Anyone who has faced a production problem with a need to solve it by using production data can relate to the notion of a brain teaser. The brain teasers presented here are based on real-world situations encountered by workers in manufacturing environments. The brain teasers have three parts: (1) the situation, (2) available data or other supporting information and (3) questions that various workers need answered for continual improvement.
Emily is the manager for customer service for an aftermarket automobile parts company. Her company's products are sold through autoparts outlets and are often installed by the car owner rather than a service center. All parts are guaranteed to work correctly in the owner's vehicle regardless of who does the installation, but many parts are returned with the comment, "Does not work." A year-to-date executive summary of returns with data through February has projected a 25% increase in returns for the year. The company president is very concerned and has asked Emily to analyze data about the number and condition of returned parts for an upcoming meeting.