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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.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool used to analyze how a design reacts under real-world conditions. Useful in structural, vibration, and thermal analysis, FEA has been widely implemented by automotive companies and is used by design engineers as a tool during the product development process. Design engineers analyze their own designs while they are still in the form of easily modifiable CAD models to allow for quick turnaround times and to ensure prompt implementation of analysis results in the design process.

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.

Design of Experiments (DOE) is a methodology that can be effective for general problem solving, as well as for improving or optimizing product design and manufacturing processes. Specific applications of DOE include, but are not limited to, identifying root causes to quality or production problems, identifying optimized design and process settings, achieving robust designs, and generating predictive math models that describe physical system behavior. This introductory eLearning course provides an example scenario to give learners the opportunity to discover situations that may warrant a designed experiment.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool used to analyze how a design reacts under real-world conditions. Useful in structural, vibration, and thermal analysis, FEA has been widely implemented by automotive companies. It's used by design engineers as a design tool during the product development process because it allows them to analyze their own designs while they are still in the form of easily modifiable CAD models, providing quick turnaround times and ensuring prompt implementation of analysis results in the design process.

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.