SYMPTOMATIC “Solutions”

As we craft and build great processes, we inevitably run into problems we must resolve and move past. Obviously, we would like to do this as efficiently and quickly as possible.

The excellent book “The Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge provides some actionable insight into how to approach these problems.

Senge defined the five disciplines as:

1. Building a shared vision

2. Systems thinking

3. Mental models

4. Team learning

5. Personal mastery

I was reading The Fifth Discipline book as I was leading a yield improvement project at a manufacturing plant. We were making very large glass parts. The yield improvement project was focused on improving the finishing of these glass parts. The project was going very well, and substantial financial benefits would accrue from the effort already underway.

Senge discussed “symptomatic solutions” in his book, and I realized that it had an immediate application to the work I was doing in the manufacturing plant. I made a diagram that included both the symptomatic and root cause solutions, along the lines Senge had discussed in his book. I showed this diagram to an executive who I was discussing my project with.

As we reviewed the diagram I made, the executive said to me that my effort on the finishing process was useful and solid work, but (to some extent) it only addressed the symptoms of things that were happening in the forming process. He asked me why I was not also working on the root cause of some of the finishing problems: the forming process.

His question was useful and provocative, and we both realized that there was a great opportunity to improve the forming process in addition to the finishing process. A concerted effort was started. The process improvements made in the forming process resulted in financial gains of 2 million dollars annually. This improvement was a meaningful contribution to the plant’s financial performance.

---

My main learning from this experience was the power of this particular mental model/approach. Although it is simple, it is very powerful. This symptom vs. root cause model drives thinking and efforts upstream, where the most leverage and impact is. Seasoned process builders are highly interested in this because they are always looking for leverage to provide a force multiplier for their efforts.

---

CHALLENGE TO READERS

Please think about the process improvement efforts you have completed over the past 5-10 years…

• Have you been focused on symptoms or true root causes? Might some of the root causes still be profitable areas to initiate a new yield improvement project on?

• Can you systemize your project initiation efforts to think about this approach at the beginning of projects? This has the potential to improve the financial returns on your project efforts.

What do you think about the concept of symptomatic vs. root cause solutions? I’d love to chat about it with you (508-410-8081) and learn what your insights and experiences are.

If you send us an email, we will get back to you promptly, thanks.

All the Best,

Marty

---