ISO-9000/2000
Got any ISO questions? Send them in. I'll post your question and my answer on this page.
Question: We utilize cross functional teams in problem solving but charting our results
shows only mediocre success. Improving the existing system seems impossible. I realize this isn't much information but do you have any ideas?
Response: First let's look at the info you have provided. Your using cross functional teams. This is a tenant of Kaizen but not the whole picture. Three primary items can limit
a groups success. The group is too big to reach decisive conclusions, the makeup of the group inhibits free discussion, or the group is not utilizing Gemba Kaizen.
If the group is too big ideas get watered down, some people don't speak up, and political agendas can be put ahead of the groups goal.
If the makeup of the team is not fairly balanced 1 or 2 people can control the outcome. In other words, if you have a team of 6 people do not include a supervisor that directly controls 3 other people on the team.
Gemba Kaizen is frequently not employed. A good cross functional team can have limited success if it does not "go to the area of the problem". Gemba Kaizen tells us to go to where the work is being performed. Often you can get new insights into the problem and you can get additional first hand information from the operators performing the tasks.
To improve your system use Gemba Kaizen. No matter what part of your system you are working on, if you want to improve it draft out the teams ideas then go out to the floor and see if they will work. Do things flow as they should? Do the users of forms agree to the format? And most importantly, can you make it simpler?
Noteworthy
Management
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