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Root Cause Analysis

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Kgomotso Maubane
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104 views15 pages

Root Cause Analysis

Uploaded by

Kgomotso Maubane
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Root Cause

Analysis
RCA
By: KE MAUBANE
• If you’re chronically ill, pain medication will help
but not solve the issue. Just like if you’re
experiencing abnormally high customer churn,
(Customer churn is a concept used to describe
how well or poorly a company keeps hold of the
customers it acquires – how many stop paying
vs how many become long-term customers.)
INTRODUCTI the last thing you want is to spend all your time
firefighting.
ON
• You need to find the cause.
• That’s exactly why root cause analysis is a vital
process.
• It helps you to understand the causal focus and
underlying issues behind your biggest business
problems.
WHAT IS RCA?

This methodology highlights


Root cause analysis (RCA) the importance of taking
involves pinpointing the root preventative and corrective
cause of problems to be able to measures, as opposed to just
find the best solutions for treating the symptoms of
them. problems, as so often is the
case.

There are various techniques RCA attempts to look past what


and principles that can be used may seem like the obvious
to perform root cause analysis cause and effect, and help find
to help identify underlying exactly where systems failed to
issues. begin with.
GOALS OF RCA
To pinpoint the root cause of a
problem

To gain a full understanding of how


to correct the underlying problems

To implement what was learned to


fix the current problem and to
prevent it from happening again in
the future
..

Make efforts to look Don’t focus on who


Know that there
past the symptoms was responsible,
may be more than
to identify the root focus on why it
one root cause
cause happened

Always look for Gather enough Decide how best to


definitive evidence information to prevent similar
to support the devise a plan of problems from
hypothesized root action and correct occurring in the
cause the issues future
• 5 Whys
• The 5 Whys method is one of the
most popular techniques used when
HOW? conducting a root cause analysis. In
principle, this method is very
METHODS straightforward. It entails asking
‘why’ over and over, until the core
OF issues are exposed. On average, it
takes five whys until you get to your
CONDUCTIN root cause, but the range varies
from company to company and
G RCA problem to problem.
• Stephen Spear has a great example
of the 5 Whys process in his book,
The High-Velocity Edge: How Market
Leaders Leverage Operational Excel
lence to Beat the Competition
:
• The scenario is: A vehicle will not start.
• First why?
Answer: The vehicle’s battery is dead.
• Second why?
Answer: The alternator isn’t working.
• Third why?
Answer: The alternator belt is broken.
5 Whys? • Fourth why?
Answer: The alternator belt was
beyond its service life and wasn’t
replaced.
• Fifth why?
Answer: The vehicle hasn’t been
maintained according to the
recommended service schedule. (Root
cause)
,,,
In this example we can see that, after these five questions, the
root cause of the vehicle’s dead battery is a lack of maintenance.

So, to address this issue and mitigate any future problems, all
vehicles need to be serviced properly according to their
schedules.
The 5 Whys method helps to not jump to conclusions by focusing
on digging deeper and deeper until the core answers are
revealed.

Also, keep in mind, your final answer should lead to actionable


conclusions.
FISHBONE DIAGRAM
• Also known as an Ishikawa diagram, is
another very popular RCA method.
• It involves creating a visual cause-and-effect
map to help pinpoint root causes by asking
you to follow various potential paths until you
arrive at the correct one. It’s kind of like a
visual representation of the 5 Whys method.
• You begin with recording the problem in the
center of the diagram (the fish spine), and
then jotting down several possible causes for
the problem, placing them around the main
problem in branches (the fish rib bones). The
initial branch categories begin as very broad
ideas, such as “environment” or
“communication”, and then each of those
categories branches out further into smaller,
more specific categories.
TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE RCA
1. ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS

• The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to identify
the root cause. Continue to ask questions even if you think
you’ve arrived at the underlying problem.
• For example, ask questions like, “How can we be sure this is
the root cause and not something else?
• How can we prevent this from happening again in the
future?”
• Use these questions to help guide you towards a better
understanding of your problem
2. WORK TOGETHER WITH
OTHERS

• Sometimes it’s easy to miss


something even if it’s right
under your nose.
,,, • If you work with a colleague
or a team, it will help identify
solutions quicker because you
have access to a fresh
perspective.
• They can also offer alternative
solutions you may not have
thought of on your own.
3. PERFECT YOUR ROOT
CAUSE ANALYSIS WITH
PRACTICE

• When you’re conducting your


root cause analysis, don’t just
blindly jump in and run through
… it.
• It’s important to be aware of the
process as you’re moving through
it. Consider what could be
changed or improved for next
time.
• Doing this means that your RCAs
will be more efficient and
effective each time
4. CONDUCT A ROOT CAUSE
ANALYSIS FOR SUCCESSES AS
WELL

• Though RCA is typically used to


determine the root cause of problems,
… it can also be used to identify the root
cause of successes.
• This gives you the tools necessary to
be able to intentionally repeat these
successes in the future or adapt them
to other areas of your business to
make improvements.
REFERENCES

Pieterson, O., 2020. Process.st. [Online]


Available at: https://www.process.st/root-cause-
analysis/
[Accessed 30 July 2024].

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