During the year since PDSS' Problem Prevention steps were outlined in this newsletter, Skip Creveling, President of PDSS Inc., has been refining and clarifying the problem prevention model, in preparation for publishing a book on the subject. Among other enhancements to the model, two steps have been added to the six steps originally presented in the October and November 2009 issues of this newsletter.

The previous steps were written as:

1.   Plan and rank tasks of the prevention project

2.   Define Potential Problems

3.   Document and evaluate the root causes

4.   Define preventive actions

5.   Define contingency actions

6.   Re-use learning

The updated model now has 8 steps:

1.   Define the specific actions that make up the flow of tasks you want to accomplish

2.   Identify and document potential problems within and across the flow of tasks

3.   Identify, document and analyze root causes of the potential problems

4.   Define the risk profile of each of the potential problems *NEW*

5.   Design and apply preventive actions

6.   Design and activate contingency actions

7.   Design and activate corrective actions for when we get blindsided *NEW*

8.   Document and re-use lessons learned

New step #4: Define the risk profile of each of the potential problems

Defining the risk associated with each potential problem includes answering these three questions:

1.   What is the likelihood of the potential problem actually occurring?

2.   What can be measured to detect the early onset of the problem? 

3.   What is the severity of the problem's impact if we do nothing to stop it from occurring?

Each of these contributors to our risk profile can be assessed on a scale of 1 to 10 and used to quantify their magnitude. These risk numbers are called the Preventive Priority Number (PPN) and the Contingent Priority Number (CPN). Risk is calculated separately for preventive and contingent actions so they can be directly compared.

This exercise will clarify the risk associated with applying prevention versus contingent action. Contingent action is often favored due to cost. Monitoring for leading indicators is often cheaper than outright preventive action, but this step will help determine which to pursue.

During step #4, we only consider potential problems we can anticipate. What about problems we can't foresee or that blind-side us? The problem prevention model now addresses that with the new step #7.

New Step #7: Design and activate corrective actions for when we get blind-sided

The goal here is to be prepared much as a fire department or ambulance service. Fire fighters and emergency responders are well prepared to apply corrective actions once an emergency is detected. A fire has started or an accident has happened and the pre-planned reaction to such "surprises" is ready to be used. In modern business there is a well-known set of steps to correct problems called Lean Six Sigma (LSS), also known as the D-M-A-I-C (pronounced Dee-may-ick) process, as follows:

1.   Define the problem now that it has been discovered

2.   Measure the process in which the problem has occurred

3.   Analyze the data for root causes of the problem

4.   Improve the process such that the problem is corrected at the level of its root causes

5.   Control the process so that the problem cannot resurface without being detected

Happily, many of the tools and best practices for problem solving are easily adapted for use in problem prevention. If you are trained as a Green Belt, Black Belt or Master Black Belt in LSS you know most, if not all, of the tools and best practices needed for problem prevention. We recommend LSS; it is globally recognized for its problem-solving effectiveness. With respect to problem prevention, however, the key is that using LSS means the problem has already occurred and was not prevented!