “I know,” statements. If we’re saying those things, chances are we’re jumping to conclusions-missing the real problem and not getting to the root cause. Another sign that we’re solving symptoms instead of problems and causes is when we celebrate the quick fix. Before we move on, we can ask ourselves these questions:

Did we learn something from the event?
Have we prevented it from happening again?
Are customers pleased?
Have we made a difference?
Has our behavior changed?
If “no” to any or all of these, we may be solving symptoms instead of causes. We need to pause and redirect our efforts.

A way that we can be confident that we’re moving towards solving the causes is taking a moment to clearly identify our problem. Our problems should describe a deviation and should be based on facts. There should be no conjecturing about causes or estimating causes. No causes should be part of how we describe the problem! We can be clear about our problem by diligently describing it in two steps: describing the problem statement (or what we want to solve) and having a problem description (describing what we want to investigate).

A problem statement needs to describe a performance gap or deviation. The easiest way to think about a problem statement is that it’s answering what is wrong with what. We’re driving our car and it’s starting to pull to the side and become difficult to steer. We pull it aside and park it and get out of the car to see what’s happening. We noticed that we have a flat tire. What is wrong with what? The tire is flat. That’s our problem statement. The symptom we’re experiencing is steering difficulty. This problem statement answers what we want to solve.

The other part of diligently describing our problem is its description, describing what we want to investigate. It only includes facts. Facts like timing (when it occurs), magnitude (how serious or expensive is it?), location (where do we observe it?), and any other description of physical evidence. A problem description can be used to help us design actions and invites learning opportunities for the team.

After we’ve described our problem as a statement and a description of the facts, then we can check with ourselves and our team: do we really have a problem? Having defined the problem, we can know who the process owner of the problem is and we can ask ourselves, “Does the process owner really have a problem? Is this problem keeping them up at night?” If they don’t think it’s a problem, then our project is going to lack support, so maybe we don’t have a problem. Are we capable of solving the problem? If we can’t solve the problem, then we may have to accept the status quo and move on. Is the solution unknown? Or do we have a solution that we can just employ? If we do have a solution, then let’s just implement it.

The third characteristic of our issue is our causes. The root cause is that cause that, if we fix it, it’ll stop future occurrences from happening. Our cause also relies on the facts and is actionable (we can do something about it). A rule of thumb for a root cause is this: it’s a root cause when we can switch it on and off without creating negative side effects.

Let’s talk a little more about the ways that we describing our issues as symptoms, problems, and causes. I was doing yard work, trimming my fruit trees, reaching up above me. And the next day I had a pain in my shoulder. The pain in my shoulder is the symptom to an issue that I had. Like most people, I jumped on WebMD and I thought, “Oh no, I’ve torn my rotator cuff!” But this is the wrong thing to do because I’m jumping to conclusions. I don’t have any facts based on my particular situation. But it’s something that occurs to other people. I take an ibuprofen and that alleviates my pain. But really, I’m just solving my symptoms. My pain is going to be coming back again. I go to the doctor and I explained that my shoulder is hurting and that I have a torn rotator cuff. But the doctor is smart enough to know that I’m jumping to conclusions and including causes in my problem statement. She asked me, “Well, what’s wrong with what?” And I say that I have pain and reduce mobility in my right shoulder. That’s what’s wrong with what: it’s my right shoulder and I have pain and reduced mobility. The doctor further asked me, “How did this happen?” or when did I begin to feel pain? I add more details and give her a problem description. My shoulder began to ache 2 hours after reaching high to push down on something. I cannot lift my arm above shoulder height because of too much pain. And my shoulder is aching constantly no matter what position I’m in. With the doctor’s wise counseling, I have given her a problem statement and a problem description and she can start to help me figure out what’s wrong with my shoulder. I can’t say that the root cause of this problem is from me reaching high and doing activities and to just don’t do that. This line of thinking might help me not do it again, but it’s not going to help with getting rid of my immediate symptom. That would be a preventive control and something smart that I shouldn’t do again. To determine the root cause of my pain, the doctor needs to collect facts. So she performs a physical test testing my mobility and orders x-rays. From this, she’s determined that my tendons in my shoulder are inflamed. My rotator cuff is fine. She has investigated, collected factual data, and has gotten to the root cause of my problem. Now she can help me treat my root cause to eliminate my symptoms.

What’s today’s insight to action? We need to ensure we’re not just solving the symptoms of our larger issues. A step to do this is to clearly define the problem in two parts: its statement of what’s wrong with what, and a description of the problem that’s based on the facts of the situation. Then we’ll begin to understand the scope and details of the real issue and can start to investigate clauses to get to the root cause.

Please visit this podcast blog and others at quality during design.com. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter to keep in touch. If you like this podcast or have a suggestion for an upcoming episode, let me know. You can find me at quality during design.com on LinkedIn or you could leave me a voicemail at 484-341-0238. This has been a production of Dean Enterprises. Thanks for listening.

Filed Under: Quality during Design, The Reliability FM network

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Quality during Design podcast logo

Tips for using quality tools and methods to help you design products others love, for less.


by Dianna Deeney
Quality during Design,
Hosted on Buzzsprout.com
Subscribe and enjoy every episode
Google
Apple
Spotify

Recent Episodes

QDD 101 Quality Tools are Legos of Development (and Their 7 Uses)

QDD 100 Lessons Learned from Coffee Pod Stories

QDD 099 Crucial Conversations in Engineering, with Shere Tuckey (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

QDD 098 Challenges Getting Team Input in Concept Development

QDD 097 Brainstorming within Design Sprints

QDD 096 After the ‘Storm: Compare and Prioritize Ideas

QDD 095 After the ‘Storm: Pareto Voting and Screening Methods

QDD 094 After the ‘Storm: Group and Explore Ideas

QDD 093 Product Design with Brainstorming, with Emily Haidemenos (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 092 Ways to Gather Ideas with a Team

QDD 091 The Spirits of Technical Writing Past, Present, and Future

QDD 090 The Gifts Others Bring

QDD 089 Next Steps after Surprising Test Results

QDD 088 Choose Reliability Goals for Modules

QDD 087 Start a System Architecture Diagram Early

QDD 086 Why Yield Quality in the Front-End of Product Development

QDD 085 Book Cast

QDD 084 Engineering in the Color Economy

QDD 083 Getting to Great Designs

QDD 082 Get Clarity on Goals with a Continuum

QDD 081 Variable Relationships: Correlation and Causation

QDD 080 Use Meetings to Add Productivity

QDD 079 Ways to Partner with Test Engineers

QDD 078 What do We do with FMEA Early in Design Concept?

QDD 077 A Severity Scale based on Quality Dimensions

QDD 076 Use Force Field Analysis to Understand Nuances

QDD 075 Getting Use Information without a Prototype

QDD 074 Finite Element Analysis (FEA) Supplements Test

QDD 073 2 Lessons about Remote Work for Design Engineers

QDD 072 Always Plot the Data

QDD 071 Supplier Control Plans and Design Specs

QDD 070 Use FMEA to Design for In-Process Testing

QDD 069 Use FMEA to Choose Critical Design Features

QDD 068 Get Unstuck: Expand and Contract Our Problem

QDD 067 Get Unstuck: Reframe our Problem

QDD 066 5 Options to Manage Risks during Product Engineering

QDD 065 Prioritizing Technical Requirements with a House of Quality

QDD 064 Gemba for Product Design Engineering

QDD 063 Product Design from a Data Professional Viewpoint, with Gabor Szabo (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 062 How Does Reliability Engineering Affect (Not Just Assess) Design?

QDD 061 How to use FMEA for Complaint Investigation

QDD 060 3 Tips for Planning Design Reviews

QDD 059 Product Design from a Marketing Viewpoint, with Laura Krick (A Chat with Cross Functional Experts)

QDD 058 UFMEA vs. DFMEA

QDD 057 Design Input & Specs vs. Test & Measure Capability

QDD 056 ALT vs. HALT

QDD 055 Quality as a Strategic Asset vs. Quality as a Control

QDD 054 Design Specs vs. Process Control, Capability, and SPC

QDD 053 Internal Customers vs. External Customers

QDD 052 Discrete Data vs. Continuous Data

QDD 051 Prevention Controls vs. Detection Controls

QDD 050 Try this Method to Help with Complex Decisions (DMRCS)

QDD 049 Overlapping Ideas: Quality, Reliability, and Safety

QDD 048 Using SIPOC to Get Started

QDD 047 Risk Barriers as Swiss Cheese?

QDD 046 Environmental Stress Testing for Robust Designs

QDD 045 Choosing a Confidence Level for Test using FMEA

QDD 044 Getting Started with FMEA – It All Begins with a Plan

QDD 043 How can 8D help Solve my Recurring Problem?

QDD 042 Mistake-Proofing – The Poka-Yoke of Usability

QDD 041 Getting Comfortable with using Reliability Results

QDD 040 How to Self-Advocate for More Customer Face Time (and why it’s important)

QDD 039 Choosing Quality Tools (Mind Map vs. Flowchart vs. Spaghetti Diagram)

QDD 038 The DFE Part of DFX (Design For Environment and eXcellence)

QDD 037 Results-Driven Decisions, Faster: Accelerated Stress Testing as a Reliability Life Test

QDD 036 When to use DOE (Design of Experiments)?

QDD 035 Design for User Tasks using an Urgent/Important Matrix

QDD 034 Statistical vs. Practical Significance

QDD 033 How Many Do We Need To Test?

QDD 032 Life Cycle Costing for Product Design Choices

QDD 031 5 Aspects of Good Reliability Goals and Requirements

QDD 030 Using Failure Rate Functions to Drive Early Design Decisions

QDD 029 Types of Design Analyses possible with User Process Flowcharts

QDD 028 Design Tolerances Based on Economics (Using the Taguchi Loss Function)

QDD 027 How Many Controls do we Need to Reduce Risk?

QDD 026 Solving Symptoms Instead of Causes?

QDD 025 Do you have SMART ACORN objectives?

QDD 024 Why Look to Standards

QDD 023 Getting the Voice of the Customer

QDD 022 The Way We Test Matters

QDD 021 Designing Specs for QA

QDD 020 Every Failure is a Gift

QDD 019 Understanding the Purposes behind Kaizen

QDD 018 Fishbone Diagram: A Supertool to Understand Problems, Potential Solutions, and Goals

QDD 017 What is ‘Production Equivalent’ and Why Does it Matter?

QDD 016 About Visual Quality Standards

QDD 015 Using the Pareto Principle and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

QDD 014 The Who’s Who of your Quality Team

QDD 013 When it’s Not Normal: How to Choose from a Library of Distributions

QDD 012 What are TQM, QFD, Six Sigma, and Lean?

QDD 011 The Designer’s Important Influence on Monitoring After Launch

QDD 010 How to Handle Competing Failure Modes

QDD 009 About Using Slide Decks for Technical Design Reviews

QDD 008 Remaking Risk-Based Decisions: Allowing Ourselves to Change our Minds.

QDD 007 Need to innovate? Stop brainstorming and try a systematic approach.

QDD 006 HALT! Watch out for that weakest link

QDD 005 The Designer’s Risk Analysis affects Business, Projects, and Suppliers

QDD 004 A big failure and too many causes? Try this analysis.

QDD 003 Why Your Design Inputs Need to Include Quality & Reliability

QDD 002 My product works. Why don’t they want it?

QDD 001 How to Choose the Right Improvement Model

© 2023 FMS Reliability · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Cookies Policy

This site uses cookies to give you a better experience, analyze site traffic, and gain insight to products or offers that may interest you. By continuing, you consent to the use of cookies. Learn how we use cookies, how they work, and how to set your browser preferences by reading our Cookies Policy.