A few years ago we were having a discussion on who's product caused a problem. A wood products manufacturer created the box and a plastics supplier moulded the cap. The cap and box did not fit very well. The wood products guy said the plastic caps were distorted and each one was different. His stance was "not my problem." The plastics fellow said the plastic parts would distort out of the mould but not enough to cause the problem we were seeing. Going nowhere.
A couple of fellows took a load of the wood boxes and started measuring them. One particular dimension was tied to the problem. The Excel chart shows the distribution of this dimension over dozens of boxes. Clearly, one of the holes was being drilled too far from the edge.
With data, the debate was over and we found the root cause quickly.
A simple example but it is not common. Many of our problem solving efforts fail because we just don't have the right data.
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