Are you getting to the root of the problem?

  • Published
  • By Robert Wade
  • 47th AFSO21 Program Management Office
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  We have a saying in the LEAN world, "Someone wet their pants, now everyone has to wear a diaper." This is a pretty accurate analogy for how we often deal with problems that come up.
It is the knee-jerk or blanket response usually expressed as an overreaction when one or more of our processes fail dramatically.

Don't misunderstand me; sometimes a failure is so huge that the only way to protect life or assets is to initially take an immediate "knock it off" approach. But this should not be our response in every situation, and it should not become our new way of doing business. It should be used as a way to stabilize the situation so that proper Root Cause Analysis can be run. The eight-step model in AFSO21 is the perfect tool to walk us through the problem, the performance gaps, RCA, countermeasures and a get-well plan.

Any time you see a process failure, resist the urge to jump to conclusions. Usually what you perceive to be the problem and solution are merely applying triage to a symptom, not the real problem. And, unfortunately, the solution you apply will often create more pain, more waste and only mask the true issue.

Have a process failure? Contact Robert Wade at Laughlin's AFSO21 office at 298-5843 if you'd like assistance looking at your processes to make a leaner, more agile Air Force.