PROBLEM RESOLUTION DRM

Day & Date………………………..

Step 1: Establish The Team. (group between 5 – 7 provides a manageable and Step 3: Establish the Objectives (What improvement do we want to
effective size for resolving the problem ) accomplish, what is the expected result. Clearly stating the objective will ensure as a team your efforts
are focused.)
Name Role Skills

Step 2: Describe What The Problem Is. (For an improvement effort to be Step 4: Provide A Sketch/Photo Of The Problem (Providing a
successful the team must start with a clear definition of what the problem is and what is expected from the drawing/photo allows you to visualise what has happened)
improvement. To facilitate this it is important to ensure you gather all relevant data & documents that
might help you to describe the problem more exactly)

Step 5: Understand the Process
Steps ( Before a team can improve the process they
must understand how the process works. To achieve this
the team creates a “Process Flow Chart” to describe the “As
is” condition. The process flow chart records all the actions,
decisions and inspections. Only an “as is” flow chart that
displays the process as it is actually working to day, will
reveal the improvements that needs to be made.)
made )
Step 6: Identify the possible causes which effects each process step (Allow the team to
list possible causes which would potentially make that particular process step deviate from the requirement. Once the causes have been
identified each needs to be challenged using F.O.G (Facts, = These are causes which are undeniable and are capable of being proven. They
are the best form of information, but are surprisingly rare. Opinions = These are the most common form of information; they are the
considered thoughts of people. They may also be facts that can’t be proven Guesses = These are uncertain ideas; they do however help
expand the area of interest. Most guesses turn out to provide a breakthrough. Guesses can be the most useless and most useful part of solving
problems) Mark opposite each cause a F/O/G to indicate what type of information it is.

The Process Steps What Could Make This Activity Go Wrong?

Step Activity Who F.O.G Cause #1 F.O.G Cause #2 F.O.G Cause #3 F.O.G Cause #4

When the flow chart is completed for the “As Is” condition ask the team: Does the
flowchart show exactly how things are done now? If not, what needs to be added
or modified. This question needs to be asked before moving onto the next step.
Step 7: Identifying The Root Cause (In order to drill down to the root cause, it is necessary to ask “Why does this happen?” for each identified factual cause (since these are the best forms of
data) . Each successive answer is another possible cause until you identify the possible root cause. Where you have a number of root cause(s) there may be too many to action at once, therefore we need to prioritise those
which will have the greatest impact on resolving the problem. Using the “Priority” column, mark each with a 1,2 or 3 where 1 = High priority, 3 = Lower priority.

5 WHY ANALYSIS Root Cause

Priority Identified Cause 1st Why 2nd Why 3rd Why 4th Why 5th Why

Step 8: Developing The Corrective Action Plan (Taking each of the identified root causes, the team develops practical solutions/corrective actions to effectively address the root
causes of the problem to produce the desired effect or outcome..)

Root Cause Corrective Action Who Support When By

Step 9: Review Progress Regarding The Corrective Actions Identified From the Action Plan: (Tracking progress regular ensures focus and
identifies possible barriers to success which can be rectified to ensure success.

Step 10: Review The Actual Results Achieved From The Process Improvements: (Do
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the process, if the objectives have not been achieved then it is necessary to return to step 5 and review the process and possible causes which will make the activity go wrong and continue the process from this
step.)
Once the problem resolution process has been completed including the actions, these may cause the process to be changed. Therefore the process flowchart “the future improved state will need to be created
which involves the people who undertake the process. It needs to be documented and trained out to all the relevant persons..