A to Z of PHRED Users

PHRED is an auditor’s dream. It documents all problems which should then be audited. PHRED gives auditors:

• A database with complete information on all incidents and problems across the organization.
• Verification that actions have been completed and follow up standards have been met.

PHRED’s problem identification and problem tracking capabilities enable customer support to know what is going on with a customer’s problem. Functions that they use most are:

• Tracking actions and agreements to make sure that the customer is satisfied in the end.
• Having an easy way, via ODBC links or Pop Ups, to pull information from the organization’s other IT systems about the problem in the identification phase.
• Accessing the central database to learn about the current status of a problem.

Problems are often hidden from this level. PHRED gives this group a window into the problems across their department. PHRED lets them see what is occurring without them having to ask for status reports. PHRED provides:

• Visibility to know which problems are being worked on.
• Actions reports to see what has been done and what is going to be done.

PHRED gives this traditionally aloof group a structured way to collaborate and dialog. Engineers get:

• Sufficiently detailed information so that problems can be designed out of products and services.
• A database of all the problems across the company.
• Neutral questions that speed collaboration with other engineers, operations, suppliers and customers.

PHRED makes sure that the conditions at the customer’s site are understood by the organization. Field Support uses PHRED to:

• Explain the customer’s problem to the organization.
• Find the necessary experts to help their customers with the problem.
• Collaborate with problem solvers across the organization and supply chain.

The system lets human resources identify high quality problem solvers for succession planning purposes. With PHRED, human resources can:

• Identify invested staff.
• Identify thought leaders.
• Identify people who need coaching in problem solving.

PHRED is a business system that brings security, verifiability and control over the problem solving process. PHRED provides IT with:

• A plug-in system that requires little or no support from IT.
• Easy ODBC and Pop Up integration with other systems.
• PHRED can run as a hosted solution from PHRED servers.

PHRED gives a quick and easy way for showing what is happening with the problem on arrival. With PHRED, inspection and receiving can:

• Note all issues and problems in an easy, single screen format.
• Easily grab relevant data from other internal systems and put it all under one problem record.
• Track all issues so improvements can be made and supplier behavior targeted.

This group uses the system to keep managers out of jail. PHRED gives the Legal department:

• Due diligence to prevent lawsuits and win them if they happen.
• Documented evidence of process, problems and countermeasures.

Group leaders are constantly bombarded with multiple problems from multiple teams. PHRED is a tool to manage the day to day complexity of multiple issues and problems. PHRED gives them:

• The information to decide which problems to put resources into.
• Structure for managing & reporting on issues and problems across the group.
• Access to similar issue holders across the organization.

The visibility and accountability of PHRED provides leadership with a way to limit the number of problem surprises. They use PHRED to:

• Reduce PPMs and operating costs by driving out repeat problems.
• Be confident that when people say something is fixed, they have followed a process to find root cause and the problem will not reoccur.
• Highlight key problem solvers.

This group uses PHRED on a day to day basis to manage the problems that occur in their area and to network with others who have similar issues. PHRED provides:

• A process for team problem meetings.
• An actions section to manage the complexity of day to day problem solving.
• An electronic problem board and the reports and graphs to post in team areas.

This group uses the issue/problem identification section most. Key team members will sometimes take part in investigations. PHRED provides a clear process to make sure that their point of view and the data to back it up is understood. Functions used most are:

• A simple, single screen issue/problem identification front end so everyone can note incidents as they occur.
• Common, neutral questions that allow blame-free dialog with the investigation team.
• An easy process to explain the problem by those experiencing it.

PHRED is a basic organizational development tool that develops problem solvers and structures collaboration. PHRED assists this group in:

• Creating a problem solving culture.
• Providing a way of finding others with common problems so they can communicate around areas of technical expertise.

This group enjoys using the problem information to gain leverage in supplier negotiations. PHRED helps them:

• Collect information from the database to apportion the cost of problems back to the supplier.
• Create a standard process to rapidly improve supplier quality by addressing frequent issues.

This is traditionally the main group who uses PHRED. PHRED helps quality assurance professionals go from being primarily problem solvers to facilitators of the problem solving process. PHRED helps QA:

• Identify and track all problems to root cause and permanent solution.
• Understand what’s happening from the production cell to the global organization.
• Report on all problems across the organization and drive improvement.

PHRED helps HS&E conduct rigorous root cause analysis of safety incidents and near misses. PHRED is mostly used to:

• Stop safety incident reoccurrence, find root cause and implement permanent solutions.
• Identify and track safety problems across the organization.
• Use PHRED SORT (Safety Observation Reporting & Tracking) for behavioral safety and PHRED SIR (Safety Incident Review) for Human Factors investigations.

Sales departments will very rarely use the system directly to investigate a problem. They mainly use the system to make sure the customer’s problems are understood and their needs are met. This includes:

• Ensuring the voice of the customer and the commercial impact of the problem is heard throughout the organization.
• Creating a collaborative dialog between the company’s engineers and the customer via the problem report.
• Making problem solving into a competitive edge by showing customers that your organization’s structured problem solving process is better than your competitors.

PHRED gives this group a level of confidence that when they give their word to a customer that a problem is resolved, it definitely is. The system gives senior leaders:

• A standard system to ensure that if a problem occurs, it is solved to root cause and does not reoccur.
• Real-time, useful information about all problems.
• A process so that problem knowledge is captured and reused for improvement.

Six Sigma groups use the system extensively to gather information and manage their own Green and Black Belt projects.

• Embed the 8D problem resolution process as part of standard, day to day working practices.
• A virtual go see to understand what is happening with problems across the organization, the depth of the root cause analysis and to remotely guide and coach.
• A database of problems to analyze and improve from.

This group uses PHRED as a system-level tool to improve supplier’s quality and product innovation.

• Provide the supplier with a verifiable process to find root causes and corrective actions.
• Capture improvements at one supplier and reapply to the rest of the supply base.
• A virtual go see into the supplier’s real time problems.

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