Troubleshooting reengineered

Are you still trying to solve defects and malfunctions by delivering large volumes of documentation and providing training to your customer’s service engineer? Perhaps it is time to rethink your approach and start creating embedded troubleshooting flowcharts.

Text by Jang F.M. Graat

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Troubleshooting reengineered

Image: © Besjunior/istockphoto.com

This article outlines a methodology that is undervalued in the world of technical information development: the use of flowcharts. Instead of merely drafting flowcharts in the design phase and pushing them aside when the implementation is done, I am suggesting the use of flowcharts as the core of real-life troubleshooting. This approach can save a lot of time, effort and money.

You cannot be an expert on everything

Let’s begin by analyzing the situation today: Every day, expert service engineers board airplanes to fly to customer sites around the globe. All too often, the problem is solved by some simple actions that could easily have been taken by an employee with basic engineering skills. The problem is not the actions that need to be performed; it is deciding which actions will solve the problem. More often than not, the solution turns out to be a simple replacement of a defective ...