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Effective problem solving isn't just a quality function, and it's not just for operations or engineering. Effective problem solving is a valuable skill set needed throughout an organization. By working through a plausible scenario, you'll assess your own problem-solving skills and experience how tempting it is to jump to solutions or try to fix the problem without investigating and understanding all the underlying causes. Though sometimes effective in the short-term, jumping to solutions can be unreliable, wasting time, money, and effort.

How do you solve a problem? Do you find yourself using quick and easy solutions or a structured methodology? Too often, organizations tend to seek quick solutions to a problem without adequately addressing its underlying cause. These decisions often result in solutions that don't work or aren't sustainable, often wasting time, effort, and money. To combat these issues and adopt a fresh approach, teams can use the methods and tools of root cause problem solving.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is an essential part of any product design or redesign activity. FMEA is a proactive, quantitative, qualitative, step-by-step approach for identifying and analyzing all potential points of failure in any product or service. This team-based activity can dramatically improve product performance. It can also reduce manufacturing issues at the component, system, and processing levels. This module gives a high-level overview of FMEA facts: WHAT an FMEA is, WHY they are used, WHEN an FMEA is created, WHO is on the FMEA development team, and HOW the FMEA form is completed.