French version
Last update: February 27th, 2000
French version
Last update: February 27th, 2000
Handicraft relies most often upon specific know-how. Masters teach their apprentice through extensive
practical training.
This know-how is hardly written nor formalized.
Rigor and repeatability in industry would not exist without task formalization. Procedures, work guides, protocoles. Everything established with engineer's science which weights, measures, calculates and discribes what to do, how to do, to reproduce efficiently goods, without workers needing prior specific know-how, all thanks to standardization.
Need for formalization increases, especialy because of new standards ISO 9000, HACCP. These standards demand procedures, proofs, traceability and so on.
Checklist is a simple but efficient tool to list up exhaustively operations or controls to perform. Checklists can request to go through them in a specific order or items be sorted by priority order. More than only fool-proofing, a checklist can be a procedure. Checklist makes even more sense if person in charge of controls puts a check mark as a proof of validation.
Checklists gain high interest if they combine operation guide and registration of these operations on a single document. Even for employees performing routine job, checklist prevents drifts and omission. Specific check mark or signature, as a proof of task fulfilment, engages staff and forces scrutiny.
In case of problem, control of checklists themselves helps to verify if every single task of the list was properly performed. If a checklist bears a checkmark but obviously the job wasn't done, personal hearing must clear if it is a case of negligence, thoughtlessness or sabotage.
Checklists sometimes carry negative image, associated to constraining systems designed against careless employees, but they remain nevertheless efficient fool-proof devices as well as a basic tool forcing rigor. Well known example is air travel made safe by thorough controls performed with checklists.
Checklist isn't limited to quality management, a shoping list is a checklist also.
Most managers add task lists sorted by priority level in their organizers. Adept of checklists for my own personal planning, I can tell about "productivity" and efficiency gains!
Did you ever experience this strange situation; you long sought solution to a probleme hopelessly and as soon as you begin to explain the problem to someone else, the solution comes before you even finished to explain.
As a manager, how many times did I send back a subordinate informer just because his message carried no information!
Feedback accuracy is always a problem as long as a certain level of rigor is not demanded. Few people have a natural sense for gathering, sorting and display data in an easy to understand and accurate way.
Some problems have obvious solution and do not request long studying to be solved. Some show much more complex; they need additional data. The better data are displayed, the easier problem can be fully understood and the easier solved.
Managers, foremen or line leaders often got called by their subordinates for a problem which importance and suddenness shows in the excitement of reporters. But to the most basic questions like: how long do you have this problem? How many units? What percentage of failure? Answers too often are just fuzzy impressions; It lasts for long! Oh yes we have plenty! Percentage, I don't know…
Manager will have to go for accuracy by himself, or send messenger back, to seek more useful information. Meanwhile, if problem was serious, nothing is done to limit its effects or recover the situation.
Panic as well as good will, eventualy the fear not to react swiftly enough and probably lack of proper method make people run this way.
When a bigger problem occurs and after checking its reality, it is likely to set up emergency measures. Then a minimum data should be gathered before to inform and decide. Once elementary information is gathered, feedback will be much clearer and reaction to problem more efficient.
4W2H Method consist of asking 6 basic questions:
| Question | Example |
| Whom it concerns? | responsible, victim, actor... |
| What is it? | Object, method, operation... |
| Where? | location , division, workshop, process... |
| When? | date, duration, frequency, planing... |
| How did it happen? | means, material, procedure, maner... |
| How much, How many? | time, money, quantity, percentage... |
For every question add a complementary Why?
4W2H is a simple yet efficient mnemotechnic way to keep 6 basic questions in mind.
Note: I translated these 4W2H from their French equivalents. If this method is comonly known by a specific name and/or other mnemonics, I would be grateful to get feedback!
It can be useful to use a form of this kind:
4W2H
FormProblem :
Informer :
Date :
Who? is concerned/in charge? |
Why? |
||
| What? What is it about? |
Why? |
||
| Where? location... |
Why? |
||
| When?frequency,duration |
Why? |
||
| How did it occur? circumstances,means |
Why? |
||
| How many? delay, Qty, % |
Why? |
Inform:
Simple and efficient.
Always check by yourself information you're served, because recalls aren't accurate, human perceves always subjectively.
Let me know your opinion
