Download - NG BB 30 Basic Tools
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National GuardBlack Belt Training
Module 30
Basic Tools
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CPI Roadmap – Analyze
Note: Activities and tools vary by project. Lists provided here are not necessarily all-inclusive.
TOOLS•Value Stream Analysis•Process Constraint ID •Takt Time Analysis•Cause and Effect Analysis •Brainstorming•5 Whys•Affinity Diagram•Pareto •Cause and Effect Matrix •FMEA•Hypothesis Tests•ANOVA•Chi Square •Simple and Multiple Regression
ACTIVITIES
• Identify Potential Root Causes
• Reduce List of Potential Root Causes
• Confirm Root Cause to Output Relationship
• Estimate Impact of Root Causes on Key Outputs
• Prioritize Root Causes
• Complete Analyze Tollgate
1.Validate the
Problem
4. Determine Root
Cause
3. Set Improvement
Targets
5. Develop Counter-
Measures
6. See Counter-MeasuresThrough
2. IdentifyPerformance
Gaps
7. Confirm Results
& Process
8. StandardizeSuccessfulProcesses
Define Measure Analyze ControlImprove
8-STEP PROCESS
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Learning Objectives
Generate ideas to help determine root causes and improve our processes
Organize ideas so we can understand them
Prioritize ideas so that we can get the most leverage from them
Use Minitab for some of these tools
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Generating, Organizing and Assessing Ideas
The basic tools covered in this section center around idea generation as well as organizing and assessing those ideas
We use these tools to generate ideas to help us determine the potential root causes (Xs) that are impacting the output (Y) of our process
We may also need to use some of these same tools to generate improvement ideas later after critical causes have been identified
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Application Examples
Information Technology – CPU usage is too high at peak times. The IT manager needs to investigate how to increase capacity and/or shift usage
Transportation – Team wants to explore creative ways to reduce shipping costs
Recruiting – Manager needs to determine why cycle time to hire federal technicians is so long
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Goal
Process Map
Affinity Diagrams
Pareto Chart
Idea Generation
and Assessment
Brainstorming
Nominal Group Technique
1 Item Number
Card Rating Value 6
Idea Scores
Idea 1 Totals 8,8,6,7,8,2 6/39
Idea 2 6,5,4,7,3 5/25
Idea N 3,2,2,1 4/8
Check Sheets
Defect Mon. Tue. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Week Total % of Total
Scratch ll lll ll lll llll 14 67%
Dent l l l 3 14%
Chip l l l 3 14%
Bend l 1 5%
Total Defects 21
Casing Defect Tracking
Cause & Effect
Force-Field Analysis
Basic Tools
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Brainstorming
What
A structured method of generating unconstrained ideas and gaining engagement/involvement in the improvement process
Used in the Analyze phase to identify and prioritize root causes
Used in the Improve phase to identify and prioritize solutions
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Brainstorming
Why
Brainstorming produces many ideas in a short time
Facilitates the creative thinking process
Separates idea generation from the organizing and assessment of the ideas
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Brainstorming
How
Review the problem definition
Clarify the goal/question and provide any relevant information
Encourage creativity
Give everyone a few minutes of silence to think about the question and individually write down some ideas (Note: for ease of consolidation later, it is useful to use Post-its, recording only one idea on each Post-it)
Gather ideas, round-robin, one-at-a-time and hand in the Post-it
Place Post-its on flip-chart and post the filled in sheets on the wall for all to see (and use as a basis for further ideas)
Do not discuss ideas until the session is complete
Tip: Establish guidelines for effective brainstorming with the team before getting started
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Brainstorming
How (Cont.)
Encourage participants to continue to write down additional ideas as they think of them
Continue until everyone is out of ideas
Write down every idea
Can use the Cause & Effect Diagram to avoid “Group Think” and assure a balanced brainstorming session
Take a break from the creative portion and prepare for the organize portion (Note: Can use the Affinity Diagram to organize ideas into groups)
Answer questions, get clarification of ideas, ask for more specific information, where needed
If new ideas arise during organize portion, record them
Consolidate similar ideas and discuss the complete set of ideas
Again, clarify ideas and how they are grouped until the team is satisfied
Use other basic tools in this module to assist in prioritization
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Guidelines for Effective Brainstorming
Rapid generation is the aim
No such thing as “wild” or “bad” ideas
No evaluation of ideas
Chaos can be fun
Always forget to combine
Everyone gets a voice
Build on others’ ideas
No personal attacks, blaming, or complaining
No turf, rank or monuments
Laughter fans the flames of creativity – have fun!
Quantity Over Quality!11Basic Tools
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Why We Should Use a Team-Based Process?
What’s good about it?
Involves everyone
Gets all current root cause ideas on the table
Stimulates innovation (new ideas)
Contributes to consensus and buy-in
Helps take personalities out of the process
Captures subject-matter expertise and process knowledge
Provides structure for participants
What’s bad about it?
Slower to get through (but you only go through it once)
Takes more resources up front (more participants)
Basic Tools
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Everyone brings assumptions to the table. Such assumptions can reflect what we know or, as is often the case, what we think we know about what is causing a problem
Challenging conventional assumptions about your problem can help you turn obstacles into opportunities
Work to escape the self-imposed constraints that traditional assumptions often create
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Challenge Assumptions
Basic Tools
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Obstacles to Creative Thought
Staying in our box
Not challenging existing paradigms
Not challenging assumptions
Fear of being wrong
The search for the “right” answer
Focusing on logical thought
Judging ideas before they are formed
Psychological inertia
Basic Tools
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Random Word
This technique helps teams approach problems from different perspectives rather than through patterned ways of thinking
Pick a word, any word, and use what comes to mind to see if it applies to your problem
For example, what comes to mind when you think of the word “Satellite” as it relates to an Accounts Receivables problem? (e.g., e-Payment)
When that word is exhausted, pick another word
1 2 3 4 5
1 Skeleton Room Treadmill Oven Filter
2 Valley Fruit Library Purse Molecule
3 Maze Water Air Earth Money
4 Tunnel Altar Diamond Army Computer
5 Amoeba Anvil Bait Balloon Bible
6 Algebra Alphabet Child Lamp Leg
7 Menu Prison Monster Muscle Nest
8 Pepper Pill Satellite Pod Ring
9 Rainbow Rudder Safe Sauce Saloon
10 Ice Index Key Ladder Landslide Lever
Accounts Receivable (First Word: Satellite)
1 2 3 4 5
1 Skeleton Room Treadmill Oven Filter
2 Valley Fruit Library Purse Molecule
3 Maze Water Air Earth Money
4 Tunnel Altar Diamond Army Computer
5 Amoeba Anvil Bait Balloon Bible
6 Algebra Alphabet Child Lamp Leg
7 Menu Prison Monster Muscle Nest
8 Pepper Pill Satellite Pod Ring
9 Rainbow Rudder Safe Sauce Saloon
10 Ice Index Key Ladder Landslide Lever
Accounts Receivable (First Word: Satellite)
Basic Tools
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Random Personality
Similar to Random Word, this technique also helps teams approach problems from different perspectives rather than through patterned ways of thinking
Pick a well known personality, real or imaginary, and use what comes to mind to see if it applies to your problem
For example, “How would Mickey Mouse approach this?” – “have fun,” “control crowds,” etc.
When that personality is exhausted, pick another personality
General Patton Genghis Kahn Mickey Mouse
Fay Ray Madonna The Beatles
Bill Gates Jack Welch Our General
Sgt. Smith Spiderman Superman
Batman Harry Potter Frodo
JFK Pres. Bush Winston Churchill
Basic Tools
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Brainstorming Takeaways
Brainstorming is a structured method of generating unconstrained ideas and gaining engagement and involvement in the process
Brainstorming produces many ideas in a short time
Brainstorming facilitates the creative thinking process
Brainstorming separates idea generation from the organizing, assessment and prioritization of the ideas that are generated
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Cause and Effect Diagram
What
Represents the relationship between an effect (problem) and its potential causes.
Categorizes causes and drills down to root cause
Often called Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram
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Cause and Effect Diagram Purpose
Why brainstorm using C&E Diagram?
To help ensure that a balanced list of ideas have been generated during brainstorming
Sort and relate the factors affecting a process while little quantifiable data is available
Assist discussion when determining root causes
To determine the real cause of the problem (as opposed to a symptom of the problem)
To refine brainstormed ideas into more detailed causes
To identify a team's level of understanding
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Cause and Effect Diagram Method
How
Name the problem or effect of interest – Put in form of a question
Decide the major categories for causes. Categories may include:
the 6 M’s: manpower (or personnel), machines, materials, methods, measurements, and mother nature (or environment)
DOTMLPF – Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership & Education, Personnel, Facilities
See next page for other category ideas
Brainstorm for more detailed causes. Ask "why" each major cause happens at least 5 times
Eliminate causes that do not apply
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C&E (Fishbone) Diagram – Possible Categories
Method Description
Brainstorm Method Have the team brainstorm possible causes, create a list, segment the ideas into major categories, name the categories and use them as the major bones
6 M Method Man (Personnel)
Methods
Measurements
Machines
Materials
Mother Nature (Environment)
4 P Method Place
People
Procedures
Policies
4 S Method Surroundings
Suppliers
Systems
Skills
Process Method If you are working with a process, break the process down into its major activities and assign each activity as a major bone
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Cause and Effect Diagram Method
How (Cont.)
Discuss the causes and decide which are most important
Work on most important root causes
Brainstorm for more ideas in those categories that contain fewer items - this helps counter the “theme” or “group think” effect common in brainstorming
Perform another iteration to determine root causes, if necessary
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More on the “Theme” Effect
Very often, brainstorming sessions tend to go off in a particular direction based on a common “theme” or a thread of thinking
One or two good ideas get the rest of the group thinking along those lines
The rest of the brainstorming session continues along this “theme”
The Cause & Effect diagram helps overcome the “theme” effect by allowing the group to visualize the categories into which their ideas fall
The group can then be redirected to focus on generating more ideas in those categories that contain fewer ideas
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________________1. Why?
2. Why?3. Why?
4. Why?5. Why?
Why do CPI projects take so long?1. Why? Teams don’t have time to work on project
2. Why? Other activities have not been
cleared from their duties
3. Why? Project Sponsor and other
affected managers not aware that they
need to make this happen
4. Why? Project Sponsor and
other affected managers have not
attended Project Sponsor Workshop
5. Why? . . .
Refine Brainstormed Ideas to the Root Cause
Ask "Why?" 5 Times
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Cause and Effect Diagram Example
Effect:
Why are there too many
missed targets
Machine
Shotgun
Breathing
Prone PositionM-16
Supported
Kneeling Position
Incomplete
Training
Custom Ammo
Visual Range Estimation
laser distance finder
Wind
Factory Ammo
Man
Material Measurement Mother Nature
Method
Unsupported
Standing Position
M-4
50 Cal Sniper
M-24 Sniper
Targeting sys.
Targeting sys.
Targeting sys.
Targeting sys.
Targeting sys.
Pre-measured distance
Tail WindHead Wind
Cross Wind
Lighting Conditions
Night or
Minimal light
Dusk / DawnDaylight
Vision
Desire / Motivation
Prior Activity
Conditioning
SurvivalMoral Objection
Projectile type
Projectile Grain weight
Armor PiercingTracer RoundTarget Round
130 Gr.160 Gr.
Projectile Gr. Wt.
Projectile Type
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Cause and Effect Diagram - Software
Software programs are available that allow Cause and Effect Diagrams to be created electronically.
This feature can be found in Minitab in the following location:
Stat>Quality Tools>Cause-and-Effect…
Can also use Microsoft Visio
or Excel
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Exercise: Prepare a Cause & Effect Diagram
Objective
Create a Fishbone diagram for the GGA's Budget Department
Instructions
Write problem statement in the form of a question – “What is causing…?”
Select categorization method
Brainstorm ideas
Clean up ideas (duplicates, NAs), get clarity, add others
Ask “5 Whys” to get to root cause – fatten the fish!
Highlight most significant root causes for further analysis
Time = 30 Minutes
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Cause & Effect Diagram Takeaways
Represents the relationship between an effect (problem) and its potential causes and categorizes causes
Helps ensure that a balanced list of ideas have been generated during brainstorming
Helps us overcome the “theme” or “group think” effect
Sorts and relates the factors affecting a process while little quantifiable data is available
Serves as a discussion guide to assist in determining root causes
Helps determine the real cause of the problem as opposed to just highlighting a symptom of the problem
Helps refine brainstormed ideas into more detailed causes
Helps identify a team's level of understanding
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Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
What
A technique that supplements brainstorming.
A structured approach to generate additional ideas, survey the opinions of a small group and prioritize brainstormed ideas
1 Item Number
Card Rating Value 6
Idea Scores
Idea 1 Totals 8,8,6,7,8,2 6/39
Idea 2 6,5,4,7,3 5/25
Idea N 3,2,2,1 4/8
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Nominal Group Technique Purpose
Why
NGT produces many ideas in a short time
Structured to focus on problems (not people), to open lines of communication and to tolerate conflicting ideas
Builds consensus and commitment to the final result -especially good for highly controversial issues
NGT is most often used after a brainstorming session to help organize ideas into groups and prioritize ideas/groups
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Nominal Group Technique Method
How
If still necessary, process and clarify ideas from brainstorming – duplicates are eliminated, similar ideas are combined
Limit discussion to brief explanations and brief agreement statements - focus on clarification of meaning, not arguing points
Count the total number of ideas and divide by 5. The result is X
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Nominal Group Technique Method
How (Cont.)
Prepare a stack of X number of cards for each participant, where X = the number identified above. Number the cards from 1 to X on the bottom right corner of each card. Give each idea a letter. Each person individually chooses their highest priority idea and puts that idea’s letter on the card with the highest card number. Pick the second priority idea, etc. Until all the cards are filled out. The cards have space for additional comments which may be contributed anonymously.
Tabulate scores and present on a Pareto Chart - share the added comments with the group
There are many approaches to NGT - different ranking and voting procedures can be used
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Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Item Letter
Comments
Card Value
Nominal Group Technique Worksheet
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Nominal Group Technique Takeaways
NGT supplements brainstorming. It is a structured approach to generate additional ideas, survey the opinions of a small group, and prioritize brainstormed ideas
Structured to focus on problems, not people; to open lines of communication; tolerate conflicting ideas
Builds consensus and commitment to the final result. Especially good for highly controversial issues
NGT is most often used after a brainstorming session to help organize ideas into groups and prioritize ideas/groups
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Affinity Diagram
What
A tool for organizing facts, opinions and issues into natural groups as an aid to diagnosing a complex problem.
The inputs are listed on cards which are then rearranged until useful groups are identified
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Affinity Diagram Purpose
Why
To help organize
To help develop central themes
When information about a problem is not well organized
When a breakthrough is needed beyond traditional thinking
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Affinity Diagram Method
How
Assemble the right team
Clearly state the problem to be addressed
Brainstorm ideas and place on Post-its
Clearly display cards on wall as ideas are generated
Without talking, team sorts Post-its into related groups
Create headers for the groups on additional Post-its
Draw the completed diagram
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Affinity Diagram Example
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Affinity Diagram Takeaways
A tool for organizing facts, opinions and issues into natural groups as an aid to diagnosing a complex problem
Helpful when a breakthrough is needed
Helps organize ideas, concepts and/or facts
Allows the development of central themes
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Force-Field Analysis
What
A tool to assist in examining the driving and restraining forces of change that will impact a situation
A tool to help a team understand the forces that keep things the way they are
Driving Forces Restraining Forces
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Force-Field Analysis Purpose
Why
To force creative thinking focused on the issues of change
To build organizational consensus concerning the forces for, and the barriers to, change
To provide an entry point into process improvement initiatives
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Force-Field Analysis Method
How
List all of the driving forces and all the restraining forces to change. Brainstorming and/or Nominal Group Technique can be used to assist in list development
It may be useful to assign weights to the drivers and restraints to indicate the relative strengths of each
Establish a plan to eliminate or reduce all restraining forces
Market and use the driving forces in your implementation planning
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Force-Field Analysis Example
Senior leaders are supportive
Belts are motivated to perform
Projects are being completed
Projects have tangible results
Local training
Some leaders not engaged
Sponsors not driving results
Projects take too long
Weak system of rewards
Achieve LSS project results
Drivers Restrainers
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Force-Field Analysis Takeaways
Assists in examining the driving and restraining forces of a given change
Helps a team understand the forces that keep things the way they are
Forces creative thinking focused on the issues of change
Builds organizational consensus concerning the forces for and the barriers to change
Provide an entry point into process improvement initiatives
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Pareto Chart
A Pareto Chart is a graphical tool to highlight and prioritize multiple problems in a process
Pareto Chart
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Pareto Chart Applications
Human Resources – A Civilian Personnel Office Center, CPOC, human resources manager wants to know which day of the week the greatest number of resumes are received
Information Technology – The CPI team needs to investigate which departments are using the most LAN storage
Accounting – The Morale Welfare & Recreation, MWR, manager wants to review late payments by customer segment
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Pareto Chart Purpose
Pareto Charts help you identify which of your problems are most significant, so you can focus improvement efforts on areas where the largest gains can be made
Pareto Charts are a type of bar chart in which the horizontal axis represents categories of interest, rather than a continuous scale. The categories are often errors, defects or sources or causes of errors/defects
By ordering the bars from largest to smallest, a Pareto Chart can help you determine which of the defects comprise the “vital few,” and which are the “trivial many.” The height of the bars may be based on frequency of occurrence, cost or criticality
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Status
Code not
Updated
Incorrect
Mode of
Shipment
Incorrect
TAC Code
Incorrect
Dept. of Def.
Activity Address
Code (DODAAC)
Incorrect
Document
Number
(DOCNO)
Incorrect
Line Item
Number
(LIN)
12241518
2.44.84.89.535.742.9
100.097.692.988.178.642.9
40
30
20
10
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
Defect
Count
Percent
Cum %
Perc
ent
Co
unt
Requisitions not Received
Pareto Chart – Requisition Receiving Errors
If Requisitions not Received is most important, we should consider focusing our improvement efforts on reducing Incorrect Line Item Numbers and
Incorrect Document Numbers
The Pareto chart bars are divided into causes of not Receiving Requisitions
The vertical axis shows a count of each error type
The red line is a cumulative percentage
“Incorrect Line Item Number” is the most frequent problem, representing 42.9% of the total errors
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Minitab: Pareto Chart Example Open the Minitab dataset
ARFORGEN Progression.MTW
Background
The Army Force Generation progression time is too long
The Army and National Guard are looking for ways to shorten the cycle time
You are a Brigade Operations Officer and you want to assess the overall readiness of your Brigade based on annual data from the Unit Status Report (USR) system
Objective
Identify factor(s) impacting the overall readiness
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Minitab: Pareto Chart Example
Let’s identify some potential factors using the annual data from the Unit Status Report system and a Pareto Chart.
Select Stat>Quality Tools>Pareto Chart
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The count are located in “RAT-CNT” and the category labels are in “CATEGORY”. Since our Labels are in one column and our frequencies are in another, select Chart defects table
Double click on C2 CATEGORY and C1 RAT-CNT above to put the variables here
Click on OK
Minitab: Pareto Chart Example
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The Unit Status Report data set reveals that the primary factor for making the process effective and efficient is to focus on getting Soldiers MOSQ, Military Occupational Skill Qualification, in the first year of the cycle. This is detailed in the Pareto chart below.
MOSQ and EQUIP-FMC contribute to
56.8% of C-Rating for a
unit.
Count 74 47 29 27 18 18
Percent 34.7 22.1 13.6 12.7 8.5 8.5
Cum % 34.7 56.8 70.4 83.1 91.5 100.0
Co
un
t
Pe
rce
nt
CATEGORY SR-GDASSIGNEDAVAILABLEPACE-FMCEQUIP-FMCMOSQ
200
150
100
50
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pareto Chart of Variables Influencing the C-Rating for a Unit
Minitab: Pareto Chart Example
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The Pareto chart below details the contribution of eachcomponent to T-RAT Variable.
Count 28 20 11 10 10 8 8 5
Percent 28.0 20.0 11.0 10.0 10.0 8.0 8.0 5.0
Cum % 28.0 48.0 59.0 69.0 79.0 87.0 95.0 100.0
Co
un
t
Pe
rce
nt
VAR
Othe
r
WTT
ODT
NON-
MET
L
BORD
ER M
SN
NET TN
G
TSCP
MET
L
100
80
60
40
20
0
100
80
60
40
20
0
Pareto Chart of T-RAT VARIABLE
Minitab: Pareto Chart Example
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Pareto Chart Takeaways
A Pareto Chart is a visual tool used to help identify which problems are most significant, so that improvement efforts can be focused where they will have the greatest impact
We can use the Pareto Chart to focus on the area where we can have the greatest financial impact in the least amount of time, or with the fewest resources
Often we see the “80/20 Rule” – where the majority of the errors or defects come from only a small fraction of the problems. Pareto Charts help us focus our limited resources on those areas where we can get the greatest results
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Boxplots
Boxplots, sometimes called box-and-whisker diagrams, are useful for showing the distributional characteristics of data
Boxplots use the concept of placing the data into quartiles (each quartile is 25% of the data)
Boxplots provide an instant picture of variation and some insight into investigation strategies for finding what caused the variation
Shows outliers (data points that are statistically unlikely)
Allows easy comparison of multiple data sets
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Key Components of Boxplots
1 2
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
Third Quartile Line
Median Line
First Quartile Line
Outlier
Whisker shows range for the
lower 25% of the data points
Whisker shows range for the
top 25% of the data points
Inter Quartile Range(IQR or Box Length)
Inter Quartile Range (IQR) = The distance between the Third Quartile Line and the FirstQuartile Line. This includes 50% of your data. Simply stated; IQR = Q3 – Q1
Outlier = A data point is considered an outlier if it is more than 1.5 x IQR above the Third Quartile Line or below the First Quartile Line
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Key Components of Boxplots (Cont.)
This boxplot compares the invoice processing times of 2 associates
Which associate has the lower median? Larger range?
1 2
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
Associate
Invoic
e p
rocessin
g tim
e
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Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
The Anthony’s Pizza Company wants to look at delivery times by store location
Using a boxplot, create a graph that compares the medians and ranges of the different locations
Open the Minitab file Exercise 235.mtw
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1. Select Graph>Boxplot
Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
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2. If we are doing just one Boxplot for Delivery Timemake sure the Simple Boxplot is selected above, and click onOK to go to the next dialog box
3. Double click on C-5 Delivery Timeto place it in the Graph Variables boxand click on OK
Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
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35.0
32.5
30.0
27.5
25.0
De
live
ry T
ime
Boxplot of Delivery Time
Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
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But what if we had wanted to compare Boxplots of Delivery Time By Store?
2. To do multiple Boxplots for Delivery Time by Store, make sure With Groups is selected above, and click onOK to go to the next dialog box
3. Double click on C-5 Delivery Timeto place it in the Graph Variables boxand double click on C-3 Store Locationto put it in the Categorical variables box,and then click on OK
Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
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UptownMidtownDowntown
35.0
32.5
30.0
27.5
25.0
Store Location
De
live
ry T
ime
Boxplot of Delivery Time
Minitab: Boxplot Exercise
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Cause & Effect Diagram Template
Lack of Seats
Lack of Funds
Delays in elevating
Impasse issues
(Type of Space)
(Y) Effect:
PLT = 5 days
(why too long)
Facilities & EquipmentManpower
Mother Nature
Unforeseen
Circumstances
Materials
Methods Measurements
No Standardization of seats
Getting Seats Takes Time
Lack of Controls
Lack of Controls
Multiple Paths
Inequality in seats
PeopleFacilities
Lack of Database
Collocation
Unplanned Programs
Senior Leadership
Mold, HVAC Crashes
Competency vs. PMA
CAO/IPT
Too Long (Time)
Lack of Knowledge
“Dedicated” to Task
Approvals
New Codes
Old Buildings
Wrong Location
Not Suited for
Current Mission
Space
No Suitable space to Assign
Time Avail to
Wait
Vague
Reqmts
Funding Decision
(Competing forSame Space)
Location
Senior Leader
Required Deliverable
- Example -
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SouthNorth
EastOthers
100 50 15 6
58.5 29.2 8.8 3.5
58.5 87.7 96.5 100.0
0
50
100
150
0
20
40
60
80
100
Defect
CountPercentCum %
Perc
ent
Count
Pareto Chart
Pareto Plot Analysis Template
The South and North contain over 80% of the defects. Our
project will focus here and not on the East and West.
- Example -
Optional Deliverable
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Takeaways
Brainstorming is the backbone of idea generation
Cause & Effect Charts help us balance our brainstorming among the categories and help us to visualize relationships
Nominal Group Technique helps prioritize brainstormed ideas so that attention is focused appropriately
Affinity Diagrams further organize and group ideas to help us get a better grasp on complex processes or large numbers of ideas
Force-Field Analysis helps us identify the driving and restraining forces of a change, so that we can better facilitate the change
Pareto Charts organize and prioritize information or ideas from the other tools, so that we can prioritize our efforts and determine where we need to focus our limited resources within the time period available to us
Boxplots are graphs used to visualize both the median and the range of a process and allow for easy graphical comparison of multiple data sets
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What other comments or questions
do you have?
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References
Pyzdek, Thomas, The Six Sigma Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 2003
Hildebrand, David H. & Ott, R. Lyman, Statistical Thinking for Managers, Duxbury Press, Pacific Grove, CA, 1998
Kiemele, Mark J. & Schmidt, Stephen R. & Berdine, Ronald J., Basic Statistics Tools for Continuous Improvement, Air Academy Press, Colorado Springs, CO, 2000
Schmidt, Stephen R. & Launsby, Robert G., Understanding Industrial Designed Experiments, Air Academy Press, Colorado Springs, CO, 2000
Minitab, Inc. 3081 Enterprise Dr., State College, PA 16801, 800-448-3555
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RC ARFORGEN Progression Data Sets
Dataset
VARIABLEDEFINITION
(reference: AR 220-1)
CONTROL The aggregate number of required personnel, equipment on-hand, and
the number of collective training events for that year, per unit.
C-RAT The degree to which a unit has achieved prescribed levels of fill for
personnel, equipment, the operational readiness status of available
equipment, and the training proficiency status of the unit.
S-RAT Equipment supply status of a unit – equipment on-hand is based on the
quantity and type of required equipment that is available to the unit .
P-RAT Personnel status of a unit – based on the number and type of required
personnel available to the unit for the execution of the wartime or
primary mission for which the unit is organized or designed.
T-RAT Unit training status is based upon the unit commander’s assessment of
the unit’s training proficiency on mission-essential tasks, the number of
days required to achieve or sustain full mission-essential task
proficiency.