Quality Concepts and ISO 9001:2008 QMS Awareness: July 2015

A Tool for Improving Creativity - "TRIZ Crossover QMS"

- Keshav Ram Singhal
Centre Coordinator, National Centre for Quality Management, Ajmer Centre

Andrej Trebar, retired electronic engineer from Slovenia and a member of (i) ASQ (American Society for Quality advancement), and (ii) SZKO (Slovenian association for quality and excellence), has developed an application titled "TRIZ Crossover QMS", a tool for improving creativity at group/team quality improvement workshop. The application is available at Google Play Store. The tool is based on Alshuller's Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and merges inventive principles with quality management concepts and tools, thus enabling quality practitioners to boost his creativity when solving difficult problems. This is an application for android based smart phones and tablets. This application provides an algorithm for problem solving and an algorithm for evolution of products, processes and systems. It provides basic TRIZ fundamentals and analytical methods that create a new mindset needed to enable the quality practitioner to improve management systems including QMS.

Andrej Trebar

It is easy to install "TRIZ Crossover QMS" application and you can see for yourself how it operates and what added value it can bring to its user.

What is TRIZ?

TRIZ is a Russian theory of inventing problem (task) solving. TRIZ is the abbreviation of “теория решения изобретательских задач” translated into English "Theory of Inventing Problem (Task) Solving." This theory was developed by Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller and his colleagues in the former Soviet Union between 1946 and 1985. TRIZ is a theory describing tools, techniques and databases together with an algorithmic process of finding inventive solutions to various types of tasks and problems. It is really interesting that TRIZ allows algorithmic solutions to inventive problems (tasks) while maintaining the freedom of choice and human activity.

Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller (15 October 1926 - 24 September 1998) was a Soviet engineer, inventor, scientist, journalist and writer. He founded the Azerbaijan Public Institute for Inventive Creation, and was the first President of the TRIZ Association. He also wrote science fiction under the pen-name Genrikh Altov.

TETRIS, a project developed by international players, is also a way of teaching TRIZ. It's website, provides useful information on TRIZ that mentions, "In comparison with psychological methodology to boost creativity TRIZ allows a better problem definition, takes advantage of solution also from other fields, helps in overcoming compromises and move towards the ideal final result." It further states, "The TRIZ approach is quite different from other problem solving methodologies. In most cases the problem you’re facing now, has been already faced by many other people at different times, at different places and in different situation. TRIZ allows to connect your problem to a standard problem and so suggesting a standard solution which provide you the direction to follow to find out the best solution for your problem overriding your psychological inertia. But also in case you must deal with a completely new problem, ARIZ (the algorithm including up-to-date TRIZ tool in a structured sequence) will provide you an effective path to find out the best solution."

TRIZ Cards

CX-TRIZ cards are very effective tool for overcoming psychological inertia and finding solutions using already available resources. These cards were developed on the basis of TRIZ. Letter X denotes the process, so CX-TRIZ cards are intended to seek solutions for a process. There are other cards, such as CQ-TRIZ, CS-TRIZ, CD-TRIZ. CQ-TRIZ cards are intended to seek solutions for inventive problem-solving in the field of quality management. CS-TRIZ cards are intended to seek solutions for inventive problem solving in marketing and sales. CD-TRIZ cards are intended to seek solutions for inventive problem solving when designing products and services.

TRIZ cards are based on TRIZ inventive principles. Generally a set contains forty cards. Each card printed with a graphic presentation of a principle with example and explanation (on the back side of the card). The inventive principles are used as a brainstorming tool.

Guided brainstorming

Andrej Trebar says, "When in need of ideas for a solution to a particular problem or to develop new products or services, we can use the method of brainstorming. If possible we organize a brainstorming session with individuals capable of generating creative ideas needed to solve the problem. Often it turns out that employees do not have fresh ideas. In this case, we find ourselves in a situation where we are alone and urgently need to seek ideas to solve our problems."

TRIZ cards are able to guide human thinking in line with chosen algorithm, thus able to solve problems towards an optimum solutions taking into account the 40 inventive principles to find solutions to given problem. A set of TRIZ cards is an important resource which one can use to try to solve a problem. For finding the solution, one or more inventive principles should be selected and combine them in a method.

It is often difficult to review all 40 cards in a given time. S. Fayer suggested grouping of these 40 cards in four groups as under:

Group #1: Dealing with Quality, Quantity, Structure and Form
Related Inventive principles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 17, 30, 31, 40

Group #2: Dealing with adverse factors
Related Inventive principles: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 33, 39

Group #3: How to improve efficiency and ideal situation
Related Inventive Principles: 5, 6, 15, 16,20, 25, 26, 34

Group #4: Using Scientific effects, fields and substances
Related Inventive Principles: 8, 18, 28, 29, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 30, 31, 40

Guided Brainstorming Process Steps

Guided brainstorming has following process steps:

Step #1 - Define a problem.
Step #2 - Find out - what to improve, what may worsen.
Step #3 - Select a group of inventive principles related to the problem.
Step #4 - Study each card with inventive principle.
Step #5 - If certain card appears to be useful. Study the card carefully. Understand the example and explanation given on the card.
Step #6 - Select inventive principle cards that may be helpful in solving the problem.
Step #7 - Collect ideas from team members and formulate proposal of solution.

TRIZ Inventive Principles

40 TRIZ inventive principles are related to: (1) Segmentation, (2) Taking out, (3) Local quality, (4) Asymmetry, (5) Merging, (6) Universality, (7) Nesting, (8) Anti-weight, (9) Preliminary counter action, (10) Preliminary action, (11) Beforehand cushioning, (12) Equipotentiality, (13) Inversion (the other way round), (14) Spheroidality - Curvature, (15) Dynamics, (16) Partial or excessive actions, (17) Another dimension, (18) Mechanical vibration, (19) Periodic action, (20) Continuity of useful action, (21) Skipping,(22) "Blessing in disguise' or 'Turn Lemons into Lemonade', (23) Feedback, (24) Intermediary, (25) Self-service, (26) Copying, (27) Cheap short-life objects, (28) Mechanics substitution, (29) Pneumatics and hydraulics, (30) Flexible shells and thin films, (31) Porous materials, (32) Colour changes, (33) Homogeneity, (34) Discarding and recovering, (35) Parameter changes, (36) Phase transition, (37) Thermal expansion, (38) Strong oxidants - Boosted interactions, (39) Inert atmosphere, and (40) Composite materials.

In addition to the above, there are separation principles, 4 sets of improvement inventive principles and 39x39 contradiction matrix.

Installing 'TRIZ Crossover QMS'

It is easy to install "TRIZ Crossover QMS" application developed by Andrej Trebar. You can search the application by opening Google Play Store and then you can install. It takes a few minutes to install. After installing the application, you can see for yourself its operation and the value it adds to you.

Courtesy sources:
- http://www.creativ-plus.si/triz/Instructions%20for%20use%20TRIZ%C3%97QMS%20application.pdf
- http://www.creativ-plus.si/triz/CX-TRIZ%20Users%20Manual.pdf
- https://play.google.com/store/search?q=QMS&hl=en
- http://www.tetris-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=30&lang=en
- Emails from Mr. Andrej Trebar

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