Lean Problem Solving Workshop - Total Systems Development

Lean Situational Practical Problem Solving Workshop

A workshop from a Lean Sensei on Toyota’s true problem solving technique. Train your team in these lean critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Gain critical thinking and problem solving skills from a Toyota-trained Lean Sensei by hosting a workshop

This workshop introduces participants to the lean “Situational Practical Problem Solving” (SPPS) method, as developed and refined by Tom Adair, the Toyota-trained Lean Sensei responsible for developing the problem solving curriculum in Toyota’s first North American plant in Georgetown Kentucky. The method, tools, and techniques you’ll gain from this workshop are the same ones used extensively in the Toyota Production System, or TPS, across the US and Canada.

Takeaways

Understand problem solving and how it translates from theory to practice
Recognize key problem indicators
Learn to ask relevant questions (the “5 Whys)
Learn to pursue the most efficient solution
Learn to deal with complex problems and multiple causes
Raise problems from your own workplace
Participate in roundtable discussions with the instructor and other participants

Structure

This 2-day course, delivered on or off-site, is interactive, participatory and customizable. We focus on the practical aspects of problem solving: what you do, why you do it, and how you do it. Newly learned concepts and techniques are discussed in relation to real-world problem examples as participants experience a full 16 hour program complete with hard copy and digital materials.

Agenda

Day 1

Engage participants and assess their various skill levels
Discuss traps and mistakes commonly made when solving problems
Overview of SPPS
Problem Identification
Grasping the Situation
Cause Investigation

Day 2

Countermeasures
Follow-up
Case Study with multiple causes
Discussion of participants’ own problems, their application of SPPS, and guidance customizing reports
Review, recommendations and additional questions and answers period

Materials

Our workshop includes presentation material, checklists and a copy Tom Adair’s recently released e-book, “SOLVED! An Approach to Situational Practical Problem Solving,” upon which our workshop is based. Tom’s book is also available on Amazon and it is a valuable resource for anyone interested or responsible for problem solving.

Instructor

Tom Adair is an internationally known author, lecturer, coach, and Toyota-trained Lean Sensei. He is a veteran of Toyota’s first North American plant in Georgetown Kentucky, retiring as their Quality Circle Administrator with nearly 20 years of service. He was one of the three original instructors who developed Toyota’s practical problem solving methodology, spending nineteen years coaching on the floor and teaching problem solving methods and tools to thousands of Toyota managers and employees. He authored numerous Toyota instructional books, including their first book on practical problem solving (still in use across North America).

He went on to teach problem solving to the US Air Force, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and companies in industries as diverse as automotive, pharmaceutical, and healthcare, to name just a few. Also, he has designed and implemented lean-based improvements and systems around the world for the US military and major international companies. He has trained and coached everyone from corporation leaders to on-the-ground workforce in such subjects as culture change, problem solving and critical thinking, all essential in developing a learning organization.

“When confronting what seems like an unsolvable problem, the “facts” aren’t necessarily that, and it is only when you recognize it through the repeated practices of critical thinking and problem solving that you find your way to the root cause and the most effective solution.”

Call (859.543.9090), fill out the form to the right, or contact us to discuss your problem solving needs and our prices and availability.