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This Total Quality game is designed to help the trainees to identify the cause of a problem and be able to distinguish the difference between the symptoms of the problem and its root cause.

The trainees can then develop the appropriate remedial action to cure the problem rather than wasting time and resources tackling the symptoms.

Root Cause Game - Click to Enlarge Picture

 

The scenario is that the trainees have the task of producing a quantity of colour coded cards for their customer. There are two different patterns and the customer needs a certain quantity of each. The trainees are given instruction sheets telling them which squares on the card need to be coloured and also a set of coloured pens. Normally the trainees are split into two teams to give a competitive feel to the exercise.

At the end of the 'production run' the trainees are scored on their performance. They are judged on delivering the cards on time, the quantity produced, the number of errors made and how well the they worked together and communicated as a team. The trainees can then discuss their performance and create a list of problems that were encountered, which items are symptoms and which are the root causes of the fault(s) in their Manufacturing system. The trainees then discuss a possible cure for their problem and then test it out by running the game again.

Although the game appears to be extremely simple, it highlights the difference between the cause of a problem and the symptoms produced by the problem.

The game is supplied in a pack containing the full set of instruction cards, blank grids, coloured pens and full instructions for the trainer, along with a disk to enable reprinting and replenishment of the cards as required.

You can click here to order your game online.

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