PROBLEMS, OPPORTUNITIES, OBJECTIVES AND CONSTRAINTS MATRIX

Project:

Equipment Check-Out System

Created by:
Date Created:

Project Manager:
Last Updated by:

14/05/2008

Date Last Updated: 14/05/2008

CAUSE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS

Problem or Opportunity
Causes and Effects
1. It takes too long to process a
single equipment check-out.

Cause(s):
1. Employee and equipment records are
maintained manually and are tedious to locate.

SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT OBJECTIVES

System Objective
System Constraint
1. Reduce the amount of time it
takes to process a single
equipment check-out to less than
two minutes.

Unknown

1. Reduce the amount of time it

takes to process an employee
termination to less than two
minutes.

Unknown

1. In less than 30 seconds, locate the

Unknown

Effect(s):
1. It takes 2 to 10 minutes to process a single
equipment check- out.
2. There are lines of employees having to wait to
check in and out tools at the end and beginning
of each shift.
3. Employee resentment toward Equipment Depot
is growing.
2. It takes too long to process an
employee termination.

Cause(s):
1. Employee records are manually stored and
difficult to retrieve for a particular employee.
2. Supervisors do not promptly and reliably return
the equipment of a terminated employee.
Effect(s):
1. It takes 10 minutes to process an employee
termination.

3. Often equipment that is lost

Cause(s):

CAUSE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS

Problem or Opportunity
Causes and Effects
and then subsequently
returned cannot be matched
with the employee who
checked it out.

1. The staff member must manually go through

each check-in and check-out form to match the
tool with the employee.

SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT OBJECTIVES

System Objective
System Constraint
employee to whom returned
equipment belongs.

Effect(s):
1. This tedious process results in significant lost
time.

4. There is an opportunity to
increase safety by enforcing
requirements that employees
must have the correct skill
classification for the
equipment they are checking
out.

Effect(s):

5. When equipment is ordered,

the Equipment Depot staff
often fields several calls
concerning the status of the
order. When the order comes
in they have to notify the
employee who wanted the
equipment. It is difficult to do
these tasks.

Cause(s):

6. Inability to generate reports

to support their decisionmaking needs.

Cause(s):

1. Enforcing these requirements could decrease

lost work time due to accidents, decrease
damage to equipment, and possibly decrease
liability.

1. The manual log that is currently kept of orders

is difficult to work with

Unknown

1. The system will automate this

process

Unknown

1. Provide easily accessible records.

2. Provide staff with the ability to
obtain immediate access to
predefined reports.
3. Provide staff with the ability to
easily define new reports at a
decision-making time of need.

Unknown

Effect(s):
1. This manual system results in significant lost
time.

1. Most records are manually kept and are too

tedious to use.
Effect(s):
1. Needed reports are not generated.

7. Employees do not know what

equipment they have in their
possession.

1. The system will allow equipment

to be checked out only by
employees with the correct skill
classification.

Cause(s):
1. Manual records of employees and equipment

1. Develop an easily accessible

record storage system.

Unknown

CAUSE AND EFFECT ANALYSIS

Problem or Opportunity
Causes and Effects
transactions are too tedious to reference for
generating periodic statements.

SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT OBJECTIVES

System Objective
System Constraint
2. Provide each employee with a
periodic statement of their
equipment transactions.

Effect(s):
1. Employees are not informed of equipment
possessions and therefore are not held
accountable
8. The Equipment Depot is not
able to identify employees
that have excessive
equipment losses.

Cause(s):
1. Manual records of employees and equipment
transactions are too tedious to reference.
Effect(s):
1. The Equipment Depot staff cannot follow up on
problem employees and equipment checkouts.

1. Provide the ability to conduct an

employee tool check-in/out
analysis.
2. Generate an exception report that
identifies problem situations
and employees.

Unknown