AAOM Handbook

INTERNAL

AI.09 Define / Rank Issue Context

If a KPI review identifies that there is either a change to process stability or that a process is not capable, or there is no active Analyse and Improve issue related to this, an investigation must be initiated. Each of the process phases will require leadership, and depending on the significance of the issue, a leader may need to be formally appointed. When it is decided a leader is to be assigned to investigate a process issue, they will then need to create a work order against which all relevant information pertaining to the analysis of the issue will be kept. The analysis and improvement of process performance always creates important additional knowledge that should be recorded in both a secure and easily accessible work management system. Once the KPI review process has selected an issue for analysis, the next step is to identify the contributing/root cause(s) of the issue. The first step is to accurately define what the issue is. A poor definition of the issue can easily jeopardise the investigation. Some common outcomes of poor issue definitions are:  Dealing with symptoms rather than the root of the problem, eg ‘The hydraulic system is overheating’ - so install additional oil coolers rather than fix the bypassing cylinder that is creating unnecessary heat; or large rocks are being produced by blasting, so increase the number of holes in the drill pattern, rather than looking at the accuracy of the drilling, or  Heading down a blind alley, eg ‘The hydraulic system is overheating’ - so clean or replace the coolers, test the cylinders for bypassing, when in fact the temperature sensor had failed and falsely indicated an over temperature condition. Correct definition of the issue will lead to a better probability of efficiently removing its cause. In order to correctly define the issue you must have a clear understanding of the system that is being studied and the measurement that is being used. If these are not clearly understood it will be helpful to;  create a process flowchart for the system,  identify the source(s) of the data used in the measurement, and  identify how that data is processed to produce the measure. Once the issues have been defined, a relative ranking for each (based on its potential business value) is evaluated so that we can focus resources on the most significant process issues.