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Root Cause Analysis and other Quality Tools of newly-surfaced problematic services or deal with
Root cause Analysis the process of discovering the root recurring problems. The analysis is widely used in
causes of problems in order to identify appropriate processes such as incident management, security
solutions. RCA assumes that it is much more effective to management, etc.
systematically prevent and solve for underlying issues 3. Manufacturing and Industrial Process Control RCA is
rather than just treating ad hoc symptoms and putting used in manufacturing processes to identify the root
out fires. causes of engineering or maintenance failure. Root
The analysis technique provides outcomes that cause analysis methods allow the control of quality in
serve as a basis for creating a corrective strategy to the production of chemicals in the industrial process
prevent further recurrence of the same issue. A control discipline.
successful RCA aims to discover the root cause, 4. Systems Analysis
understand and offer a permanent fix, and support RCA has been successfully applied to change
continuous improvement. management or risk management areas thanks to its
There are a few core principles that guide effective root problem-solving abilities. RCA is also suitable for
cause analysis, some of which should already be analyzing businesses, determining their goals, and
apparent. Not only will these help the analysis quality, creating processes to reach those goals, making it ideal
these will also help the analyst gain trust and buy-in for system analysis.
from stakeholders, clients, or patients.
Focus on correcting and remedying root causes rather Root Cause Analysis Methods
than just symptoms. 1.The 5 Whys method allows uncovering the root cause
Don’t ignore the importance of treating symptoms for of a problem by simply asking "Why" five times. This
short term relief. interrogative technique is one of the most effective tools
Realize there can be, and often are, multiple root for root cause analysis in Lean management. The 5 Whys
causes. method is part of the Toyota Production System and an
Focus on HOW and WHY something happened, not essential approach to problem-solving. Developed by
WHO was responsible. Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor, and industrialist,
Be methodical and find concrete cause-effect evidence the technique became an integral part of the Lean
to back up root cause claims. philosophy.
Provide enough information to inform a corrective
course of action.
Consider how a root cause can be prevented (or
replicated) in the future.
Benefits and Goals of Root Cause Analysis
The first goal of root cause analysis is to discover the
root cause of a problem or event. The second goal is to
fully understand how to fix, compensate, or learn from
any underlying issues within the root cause.
Industries that uses Root Cause Analysis Causal Factor Analysis: Causal factor analysis refers to
1. Health and Safety the process of establishing cause and effect. The
Root cause analysis is applied in healthcare to examine technique requires the definition of correlation,
events to determine root causes of problems that led to sequence of events, a mechanism for observation of the
undesired outcomes such as harm to patients or effects of a possible cause, and eliminating the
medication side effects. The analysis is utilized to possibility of additional alternative causes. The method
improve patients’ safety, take corrective measures to is successfully applied in the fields of statistics or
prevent future occurrence of such events. experimental designs. Cause and effect analysis, also
2. IT and Telecommunications called a “cause and effect diagram,” is an assessment
The application of root cause analysis techniques in IT tool that combines brainstorming and mind mapping
and telecommunications helps to detect the root causes techniques to explore the possible causes of an issue. It

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was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa, a quality paper-based, they can cause a bottleneck in
management pioneer in the 1960s and originally used as manufacturing. This type of bottleneck may be as simple
a quality control tool. Cause and effect is the as an operator going on a break or a lost clipboard. This
relationship between two things when one thing makes can be solved by deploying automated machine data
something else happen. For example, if we eat too much collection solutions.
food and do not exercise, we gain weight. Eating food
without exercising is the “cause;” weight gain is the
“effect.” There may be multiple causes and multiple e. Processes
effects. Process bottlenecks are task-driven constraints where
Brainstorming is creative idea generation technique. It is the number of requests for a production machine
also a problem solving technique. This technique exceeds the equipment's maximum throughput
provides free environment to present individual ideas, capacity. An example would be a drill press station that
without attracting criticism from any one. Every receives requests from several upstream machines,
generated idea is recorded and considered as solution to each requiring different hole sizes and depths. Time
a problem. taken to change the tool and set the depth starves the
A bottleneck analysis is a lean management tool that downstream components.
looks at any areas within a process that are causing the
f. Resources
workflow to become backed up or slower than it should
be. A bottleneck analysis can help in identifying the Sometimes resources can cause bottlenecks. One
exact point along the workflow that is causing these example is labor hours available for specialized skill
blockages, and work to mitigate them. sets. If one technician is required to split their time
between two or three specialized pieces of equipment,
Common manufacturing process
the flow of different parts can create a resource
bottlenecks include:
bottleneck where the labor hours available for each are
a. Absenteeism less than what is available.
Absent employees can create short-term bottlenecks g. Technology
when their position cannot be filled due to a missing
Technology bottlenecks often occur with fragmented
skillset. This problem is easily corrected by crosstraining
software systems in siloed original equipment
employees on critical skills and requiring advance notice
manufacturer (OEM) machinery. If these systems have
of absence whenever possible.
no interoperability, the time required to program
b. Training settings at each production step creates a bottleneck. If
Bottlenecks can occur if training is inconsistent across a programmable CNC machine is in the production
jobs. While one operator may be fully versed in a task, a stream before a manually set drill press, the technology
new operator may need additional resources. Standard is mismatched, prohibiting communication and
work and automated workflows will help staff interrupting the workflow.
understand which tasks need to be done and in which 5. A fishbone diagram is a visualization tool for
order. categorizing the potential causes of a problem. This tool
c. Manual Production Monitoring is used in order to identify a problem’s root causes.
Manual production monitoring is fraught with human Typically used for root cause analysis, a fishbone
errors such as missing data, transposed numbers, and diagram combines the practice of brainstorming with a
bias. It’s also time-lagged, and data is often outdated by type of mind map template. It should be efficient as a
the time a problem is identified. Automated production test case technique to determine cause and effect.
monitoring platforms like Machine Metrics eliminate
human error and provide actionable insights in real
time.
d. Communication
Communication between teams or departments is
critical. When these communications are verbal or

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efficiently. People can apply the matrix to any group of ideas, strategies and projects, assessing and prioritizing them
based on the effort required and the potential positive benefits.

6. An impact effort matrix acts as a decision-making

tool to prioritize projects and manage time more
The impact effort matrix is sometimes referred to as the
action priority matrix, effort/impact matrix or the 2×2 matrix.
Six Sigma teams use the matrix to help them make the best
choice when presented with a variety of options that can
solve a business challenge. It’s frequently used to help set
project priorities at the outset of the project.
Why Should You Use an Impact/Effort Matrix?
Using an impact effort matrix allows
companies to determine which activities they should focus on
and which ones they can ignore. Because every business has
limitations in the amount of resources it can devote to
projects, the matrix is key to optimizing how those resources
are put to use. Some businesses also put the matrix to use
when faced with challenges in current projects. Due to scope
creep and other issues, projects can veer off course, lose
focus and fail to achieve results not aligned with business
goals. Using the matrix can help teams choose solutions that
get projects back on track.
The matrix also optimizes reflective time.
Most businesses understand the need to
take the time to plan before beginning a project.
However, many do not spend the time in the best way possible. The matrix cuts through the noise and gets teams
focused on the root causes of issues and the best solutions.

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7. A flowchart is a visual representation of the sequence of steps and decisions needed to perform a process. Each step in
the sequence is noted within a diagram shape. Steps are linked by connecting lines and directional arrows. This allows
anyone to view the flowchart and logically follow the process from beginning to end.

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