This space is where I write down things I've been thinking
about. There's also some stuff about the ideas on which this
course is based. Perhaps you'll find something useful.
STS Meets Silicon Valley
In the spring of 2007, the Learning Shop conducted the STS workshop for all maintenance
technicians in a microchip fabrication facility in California.
All participants had some electronics or electrical experience or training.
Some had experience as military trainers.
Some had years of experience in chip fabrication or experience with
the manufacturers of the equipment. These people became valuable experts in
specific machines or processes.
Many of the technicians had excellent mental skills in problem-solving.
The TSAG (which some had problems understanding) proved to be valuable especially in a
group setting where wide knowledge was brought together and the strong points of various
individuals could be applied. The concentrated undistracted and focused efforts proved effective.
There was a significant lack of knowledge of the machines, very little understanding of
the processes, little communication between engineers and maintenance and records of changes
and previous efforts at problem solving were minimal.
STS could not solve all these organizational problems, but it serves as a template for building a data base
of needed information, improving communications, establishing a troubleshooting procedure and
building an accessible data base of methods used in solving previous problems.
Results at this company were impressive. At the end of each workshop, participants were asked to select
problems on thier own equipment that they had been unable to solve. These were persistent, recurring
and costly problems. In one group, one technician, on his own, stepped to the whiteboard in the classroom,
took over leadership role and led them in making a color-coded sketch of the equipment with the problem.
Then he led the group in using the TSAG to find the probable cause. Other groups (there were four) were also
sucessful in applying the course principles to solving current problems.
The workshops proved that the methods work for troubleshooting high-technology applications
with experienced, knowledgeable people.
"Demystifying Six Sigma" does just that
Alan Larson, the author of Demystifying Six Sigma, was a Qualtiy Director at Motorola, one of the
first companies to use the six sigma method. He was also a Navy submariner. This unique background gives
him credence in the subject and lends his writing a pragmatic viewpoint.
Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, Six Sigma and ISO 9000 are all wide-ranging programs whose goal is to make our companies
more competitive in today's world economy. All these methods require hard work, commitment and knowledge. And if you look
beneath the surface, you'll find they all tap the mental resources of everyone in the organization. They don't rely
on just a few people who command from the top down through an inflexible chain of command.
If you've said to yourself, "What the heck is Six Sigma?" this book will give you all the answers in an easy-to-read format.
If you know the program, you already understand that Six Sigma is a blueprint for making any company competitive in
today's global economy. But this book will explain WHY it works. It will show you what you need to do to make these changes happen
in your company.
This book is crammed with information. In reading it, I must admit I was like a person looking for a certain face
in a crowd. I was looking for an underlying phenomenon that explained the success of the program. I was also looking
for evidence to support my feeling that the most important resource of any company is the brain power of their entire work force. I was gratified
to find this principle repeated throughout the book, although I felt that it could have been emphasized more strongly.
Alan Larson, the author, is a former quality director at Motorola (where I worked as a contract training developer)
and a Navy submariner. He opens the book with a dramatic account of and emergency at sea. All the sailors knew that
they could only survive by drawing on the diverse knowledge of everyone on the boat, communication and teamwork.
The book was published in 2003 by the American Management Association.
When you've been a professional trainer for a few years, you find there are buzz words
and training fads that come and go. Most have a three-letter abbreviation or an acronym.
The feeling is that if you only did this (three letters) or that (three letters), all your
training problems would be solved. Many people just MUST have these new methods.
Most methods fade away to be replaced by another "easy" solution.
I won't bore you with listing any. But I would like to say a few words about
Root Cause Analysis or RCA.
The premise of RCA is finding the ONE originating cause of a problem.
When you have found that, so the reasoning goes, the problem can't happen again.
Doing this takes exhaustive research, questioning and experimentation, usually by a
group of people. This is time-consuming and certainly can't hurt.
The thing is, there is usually more than one condition or triggering event
that must be present to cause a problem to happen. And it is sometimes impossible to
find this exact combination because it is beyond the research capability or knowledge
of the people who are doing the analysis. Or correcting the condition is not practical.
So the search for the "root cause" bogs down.
What you really need to find is an action you can take that will prevent the
problem from ever occurring again. If the problem is caused by a combination of
conditions (such as high humidity and a certain powdered ingredient) and an event
(such as the opening of a fill valve) and you can eliminate a condition or the
triggering event, you can prevent recurrence of the problem.
So, go ahead and do the search for root causes, but make that preventive action your goal.
In a revision this month of the Systematic Troubleshooting Text Workbook and Presenter's
Notebook, training sessions on these subjects for individuals and groups are presented.
Digital Camera Helps in Understanding Machines
In December's note I was lamenting my problems in learning to use a digital camera and its software.
Having mastered that, here is a note about its usefulness.
Section 3 of The Systematic Troubleshooting course is about making "Process Sketches" of
equipment that show the functional parts of a machine or process. This sketch is expanded
in Sections 4 to create "Systems Sketches" to show the various systems in a machine or process
by color-coding. In Section 5 "Physical Layout Sketches" are drawn that show the positions of
critical components and the status of controls, indicators and test points when the machine
is running right.
Today's advances in digital photography and computers open up another option. It is now
possible to use a digital camera and a word processor to take the place of some of the
hand-drawn sketches. This method isn't for everyone. A person needs to be comfortable
with the technology and be able to make it work. By using text-boxes, arrows and various
views, you can create a record of your equipment that can save you from making drawings.
This is particularly useful for Physical Layout Sketches.
The method is not as effective for making Process Sketches and Systems Sketches and can't show
hidden components, but it can be helpful in providing resources for creating these materials.
You might be able to scan in an overall drawing of a machine, then add detail photos of
critical controls and indicators with arrows to their locations.
Your methods of creating information files are not as important as how useful they are for you
in understanding that equipment.
Some (maybe) helpful ideas on teaching a class
After many years of designing training courses and standing in front of groups of
maintenance people, I seem to have learned a few things
myself. Whether you are about to teach your first class or are an old hand at instructing,
perhaps you will find some of these suggestions helpful. I'll update them often.
Be prepared
Probably the best advice for any trainer is the old boy scout motto, "Be Prepared".
This does a lot for you as well as for the people you are training.
Doing your homework makes you less nervous, because you will have confidence in what you will say and how you will say it.
Good preparation makes you sound like an authority, which is important in winning the confidence of the people in the class.
You will be more likely to produce learning, because you will be able to present all the important points, conduct the activities, answer questions and stimulate meaningful discussions.
In the Systematic Troubleshooting course, the best way to prepare is to first read through
the Text-Workbook and do all the activities yourself. Then get ready for your class by
using the scripts in the Instructor's Guide or the outline in the Presenter's Notebook.
Be a believer
You may be in a new role as an instructor rather than just "one of the guys". Or you may
be a staff trainer talking to maintenance people for the first time. In either case, the
people in the class will be trying to detect whether you really believe this stuff you are
telling them or whether you are just teaching it because someone told you to.
If you don't really believe in the material, the people in the class will know it by how
you act and what you say. If you don't demonstrate your confidence it what the course will
do for them and the company, you might as well have the class play cards, watch the ball game
or complain about the company during the training sessions.
To gain this kind of conviction, first go through the text-workbook yourself. Then talk
to the people you work for and see how they feel about it. You need their support.
If you believe and you have support, your message will reach your students.
In the spring of 2007, the Learning Shop conducted the STS workshop for all maintenance
technicians in a microchip fabrication facility in California.
All participants had some electronics or electrical experience or training.
Some had experience as military trainers.