Addressing Secondary Problems the Last Obstacle on the Way of Successful Problem Solving with TRIZ

Transcription

1 Addressing Secondary Problems the Last Obstacle on the Way of Successful Problem Solving with TRIZ Boris Zlotin and Alla Zusman Ideation International Abstract In Classical TRIZ, limited consideration was given to secondary issues arising in the process of problem solving (step 7.4 in ARIZ-85C recommending thinking about sub-problems that could appear during further development and implementation of the obtained solutions). Unfortunately, even comprehensive TRIZ courses were not long enough to pay proper attention to the last parts of ARIZ. Besides, typical training case studies lacked detail about the real system (situation) while students in most cases had to work with problems out of their professional areas making revealing secondary problems (possible side effects and other drawbacks associated with the obtained solution) on their own very difficult. Moreover, the most typical short TRIZ courses at best included one of the abridged versions of ARIZ from which these parts were typically dropped. At the same time, the importance of addressing secondary (consequent) problems has been increasing with widening practical (professional) application of TRIZ. In fact, the higher is the level of the obtained solution, the wider is the range of subsequent problems (in numbers and complexity) that must be resolved to ensure successful implementation. The proposed paper will address the most typical situations and types of secondary problems and practical recommendations on how to approach them. The paper also will include a number of practical cases illustrating the importance of formulating and prompt resolution of secondary problems. 1

2 Introduction Mice were celebrating: their genius scientist has finally suggested a solution to the greatest danger place a bell on the cat s neck. But how to do this? one little mouse dared to ask. Well, this is a secondary issue said the genius give it to engineers, they will figure out something. It is not a secret that a pathway from a concept to a real working system could be rather thorny, especially if new problems appear quite unexpectedly and sometimes long after solutions had been accepted and sent for implementation. Certain attempts to address secondary issues were made in Classical TRIZ, for example step 7.4 in ARIZ-85C 1 that recommended thinking about sub-problems that could appear during further development, and 76 Standard Solutions, Class 5. How to apply standard solutions 2. Unfortunately, these recommendations were of a limited help for the following reasons (not in any particular order): Absence of specific instructions/ tools how to unveil and handle secondary problems Even comprehensive TRIZ courses were not long enough to pay proper attention to the last parts of ARIZ. Typical training case studies lacked detail about the real system (situation) prohibiting formulation of secondary problems. For the majority of students, training case studies were out of their professional expertise making revealing secondary problems on their own very difficult. Today s most typical short TRIZ courses at best include one of the abridged versions of ARIZ from which these parts are typically omitted. Given the above, the first TRIZ practitioners had to handle secondary issues to the best of their abilities. 1 Altshuller, Genrich. ARIZ-85C. Tools of Classical TRIZ. Ideation International Inc., Altshuller, Genrich. 76 Standard Solutions. Tools of Classical TRIZ. Ideation International Inc.,

3 An old case study In 1977, one of the authors faced a problem with low quality and high cost of production of certain electric contacts (see the picture bellow). The contact design is as follows. Two copper plates holding silver contacts are fixed on a plastic pad. For better suppression of electric arc appearing during circuit breaking, copper plates are also provided with magnets creating magnetic field helping breaking the arc. Fig.1. Unfortunately, these magnets represented a source of numerous undesired effects (UE) as follows: Magnets are manufactured via casting from an expensive hard (and very brittle) magnetic alloy making its mechanical treatment quite difficult. To attach a magnet to the plate, a hole with 0.5 mm diameter for a rivet was created in the process of casting, making the casting process costly (UE1), complicated and prone to production defects, reject about 5-10% (UE2). After casting, a hole in a future magnet is plugged with the casting material baked into a hard ceramic-like mass that has to be removed (UE3). To do it, several ways have been tried, including drilling (didn t work because of high hardness of the mass), chemical etching (too long); finally they chose hollowing the mass out in spite of requiring additional labor (UE4) and the fact that up to 10 % of future magnets were getting cracks (UE5) or even becoming broken (UE6). Next, the parts are magnetized; however, magnetic fields of magnets with cracks were not consistent (UE7). To fix it, magnets have to be screened costing additional labor (UE8). The reject on this operation about 15%. Other undesired effects included: Ready magnets are fixed to the plates using a rivet gun. From time to time brittle magnets would break (UE10) during riveting, additional reject 10-20% (UE11). Attempts to control the force of the rivet gun allowed for weak rivets (UE12) that would fall out (UE13) and get into the device creating mechanical (UE14) and/or electric (UE15) hazard. 3

4 Half of the magnets have to be positioned on the plate with north pole up and the other half the opposite. To ensure the right position, the first half of the magnets is marked with a red spot on their upper part. Both magnetizing and marking operations are tedious and laborious because of the small size of magnets (UE16 and UE17). During TRIZ analysis, a suggestion was made that riveting can cause uncontrollable demagnetizing (UE18) impact. Special checkup of assembled magnets confirmed that none of them had the required magnet field. On the picture below, one can see the cause-effect diagram 3 reflecting the above. Fig.2. Cause-effect diagram Secondary issues and problems Any change in the system is always accompanied by the occurrence of secondary issues. This name does not reflect their importance (or lack of it), but is used only to represent their occurrence as the result or consequence of resolving the primary (i.e., initial) problem. In many cases, secondary issues represent conventional engineering tasks and are addressed 3 For better understanding, all diagrams have been built recently with the utilization of the Problem Formulator module from the Innovation WorkBench software that wasn t available at the time of the original problem solving. 4

5 accordingly. In other cases, the issues become problems because there is no conventional way to handle them and novel (creative) approaches are required. In general, secondary problems reflect the fact that any improvement in one system characteristic usually produces side effects seen in other characteristics; these side effects might be undesired or harmful, and they are either apparent or non-obvious (hidden). Analysis of the diagram above has shown that there were two types of secondary issues in this case: Undesired effects Means to provide the required result In both cases, secondary issues practically always create chains. The chains associated with undesired effects are quite annoying while fixing the harm associated with one operation or a drawback, another one is created as result and this situation can repeat itself more than once (see the picture below). Fig. 3. Chain of undesired effects For example, in the case above, we can see that: The need to have a hole in the magnet causes the hole filled up with the casting mass (UE3) and because of that correcting operation is required cleaning the casting mass from the hole Cleaning the casting mass from the hole causing cracks in magnets (UE5) Cracks in magnets (UE5) cause inconsistent magnet field (UE7) To prevent defective magnets, a new correcting operation is introduced sorting magnets that in turn causes extra costs (UE8) Chains of positive functions or factors (Fig.4) are not harmless either because when treated in conventional way they make the systems more complex and increase the number of undesired effects (as it was mentioned above, any change can be a source of a new side effect). 5

6 From our practical experience, the following secondary issues/problems are typical: Fig.4. Typical chain of positive factors Problems arising in the process of realization of high level inventions. As a rule, their implementation takes a long time because of unresolved secondary issues 4. Issues arising from adapting known engineering solutions to the specifics of the current situation coordinating with other systems elements, new environment, requirements, etc. Unintended consequences issues associated with the fact that in the majority of cases, short and long term results of changes are rather opposite; changes that bring positive results at first produce unexpected problems later. Various issues arising as a result of changes dictated by the system environment and its evolution (improvements, optimization, etc.) There are two typical conventional approaches to the situations described above. One of them is falling in the trap of addressing numerous secondary issues one after another resulting in systems that are overdesigned and prone to numerous (often unexpected) new problems. 4 Zlotin, Boris and Alla Zusman. Levels of Invention. Presented at TRIZCON

7 The other case is when the occurrence of secondary problems becomes a reason to reject a primary solution and abandon not only its implementation but also any related testing, etc., despite its apparent advantages. At the same time, solvability of secondary problems is a crucial factor in estimation of implementation time. In certain cases, secondary problems may be more difficult than the original one; if a secondary problem cannot be solved given the current technological means, one cannot count on successful implementation of the original invention any time soon. Interestingly, Professor Devendra Sahal 5 considered technological evolution mainly as a process of sequentially addressing multiple secondary problems (without calling them secondary). Solving numerous problems that are multiplying with each new solution could be a serious challenge. No wonder that in the absence of effective methods for inventive problem solving Genichi Taguchi, one of the originators of the quality management in mid-1940s, insisted on optimization rather than problem solving 6. Optimization is based on statistics and representing a central part of Six Sigma techniques that became quite popular in the 1990s and 2000s; providing increasing quality and cost reduction. However, at some point further system improvement required inventive approach demonstrating limitations of statistical methods. Back to the old case study Analysis of the situation with the case described above has shown that the majority of undesired effects were associated with one poorly solved problem A: fixing magnets on the plates using rivets (UE1, UE2, UE3, UE4, UE5, UE6, UE7, UE8, UE9, UE10, UE11, UE12, UE13, UE14, UE15, UE18) The remaining undesired effects were associated with the problem B: magnetization of magnets paying attention to their polarity (UE16 and UE17). Given the above, it took just a common sense to realize that one should look for better solutions of these two problems targeting elimination of the undesired effects. Solution to Problem A. The problem A was solved using existing resource plastic pad (see the picture on the left). In the plastic pad with slightly increased height, a special nest was formed allowing placing the magnet and supporting it with the copper plate from the other side. Fig. 5. This new way didn t require a rivet, eliminating all undesired effects associated with riveting. Additional benefit resulted from this solution: the contact design became more rigid which increased the reliability and longevity of the device. 5 Sahal, Devendra. Patterns of Technological Evolution, Taguchi, Genichi, creator of Taguchi Methods and quality engineering. 7

8 Solution to Problem B. Conduct magnetization after the future magnet is in its place (see the picture on the left). After magnet is positioned on the plate, one should place the plate into the magnetizing coil like a plug into a socket. After checking the magnet field, the part is pushed out by a spring onto the conveyer belt. Fig. 6. The most important benefits from the solutions described above included: Substantial reduction of consumption of silver, copper and magnet alloy materials (with the slight increase of inexpensive plastic material) due to elimination of waste associated with rejects. Significant reduction of labor Possibility to automate the device assembly Higher quality of magnets improved the device performance (electric arc suppression) Overall: cost reduction by half, elimination of production defects, increasing reliability and longevity of contacts. TRIZ and secondary problems As it was mentioned earlier, Classical TRIZ didn t provide effective tools for addressing secondary problems; it was assumed that because a secondary problem is also a problem, standard TRIZ approach and instruments should apply. The first specialized instrument to address the situations like described above was trimming technique suggested by Vladimir Gerasimov and Simon Litvin in the mid 1980s 7. This technique recommended a number of sequential steps based on functional analysis and functions ranking (primary, auxiliary, secondary, harmful, etc.). Practical TRIZ experience has shown that although in certain cases solving selected secondary problems could be beneficial, from the Ideality point of view, one shouldn t allow the occurrence of long chains and overdesign. In situations when these chains already exist (like the case described above) there is no sense to address each undesired effect separately; it is much better to 7 Gerasimov, Vladimir and Simon Litvin. Utilization of patterns of technological evolution in conducting Value Engineering analysis of manufacturing processes. Collection of articles Practical cases of VEA in electro-technical cal industry (In Russian) 8

9 follow the problem to its roots reconstructing the initial situation revealing previously poorly solved initial or key problem(s) in the beginning of the chain and find a better solution for it. Since the mid 1990s, the authors and their Ideation colleagues has developed a number of instruments (mainly software supported) to address secondary issues, including: The Innovation Situation Questionnaire (ISQ) allowing to relatively quickly yet thorough document the problem situation (see an abbreviated version in the Appendix 1). Problem Formulator allowing to graphically depict the situation in cause-effect relationships (making key problems easy to recognize) and automatically generate a practically exhaustive set of possible problem statements to address 8. Idealization process, including a set of Operators and illustrations for increasing systems Ideality(see Appendix 2) Value-Quality Engineering 9 approach targeting simultaneous cost reduction and quality improvement). Anticipatory Failure Determination (Failure Prediction) techniques to timely foresee and resolve potential secondary problems (unintended consequences) 10. Secondary issues in product development The current level of technology has led to a situation when a new product development is rarely done from scratch or controlled by one company. More often than not, the product development includes the following two main steps: Search for existing modules that could provide required functions/features Revealing and solving various problems to make sure they can work together, adapting and if necessary improving them. In this situation, work with secondary problems includes: Achieving coordination between modules parameters, including structure, materials, reliability, and other parameters Utilizing Failure Prediction to reveal potential problems associated with modules integration 8 Rules and recommendations on how to build diagrams one can see in the book Directed Evolution by Zlotin, Boris and Alla Zusman, Zlotin Boris and Alla Zusman. Value Quality Engineering. TRIZ in Progress. Transactions of the Ideation research Group. Ideation International Inc., Visnepolschi, Svetlana. How to Deal with Failures (The Smart Way). Ideation International Inc

10 Another case study In another situation, it was necessary to improve the process of centrifugal separation of flakes of solid material (a product of a chemical reaction) from extremely chemically active mother-iquor. The problems that have to be addressed were as follows: Higher energy consumption Separated flakes had different sizes reducing quality of the product High level of noise Strong vibration that required facilities with strong and expensive foundations Frequent breakages causing halting production for repairs These problems were not new for the industry; in fact, they existed from the very beginning; however, in spite of the above, centrifuges have been working for many decades until the late 1990s when the issues mentioned above started becoming more and more severe because of the following new factors: Dramatic increase of energy cost Higher attention to human health hazards High labor consumption of repairs, etc. Given the fact that centrifugal technology has reached its maturity quite a while ago leaving scarce resources for improvement, resolving these secondary issues represented a serious challenge. Studies of the history of the problem (a mandatory step in completing the Innovation Situation Questionnaire, see Appendix 1) have revealed that in early 1950s when the separation technology was in development, two favorite options were in consideration: separation on centrifuges and on meshes. The latter method was much simpler; however, only meshes from platinum were strong enough to survive in the aggressive chemical environment good enough for lab experiments but unacceptable for mass production as that would require tons of platinum, leaving no choice but select centrifuges. At the same time, continuation of historical studies has produced another result: in 1965 a new material has been invented a polyamide plastic named Kevlar that had all necessary qualities (mechanical and chemical strength) to become ideal for separation meshes. In fact, in early 1970s these meshes proved to be extremely effective in orange juice production (used for separating juice from the pulp). Unfortunately, these facts went unnoticed by the separation industry that continued struggling with centrifuges for another 25 years. The suggestion to utilize Kevlar meshes instead of centrifuges allowed to eliminate all secondary problems listed above. It has also resulted in substantial simplification and cost reduction of the separation process. 10

11 Conclusions 1. Any more or less serious invention cannot be implemented without solving a number of secondary problems which grows dramatically with the level of invention. 2. At the same time, conventional ways to address a problem produce solutions that create new problems and so on. As a result, in many situations technologies and/or products become a entangled mess of correcting operations/elements. 3. Regretfully, Classical TRIZ suggested a limited specific help in handling secondary problems. 4. Today, practical experience of TRIZ Masters and practitioners allowed to develop processes and instruments to make the process of addressing secondary issues/problems as a natural part of the TRIZ based problem solving process. References 1. Altshuller, Genrich. ARIZ-85C. Tools of Classical TRIZ. Ideation International Inc., Altshuller, Genrich. 76 Standard Solutions. Tools of Classical TRIZ. Ideation International Inc., Gerasimov, Vladimir and Simon Litvin. Utilization of patterns of technological evolution in conducting Value Engineering Analysis of manufacturing processes. Collection of articles Practical cases of VEA in electro-technical cal industry (In Russian) 4. Sahal, Devendra. Patterns of Technological Evolution, TRIZ in Progress. Transactions of the Ideation research Group. Ideation International Inc., Zlotin, Boris and Alla Zusman. Directed Evolution: Philosophy, Theory and Practice. Ideation International Inc., Zlotin, Boris and Alla Zusman. Levels of Invention. Presented at TRIZCON Visnepolschi, Svetlana. How to Deal with Failures (The Smart Way). Ideation International Inc

12 5. Appendix 1 Ideation Innovation Situation Questionnaire (abbreviated version) 1. Brief description of the problem Describe your problem in a single, simple phrase. Avoid using professional terminology instead, use everyday language such as that you would use to speak to a high-school science student. 2. Information about the system 2.1 System name Name the system. (This determines the systemic level from which the problem will be considered). 2.2 System structure Describe the system's structure by developing a description and associated drawing of the system. The structure should be described in its static state (i.e., the condition when the system is not operating). Be sure to indicate all subsystems and important elements. 2.3 Functioning of the system Describe what the system was designed for its Primary Useful Function and the purpose of performing the Primary Useful Function (i.e., the Primary Useful Function of the super-system). Describe the functioning of the system, i.e., the system in its dynamic state. 2.4 System environment Describe other systems that are near the system (or which might be near it often). Describe other systems that interact with the system, especially sources of energy, substances, etc. 3. Information about the problem situation 3.1 Problem that should be resolved Describe the problem you are faced with. 3.2 Mechanism causing the problem Describe all known hypotheses (mechanisms) regarding the cause of this problem using cause-andeffect chains. 3.3 Undesired consequences of unresolved problem Describe the undesired consequences of the problem if it continues to go unresolved. 3.4 History of the problem Describe the evolution of your system, starting from the moment when the problem first occurred. Describe the decisions that changed the system from one without this problem to one with this problem. Describe all known attempts to eliminate, reduce or prevent the problem especially the unsuccessful 12

13 ones. State the reasons why these directions were unsuccessful. 3.5 Other systems in which a similar problem exists Name systems in which similar problem exists, and answer the following questions: Has this problem been solved? If yes, how was it solved? Why can t such a solution to the problem you are facing? 3.6 Other problems to be solved Imagine that the problem you are trying to address is unsolvable. Try to formulate other problems which, if solved, would eliminate the need to solve the original problem. 4. Ideal vision of solution Describe the ideal solution using the following template: Everything in the system remains unchanged or becomes less complicated, while <describe a required function> appears, or <describe a harmful function> disappears. 5. Available resources Describe the resources of the system and its surroundings. (Resources are substances, energy, functional characteristics, and other attributes of a system or its surroundings.) 6. Allowable changes to the system Describe the allowable changes to the system. Describe any limitations for changing the system. 7. Criteria for selecting solution concepts Any process must have a measure for success. Some criteria are so obvious that they are not even mentioned until they are violated by a developed solution concept. To avoid wasting time and effort developing useless solution concepts, document the success criteria here. 8. Company business environment Describe the company's products, markets, competition, clients, suppliers, facilities, process systems, etc. related to the problem. 9. Project data Project timeline: (MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) Project team contact information (name, , phone, etc.) 13

14 Appendix 2 Idealization (extraction from the Innovation WorkBench software) Idealization is a process that targets the ideal system, that is, a system that performs a required function without actually existing. Idealization allows you to approach the ideal situation as closely as possible given the available resources and imposed limitations. To make your system more ideal, consider the following recommendations (Operators): Exclude duplicate elements Use more highly integrated subsystems Exclude auxiliary functions: Self-service Exclude correcting functions Exclude preliminary functions Exclude protective functions Exclude housing functions Exclude other auxiliary functions Self-interaction Exclude elements Use foam or empty space Restoration Consolidation of discrete subsystems Simplify through total replacement (changing the principle of operation) 14

15 About the Authors: Mr. Zlotin received his MS in electrical engineering from St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia. He has over 30 years of experience in TRIZ and is widely recognized in the TRIZ community and considered one of the foremost theorists and TRIZ scientists in the world today. He is responsible for the majority of the advances made to the methodology to date. He facilitated solving of thousands of various problems, is the author or coauthor of 15 books on TRIZ and several patents and has conducted numerous seminars, workshops, and lectures. He is the Chief scientist and VP at Ideation International Inc. Ms. Zusman received her MS in radio physics from St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia. She has over 14 years of experience in corporate R&D and over 25 years of experience as a TRIZ expert with patent education. She is one of the main contributors to the development of TRIZ applications-- specifically to ARIZ, the patterns of systems evolution, AFD and DE methodology, and the TRIZSoft family of software. She is the author or coauthor of 14 books on TRIZ and several patents and has conducted numerous seminars, workshops, and lectures. She is the Director of TRIZ products development at Ideation International Inc. 15