Published February 2020
Solving problems is as fundamental to work as dribbling and shooting is to basketball. Regardless of the type of job, hardly a workday goes by without at least one glitch. The ability to resolve issues so that customers are protected from the fallout and problems don’t resurface is key to any organization’s success.
Most readers probably associate the ability to solve problems as an innate skill, similar to artistic talent or athletic abilities. But proven methods have been developed for guiding one through this seemingly ambiguous process. Just as closely following a proven recipe allows the cuisinely-challenged to cook a delicious meal, disciplined step-by-step application of a problem-solving method results in better fixes. Allow me a recent example using the proven A3 method:
Step 1 – Background:
A couple of weeks ago we were baking a coffee cake for a workshop the following morning. After roughly five minutes, something smelled hot. We opened the oven door to find the coffee cake in flames!
Step 2 – Current Conditions:
The intent of this step is to list everything that could be pertinent to the issue. In our case we listed such things as the age and model number of the oven (which subsequently saved us from searching for the ID tag several times). We took a picture of the coffee cake with the top completely charred and noted that, in hindsight, the preheat cycle had seemed unusually fast.
Testing various (empty) oven cycles (Bake, Keep Warm, Rapid Preheat) identified that the broil element was glowing continuously. Online research indicated that the only time the broil element should glow is during the Broil cycle. (Now we’re getting somewhere … that explains the charred top of our coffee cake!).
A quick check with an ohmmeter confirmed that the resistance of the thermocouple and broil element were within the expected range.
Step 3 – Goal
The goal was to safely and cost effectively restore the baking function to our oven. Oh, and better be quick as Janet was already reading consumer reviews for new ovens online.
Step 3.5 – Containment
This is actually a step borrowed from the 8D method. We need to ensure that customers (and workers) are shielded from the problem. In our case, this Containment started as soon as we rushed the smoking coffee cake out of the house and cut power to the oven.
A quick trip to the neighborhood grocery stored netted pastries for the workshop. We identified meals for the next couple of days that didn’t require an oven. If we got into a real jam, we figured we could use a neighbor’s oven (who conveniently had asked us to watch the house while on vacation).
Step 4 – Analysis
This is a critical step where the true detective work occurs. We want to identify the root cause of the problem so that we address it, rather than simply a symptom of the problem. While a number of specific tools can be used, we opted to use 5 WHYs. The idea is to keep asking “Why” until the root cause is reached.
The oven burned the coffee cake!
Why?
The broil element is on continuously!
Why?
The oven control board is malfunctioning, sending continuous current to the broil element?
Why?
The broil element relay on the control board is failed and stuck in the closed position!
A skilled electronics technician may have tested to verify that the relay was indeed bad. We relied instead on a little online research indicating that we now belonged to the not-so-exclusive Sticking Relay Club. Note that, although the tool is called 5 WHYs, my example reached the root cause after three iterations. It wasn’t particularly important to me why the relay stuck since it was a small, inexpensive electrical component.
We could now rather confidently trace the torturous death of our beautiful coffee cake to a specific electronic relay about the size of chunk of a Hershey’s chocolate bar. Book ‘em Danno!
Step 5 – Potential Countermeasures
Once the root cause is known, this unique step forces one to consider all of the potential means of addressing it. We brainstormed the following list:
Step 6 – Plan
In this step we decide what countermeasures we will investigate and assign appropriate actions.
An attempt to dislodge the relay was unsuccessful. We knew this was a long shot, but had nothing to lose.
Our next step in the plan was to investigate the cost of the replacement options. A new comparable oven would set us back roughly $1200 and a new control board about $300, while replacing just the relay would run $8 (and a six-pack for one of my expert soldering chiphead friends).
Reviewing the wiring diagram – which was miraculously stored on the back of the oven – revealed that the broiler could be safely disabled by simply unplugging a plug to the control board. The plug also served the convection function. Fortunately, we use the broil and convection functions about as often as Iowa holds presidential caucuses. We opted to pursue this. This allowed us to meet our goal for a safe, quick and cost-effective solution.
Step 7 – Follow-Up
The goal of this step is to ensure that the countermeasure(s) selected effectively resolve the problem and to proactively determine if the solution can be utilized elsewhere.
Using the advice of a friend, we successfully baked a batch of cookies “just to make sure everything is working right.” (They were delicious!)
We will continue to monitor how often we wish we had the broil or convection functions and, if necessary, pursue replacing the defective relay.
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