Root Cause Analysis for Beginners (and something for the rest of us!)
When you clear out the attic (desperately searching for suitable eBay items!) you occasionally come across something of real value. Such a find is an ideal excuse to have another coffee break whilst you congratulate yourself!
Well, something similar happened to me yesterday whilst clearing down my hard drive. I didn't want to do it - but it desperately needed tidying up!
Anyway, I found a long lost sub-sub-sub directory (why do we do that?) called "Root Cause Analysis".
It only contained one PDF file.
Namely, "Root Cause Analysis for Beginners".
Suspicious that I'd neglected such an important topic in the past and wondering why I'd never expanded my collection of papers on such an important topic...I decided to open it up and cast a glance...
In there was a 9 page little gem of a white paper and I vaguely recall reading it when I came across the case study used.
Written by James Rooney and Lee Vanden Heuvel and published by the ASQ, this paper is well worth reading.
Perhaps your Problem Management team would enjoy reading it?
Highlights:-
- Root Cause Analysis in less than 50 words
- Definition of Root Cause Analysis
- The RCA four step process
- Causal Factor Chart
- Example Problem
- Example Root Cause Map
- Root Cause Summary Table
An excellent document - I recommend it to you!
My favorite quote from the paper is:-
"Identifying 'severe weather' as the root cause of parts not being delivered on time to Customers is not appropriate."
Anyone in the UK who travels on trains regularly - knows what I mean!
Resources:-
Access the White Paper Here
Learn More About Root Cause Analysis Here
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