Modern technologies of production management and quality management allow to analyze productions extremely effectively. One of such methods: Isikava's chart – is successfully used at many enterprises worldwide.
What is Isikava's chart
Isikava's chart was thought up by the Japanese professor to Cahors Isikava in the middle of the last century for increase in qualitative level of productions. Professor Isikava is one of the main developers of the new quality management system introduced on one of the major companies of Japan – Toyota. In fact, the chart represents a way to organize information so that it was easier to reveal the relationships of cause and effect influencing any given task or a problem.
Other name of this technique – "a fish skeleton" because the chart in finished form, really, reminds the schematic image of a skeleton of fish. The principle of its use is that the available problem registers in the right part of the sheet of paper (or a slate board), and to it the straight line is drawn. Then to this line several (from three to six) pieces at an acute angle which designate the major factors capable to influence a problem are carried out. If necessary the conditions influencing major factors are added to each piece.
Primary factors most often share on several main categories, such as work technique, influence of the person, the available technologies, objective circumstances, ways of control.
Spheres of use
Isikava's chart yields especially good results in combination with collective discussion (brainstorming) as allows all participants to imagine cause and effect chains most visually. As a rule, work with the chart begins with definition of concrete terms, such as the solved problem, factors, secondary conditions. After the initial sketch is created, insignificant factors are excluded from it and also what managers are not able to affect. Ideally clarification of the prime cause of the available problem and also way of its decision becomes result of the analysis of the chart.
The fact that at it there can sometimes be present be wrong communications is considered the main lack of the chart of Isikava, besides, the complexity of the received scheme only disturbs the manager.
The main sphere of use of this method – management of productions for the purpose of improvement of quality and efficiency of activity. However the chart is applied also in other types of business, for example in crediting, consulting, advertizing. The meaning of the chart of Isikava not in receiving the picture answering all questions, and in that in the course of its creation to make idea of a problem and methods of its decision and also to visualize relationships of cause and effect.