(SAE: Warrendale, PA) -- Tough times require searching for things that we can change and making them better. But so often problems are solved with Band-aids and not root-cause solutions. This approach is getting too expensive and at best only helps companies tread water. To combat these issues and adopt a fresh approach, teams can use the methods and tools of root-cause problem solving, as offered in the Society for Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) two webinars, titled Root Cause Problem Solving: Methods and Tools Webinar,  scheduled for Nov. 7–16, 2011, and Nov. 9–18, 2011, each eight-hour webinar scheduled as four two-hour sessions.

Attendees will learn to first view problems as opportunities for improvement, identify root causes, and implement solutions to prevent recurrence. Benefits include improved quality and customer satisfaction, reduced operation costs, and greater employee knowledge of work processes. This approach to problem solving is used by many major automotive manufacturers.

By attending this webinar, you will be able to:
• Describe the eight-step problem-solving methodology
• Define the difference between symptom and root cause
• Use tools and techniques to solve problems
• Evaluate effectiveness of problem-solving efforts
• Describe the role of problem solving in continuous improvement
• Write an action plan to apply problem solving to a specific concern

Who should attend?

This course is applicable to those directly working in or responsible for performance improvement of any definable, repetitive process, e.g., manufacturing, design, logistics, purchasing, sales, or distribution, including:
• Manufacturing managers, supervisors, and team leaders
• Manufacturing engineers
• Design engineers
• Quality engineers and technicians
• Technical managers
• Project team leaders
• Problem-solving and quality-improvement facilitators

Instructor Murray Sittsamer

Murray Sittsamer has more than 22 years’ experience in operations management, strategic planning, new process launches, financial analysis, quality systems, and process improvement. During the past 10 years, supported automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers with their quality and productivity improvement efforts, especially in the areas of advanced product quality planning (APQP), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), variation reduction, and problem solving.

To register, visit the SAE website or call (877) 606–7323 or (724) 776–4970 outside the United States and Canada. The $585 fee includes one connection to the two-hour conference call (a toll-free telephone number is provided for the United States and select countries) and assigned personal ID number; one connection to SAE’s online training center via WebEx; and access to a secure course in the SAE Learning Center that contains the webinar presentations, class session recordings, supplemental materials, and assignments. Registrations will be accepted until 5 p.m. EST the day before the start of the webinar, but early registration is encouraged to allow for pre-course setup and instructions.