FBLA

EDL 272
Fallon Parker
Drake University
June 18, 2016
Plan- Define the System
System: Cooling system in house
Parts:
Household- Tara and Fallon
Ways of cooling the house
Air conditioner
Fans
Opening windows

Interrelationships:
Air conditioner turned on Tara is cold
Air conditioner turned off Fallon is hot

Opportunities for improvement:

Temperature in the household will be at a level that both roommates feel comfortable.

Current reality:
Both roommates are unhappy with the temperature of the household.
 Archetype- Fixes that fail
When Tara is not home Fallon turns on the air conditioner to a low temperature and brings
down the house temperature from 80 degrees to 72 degrees.
Fixing the same problem again and again. Achieving a particular result yet the result is foiled
by a reinforcing loop. It is a temporary fix as the house is cooled for a short amount of time
until it returns to a higher temperature over night.
Dealing with symptoms rather than the underlying real problem. There is no communication
between roommates about what temperature is comfortable for both.

Problem:
Household
Fix:
comfort
Using or not
level with
using the
temps.
AC.

Unattended Consequence:
Roommates uncomfortable with
temp.
Learning Disabilities
The myth of the management team
Management team: Fallon controls the cooling system in the house.
Avoids difficult conversations: Doesnt make a decision about the temperature so not to
offend roommate.
Overcoming disability: Establish norms that enable full inclusion and participation of
entire household.

Illusion of taking charge

Being proactive can be looked at as being reactive. Fallon is hot turns on the air
conditioner, Tara is cold and turns off the air conditioner. Both roommates are not
communicating with each other. Being reactive versus being proactive.
Being more proactive then being reactive.
Overcoming disability: separate emotions and stop it before it happens. Have
conversations with roommate about temperature.
Plan- Analyze Causes- Root cause
Tara
Why dont you want the air
conditioner turned on?
The air conditioner makes me cold.
Why dont you like to be cold?
I grew up in a household that was always
kept at 70. I also work in a hospital and it is
always cold and I want to be warm at home.
Why did your parents want the air
conditioner turned on continuously?
My mom does not like to be hot so she keeps
the house at 70 in the summer time and in
the winter they conserve money by keeping
it at a lower temperature.
Fallon
Why do you want the air conditioner
turned on?
I dont like to be hot. I have a hard time
sleeping at night when it is hot.
Why dont you like to be hot?
Growing up I lived in the desert and my parents
rarely turned on the air conditioner, we had to
use fans to cool ourselves. Also I work in a
school and my classroom is continuously hot
and when I come home I want to cool off.
Why did your parents not want to turn on
the air conditioner?
My parents were conserving money so we did
not use the air conditioner.
Plan- Asses Current Situation
Current process: Fallon is in charge of turning on the air conditioner. While Tara is gone Fallon
turns the air conditioner on and cools off the house. When Tara gets home Fallon turns off the
air conditioner. The house is cooled for a short period of time until the temperature rises.
Currently when Tara is feeling cold she turns off the air conditioner. When Fallon is hot she
opens the window and uses a fan.

Plan: Create a baseline of comfort level of roommates. For three days Tara and Fallon will
record how comfortable they are with the current temperature of the household. Comfort level
and temperature will be assessed every hour for 6 hours during the day for three consecutive
days.
Review Data
Baseline:
Tara feels the most comfortable when the temperature is between 80-76
Fallon feels the most comfortable when the temperature is between 72-74

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

4:00 pm Temp: 80 Temp: 77 Temp: 74
Tara: 1 Tara: 2 Tara: 4
Fallon: 5 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
5:00 pm Temp: 80 Temp: 77 Temp: 74
Tara: 1 Tara: 2 Tara: 4
Fallon: 5 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
6:00 pm Temp: 79 Temp: 76 Temp: 73 Comfort Level:
Tara: 1 Tara: 2 Tara: 5
Fallon: 5 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
5 being uncomfortable
7:00 pm Temp: 79 Temp: 76 Temp: 73 1 being comfortable
Tara: 1 Tara: 2 Tara: 5
Fallon: 5 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
8:00 pm Temp: 78 Temp: 75 Temp: 72
Tara: 1 Tara: 3 Tara: 5
Fallon: 4 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
9:00 pm Temp: 78 Temp: 75 Temp: 72
Tara: 1 Tara: 3 Tara: 5
Fallon: 4 Fallon: 3 Fallon: 1
Do
Changes that are being implementing: Tara and Fallon will set the
air conditioner unit on a specific temperature changing the
temperature each day for three days.
We looked at our baseline and decided to see our comfort level at
77 degrees, 76 degrees, and 75 degrees. (which was within our
baseline)
Data gathering plan: Data will be recorded for comfort level every 6
hours for three days.
 Study
I want to find the optimal temperature of the household where both
roommates feel comfortable.
Find effective ways of cooling/maintaining the temperature of the household.

Thursday Friday Saturday

4:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75
Record comfort level of roommates and Tara: 1
Fallon: 1
Tara: 1
Fallon:1
Tara: 1
Fallon: 1
temperature of house for 6 hours during 5:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75
the day for 3 days. Tara: 1
Fallon: 1
Tara: 1
Fallon: 1
Tara: 1
Fallon: 1
6:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75
Tara: 1 Tara: 1 Tara: 1
Find three temperatures where both Fallon: 1 Fallon: 1 Fallon: 1
roommates felt the most comfortable. 7:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75
Tara: 1 Tara: 1 Tara: 1
Fallon: 1 Fallon: 1 Fallon: 1
8:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75 Comfort Level:
Tara: 1 Tara: 1 Tara: 1 5 being uncomfortable
Fallon: 2 Fallon: 2 Fallon: 1 1 being comfortable
9:00 pm Temp: 77 Temp: 76 Temp: 75
Tara: 1 Tara: 1 Tara: 1
Fallon: 2 Fallon: 2 Fallon: 1
Study: Comparing the Results to the Baseline

Baseline:
Tara feels the most comfortable when the temperature is between 80-76
Fallon feels the most comfortable when the temperature is between 72-74
Results:
Both roommates feel comfortable with the house being at 75 degrees.
During the baseline data there was a considerable difference in the temperature that both
roommates felt the most comfortable. Once looking at the baseline data both roommates sat down
and came up with three common temperatures that they would try to find a common comfort level.
During the process both roommates recorded their comfort levels. Roommates discussed results and
decided that 75 degrees was a temperature that both could agree upon.
Somethings that roommates considered during the process: If Tara was cold due to blowing air she
would close her vent or open the window. If Fallon was hot she would turn on an additional fan to
circulate air flow from air conditioner.
Act:
Standardized improvements: Tara and I worked on communication
and finding a solution to a problem that was affecting both of us.
Using a systematic approach allowed us to have a difficult
conversation and solve a problem. We developed norms about the
temperature of the household during the summer and we are
planning on creating norms for the temperature of the household
during the winter as well. By collecting data we were able to see
where each roommate was comfortable and uncomfortable and
helped us create a plan to solve this problem.