Stage 1 Problem identification

In the preparation stage, many of the analytical or problem identification techniques, described in the paragraphs on the continuous improvement aspects of TQM, are very useful. These methods include Ishikawa Fishbone Diagrams, Pareto Charts, and Flow Charts etc. (see Section B, 3.4). 

There are several successive interactive stages by which an environmental risk assessment proceeds. Problem identification is the most important activity, describing the resources, which could be affected, and the possible consequences of the action. 

Used in iterative design stage for problem identification. 

Engineering designing process is a five-stage sequential process with stages called Problem Identification, Problem Formulation, Conceptual Designing, Preliminary Designing, and Detailed Designing. ... 

The following procedure is mostly based on classical TRIZ, as Altshuller developed it. However, it has been modified by the Author. Also, for the benefit of readers, the use of the innovation situation questionnaire (ISQ) has been incorporated into the first stage of the procedure (problem identification), although ISQ was developed much later than Altshuller s original TRIZ. (The ISQ was developed at the Kishinev School of TRIZ in Moldavia in the late 1980s, about 40 years after the initial ideas of TRIZ were formulated.)... 

With the exception of the problem identification (discussed with examples in Section 5.3), all stages of the procedure are explained using the same example. Therefore, no separate TRIZ example is provided. 

The problem identification stage provides information about the input and output of the system, the function of the system, and the functions of its individual elements and subelements. 

Through an assembly sequence diagram for each component in the product, the assembly variability risks highlighted by an analysis are logically mapped. An assembly sequence declaration compels the designer to focus on each stage in the assembly and therefore makes the task of identification of potential problems much easier. 

Column temperature alarm Not a complete indication at this stage. It may be a spurious alarm Cross-examine related indicators Data collection Can operator acquire irrelevant or insufficient data Can operator fail to crosscheck for spurious indications Identification/lnterpretation Can operator fail to consider all possible system states and causes of problem Can operator fail to perform a correct evaluation Can operator fixate on the wrong cause Goal Selection Can operator fail to consider possible side-effects Can operator fail to consider alternative goals Can operator fixate on the wrong goal ... 

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