How Does Root Cause Analysis Work?

Transcript

[Presenter] Think about a time when something's gone wrong at work. Did you take the time to discover what the true cause was? Or, pushed for time, did you just go for a quick fix?

While it's often easier to simply "paper over" the cracks and move on, opting for short-term solutions in this way can often result in things coming unstuck somewhere down the line.

This is where Root Cause Analysis can help. It's a popular problem-solving technique that can help you to diagnose issues correctly, and create effective, targeted solutions. It's particularly useful because it often also allows you to uncover and tackle other issues that stem from the root cause.

So how do you use it?

How to Use Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis works by tracing back the actions that led to something going wrong, so you can discover where it started and how it grew.

Generally, problems have three main causes. First, physical causes. This might be a piece of equipment failing in some way. For example, a car's brakes stop working.

Second are human causes. In other words, someone's made a mistake. Human causes typically lead to physical causes. So, in our example, no one filled the brake fluid, so the brakes failed.

Finally, there's organizational causes. This is where a system, process, or policy that people use to make decisions or do their work, is faulty. In our case, no one person was responsible for vehicle maintenance, and everyone assumed someone else had filled the brake fluid.

You can use Root Cause Analysis to solve a problem by following these five steps.

1. Define the Issue

First, define the issue. Ask yourself, what do you see happening? What are the specific symptoms?

2. Collect Data

Next, collect data to prove that the problem exists. Identify how long it's existed and what its impact is.

Get a better understanding of the issue by asking everyone who's been involved or affected by the situation.

3. Identify Possible Causal Factors

Now, identify possible causal factors. What sequence of events leads to the problem? What conditions are allowing it to occur? What other problems does the central problem cause?

During this stage, determine as many causal factors as possible. Too often, people diagnose one or two factors then stop. But that's not sufficient. With Root Cause Analysis, you don't want to simply treat the most obvious causes – you want to dig deeper.

4. Identify the Root Cause

In step four, agree on what the real reason is behind the problem. This is your root cause.

5. Recommend and Implement Solutions

Finally, now you've revealed the true source of the problem, it's time to implement a solution. What can you do to prevent the problem from happening again? Are there any risks involved? How will the solution be implemented? And who will be responsible for doing this?

Let's recap.

Root Cause Analysis is a powerful process for discovering why things go wrong and preventing a repeat. It allows you to perform a system-wide review that identifies each contributing event and factor.

First, recognize what's going wrong; then look at the complex systems, actions, and assumptions that lie behind the issue, and identify key points of failure; finally, identify and implement solutions that will ensure you fix the root cause of a problem and not just the symptoms.

the