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Assumptions in Problem Solving
When problem solving, you want to be mindful of tacit assumptions. These are the things that are considered to be true and often go...
Chris Butterworth
Apr 22 min read
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Technique for Problem Solving
I was brought in as a problem solving professional by a technology manufacturer that was struggling to find the root cause of a tough...
Chris Butterworth
Feb 32 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving
I've been involved with a good number of problem-solving projects and usually introduced after things have started. One thing that stands...
Chris Butterworth
Nov 17, 20242 min read
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Tough Problems Need Better Tools
"We don't need anything as advanced as Six Sigma. We can solve most of our problems using simple problem solving tools." No disagreement...
Chris Butterworth
Nov 10, 20242 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving - Keys to Success
In manufacturing, a small number of quality problems account for the lion's share of the costs. This follows the 80/20 rule that shows up...
Chris Butterworth
Oct 28, 20242 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving
A manufacturer had a costly quality problem and assigned a team of well-skilled people to fix it. After a few meetings they had...
Chris Butterworth
Oct 23, 20243 min read
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Understanding Risks in Testing - Part II
In the previous post, I described how we make mistakes in testing when we draw an incorrect conclusion based on the results of a sample....
Chris Butterworth
Sep 1, 20245 min read
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Understanding Risks in Testing - Part I Alpha Risk
In problem solving, we often need to know if a change in the process, recipe or design made an improvement. Did the formulation change...
Chris Butterworth
Jun 23, 20245 min read
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Problem Solving in Manufacturing
In manufacturing, much of the profits are eaten up by quality problems. The Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ), defects found on-site as well as...
Chris Butterworth
May 12, 20244 min read
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Tough Quality Problems in Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies deal with quality problems routinely. The simple ones are easily corrected and so they tend not to draw a lot of...
Chris Butterworth
Apr 14, 20245 min read
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Who Are Your Problem Solvers?
In a manufacturing company, it's a common situation to be faced with a tough quality problem. One that is proving difficult to resolve....
Chris Butterworth
Mar 3, 20242 min read
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Manufacturing Needs Problem Solvers
Most manufacturers lose most of their profits due to quality problems. The costs incurred from defects found on-site as well as defects...
Chris Butterworth
Feb 19, 20242 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving - Example
We had two suppliers of parts for one of our subassemblies. A wood products company provided the cabinet and a plastic injection molder...
Chris Butterworth
Jan 26, 20231 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving- Random Defects
In manufacturing, most companies have to deal with costly quality problems eating up too much of their profit. Many of these problems...
Chris Butterworth
Feb 23, 20203 min read
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Process Improvement with Control Charts
Statistical process control (SPC) charts were developed by Walter Shewhart and introduced to the world in his 1931 book "Economic Control...
Chris Butterworth
Jun 11, 20183 min read
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Understand Measurement Variability
We take measurements every day to control processes and to accept or reject products. Often, there is little thought that goes into...
Chris Butterworth
Mar 11, 20183 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving - Sum of Variances
Too much variation is a common cause of defects in a manufacturing company. This variation causes some items to be over or under the...
Chris Butterworth
Oct 17, 20173 min read
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Industrial Problem Solving
Manufacturers lose most of their profits due to Quality problems. Consider that for a moment. Do you think that is true at your...
Chris Butterworth
Sep 20, 20172 min read
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Learning Through Data - Residual Analysis
In this post I want to describe a simple technique that can lead to learning something new. In this case, we found out something...
Chris Butterworth
Nov 7, 20162 min read
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Getting Started with Process Improvement
There are a lot of people who are responsible for business process improvement and it can be a daunting task. Where does one begin? All...
Chris Butterworth
Sep 9, 20153 min read
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