FISHBONE DIAGRAM

Someone once said that nothing exists that cannot be improved. That statement has special relevancy when analyzing business practices to identify and remove problems. One way to accomplish this is by using the fishbone technique.

The technique requires assuming that you can analyze a major business problem by looking at four criterion: manpower, methods, material, and machines—the four Ms. For each criterion, identify problems associated with it. Then, determine what contributes to the major problem and develop the appropriate solution.

The benefits of the fishbone diagram are many. It is easy to prepare and encourages collaboration among all the people involved in the process being analyzed. It also serves as a basis for preparing procedures and is useful for analyzing a wide number of process problems.

for Developing a Fishbone Diagram

• Draw a horizontal line through the center of page and then write a two- or three-word description of the problem.
• Determine criteria for evaluating the problem.
• Draw a line at an angle, and connect it to the horizontal line; repeat this until you have one line for each criterion.
• On each line for a criterion, record problems associated with it.
• Determine which smaller problems contribute to the overall major problem.