Practical Problem Solving (1) What is a problem?

During the next posts we will be covering the 8 steps of practical problem solving.

Let's start by defining what a problem is.
According to Toyota, PROBLEMS are the GOLDEN EGGS of KAIZEN.

A problem is not a negative word, on the contrary, a problem is something that it is nice to have, because a problem is an opportunity, an opportunity to improve, an opportunity to get better at something. As Taiichi Ohno once said, no one has more trouble that the person who claims not to have a trouble.

Problems are disguised Kaizens, that we need to aggressively uncover. If we do not uncover them they could lead to increasing cost for the company.



A problem is the deviation from the standard, the gap between the current situation and your goal or target. Please see diagram




Next: 8 Step Problem Solving Methodology