A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Human nature can easily slip into any root cause analysis (RCA) process. We want to take the easy way out in difficulty situations. It is hard to gather meaningful data, dive deep into a problem without prejudice and apply our reconciled notions as to what is correct and accurate. It is a trap that can easily be sprung on those who lack the will to face the hard truths of a situation.

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a systematic process for identifying the root causes of problems or events and an approach for responding to them. It is based on the basic idea that effective management requires more than merely putting out fires for problems that develop, but finding a way to prevent them. A focused RCA process helps organizations avoid the tendency to single out one factor to arrive at the most expedient resolution. It also helps to avoid treating symptoms rather than true, underlying problems that contribute to a problem or event.

All too often, a team will quickly jump to conclusions without having accurate data available. They have seen the problem before, so that must be what happened now. It makes things simpler to move straight to correction rather than deep dive into the problem. That is the human element that can steer us wrong. Assumption is dangerous and the facts can only be brought to the surface with solid data.

Jumping to conclusions and guessing can be dangerous. A guess should be based on the facts on hand. One or two facts alone may not lead to any conclusion, but taken as a whole, the facts may contain the key to unlocking the root cause. Such a guess should be viewed as a tentative hypothesis; assume it is true for the sake of testing, and then test the hypothesis. It is OK to be wrong in such situations because the testing may yield new information that drives the investigation forward.

Use Root Cause Analysis to Challenge

When you develop a hypothesis, you must challenge it! The typical response to developing a hypothesis is to energetically defend it. The most appropriate thing you can do with a hypothesis during a root cause analysis is to try every way possible to shoot it down. Look for the defects and errors. If it holds up to intense scrutiny, then you may just have a resolution. A strong belief in an incorrect hypothesis can lead to failing to identify the root cause, which in turn leads to a failure to implement the type of corrective actions needed to prevent a reoccurrence.

Root cause analysis should be driven by hypotheses that seek to explain the failure using both the evidence at hand, and new data generated though testing and evaluation. Take out the elements of natural human behavior to take the easy way out and listen to the hard truths. Don’t fall into the trap of easy and be challenged.

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The core of root cause analysis (RCA) is to properly identify the underlying problems of an issue. It is one of the most widely used retrospective methods for detecting issues. RCA uses a systematic approach to identify both active errors and latent errors which contribute to adverse events. RCA helps organizations avoid the tendency to single out one factor to arrive at the most expedient (but generally incomplete) resolution. It also helps to avoid treating symptoms rather than true, underlying problems that contribute to a problem or event. More often than not, we tend to assess blame and focus on just the mistakes made by individuals.

Most RCA experts believe that achievement of total prevention by a single intervention is not always possible, and see RCA as an ongoing process that strives for continuous improvement. It is not a one-size-fits-all methodology. There are many different tools, processes, and philosophies of accomplishing RCA. In fact, it was born out of a need to analyze various enterprise activities. RCA should follow a specified protocol that begins with data collection and reconstruction of the event in question through record review and participant interviews. A multidisciplinary team should analyze the sequence of events leading to the error, with the goals of identifying how the event occurred.

The outcome of the root cause analysis is an action plan that the organization intends to implement in order to reduce the risk of similar events occurring in the future. The plan should address responsibility for implementation, oversight, pilot testing as appropriate, timelines, and strategies for measuring the effectiveness of actions. Organizations can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations through addressing the root issues of problems. For the purpose of an RCA, the focus should be on systems”how to improve systems to prevent the occurrence of events or problems. It involves digging into the organization’s systems to find new ways to do things.

For more information and training on RCA, click here.

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A root cause analysis (RCA) is a means to get to the bottom of a problem or unexpected event. Root cause analyses are important to undertake when your project or product is not what was expected. Root cause analyses aim at improving products or processes – quality – and they must be undertaken in systematic ways in order to be effective. There are several tools involved with RCA; this video takes a look at the 5 Whys and Fishbone Diagram.

Checkout this informative and educational video!

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Is There a Problem?

Is there a problem with root cause analysis? Depends on how you look at it. First, let’s understand what it is. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving used for identifying the root causes of faults or problems. A factor is considered a root cause if removal thereof from the problem-fault-sequence prevents the final undesirable event from recurring. Just by the singular title, some look for that single, underlying problem or issue that needs to be resolved. The name itself implies that there is only one root cause, when in reality most problems are usually caused by a complex combination of several factors, some of which are more significant than others.

A Thorough Examination Through Root Cause Analysis

For some, this may be a simple case of semantics. The fact remains that in many cases when using the RCA tool, quality experts find it simple enough to claim victory in a situation with a singular causation. That could be accurate, but more times than not, it simply isn’t the case. An issue that requires attention may have a varied mix of simple and complex causes for failure. To properly address some of these issues requires a structured approach to brainstorming. This will guide the problem-solving team through the various categories of potential causal factors so that the team does not overlook some potentially important causes which lurk in the shadows. The most efficient quality experts will opt for having a cross-functional team help explore the possible causes and potential solution to the problem. Nothing short of a through and exhaustive examination will suffice.

Getting Results That Stick

When the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is properly exercised, the varied and complex issues will be brought to light. It requires a multi-disciplined approach that is both systematic and based on fact. Achieving long term quality improvements starts with an effective root case analysis. The best approach is a properly designed, sequential set of experiments. If a solution exists, a thorough RCA offers the best chance for thoroughly understanding all the issues involved, no matter how complex or simplistic.

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Sometimes, problems can be stubborn and refuse to completely disappear despite trying different things. They just keep coming back in one way or the other. It is at this point that it is important to understand that the reason the problem keeps happening, again and again, is because the underlying issue isn’t resolved. 

That is the problem with employing quick fixes instead of long-term solutions – you only fix the problem on a superficial level (mask the symptoms). Worse still, those resources wasted on the quick fix could have been used in identifying and eliminating the root cause of the problem. To prevent this from happening, Six Sigma has root cause analysis (RCA).

RCA brings several tools that teams can use to get rid of a problem indefinitely. One of the most popular tools is known as the 5 Whys. It involves looking at the problem and asking “Why?” five times until the root cause is identified.

In this post, we are going to outline how organizations can implement this tool.

Implementing the 5 Whys

A big part of successful implementing 5 Whys is understanding the issue and then making changes to eliminate it once and for all. Many teams who have used the tool have been surprised to find that the cause of the problem is something they didn’t expect. This speaks to the true power of the 5 Whys since underlying causes are not always obvious.

Here are the steps to implement it:

Put Together a Team

When assembling the team, make sure it has people who have been directly affected by the problem. If not, make sure they at least noticed it. A team leader should be selected who will be in charge of the meetings and delegating responsibilities to team members.

Define the Problem

Since the problem has already been identified, the team should focus on coming up with a problem statement. It should be clear, concise and agreed upon by everyone in the team.

Ask Why 5 Times

Here, the team leader should start asking “Why?” and team members should contribute. Their contributions should be fact-based and data-backed. Keep in mind that it is not a hard rule to ask why five times. The team leader can ask it until the root cause is identified, even if it is less or more than five times.

Make Changes

With the root cause identified, the team then moves on to suggest, agree on and implement effective changes that will make the problem go away and never happen again.

Monitor Changes

The changes need to be monitored to ensure they have effectively eliminated the problem. If not, improvements need to be made – they can also be replaced. The team shouldn’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board and ask “Why?” again in case they identified the wrong underlying cause.

Conclusion

When facing a problem that refuses to go away, Six Sigma can help. Specifically, it can help organizations identify the root cause of the problem using tools like the 5 Whys. Only by getting rid of the underlying cause can you rest assured the problem has been dealt with and will not be a recurrent issue.

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