Root Cause Analysis

What is root cause analysis?

All organizations have problems that plague their operations, reduce profits, and create customer dissatisfaction. Most organizations try to fix these problems quickly without ever finding what caused them in the first place, making the problems reappear. Root cause analysis is the process of finding and eliminating the cause, which would prevent the problem from returning. Only when the root cause is identified and eliminated can the problem be solved. There are many less structured problem identification methods; however, in order to develop a logical and repeatable approach, the process of root cause analysis uses more formal techniques such as:

• Change analysis – comparison of an unsuccessful process to a similar process whose outcome was successful
• Barrier analysis – assessment of the adequacy of installed barriers, or the lack of barriers
• Events and causal factors analysis – examination of events and related conditions and causal factors in chronological order
• Tree diagrams – graphic display describing the event’s contributing factors

What are the benefits of root cause analysis?

Implementation of root cause analysis will help your company

• identify barriers and the causes of problems, so that permanent solutions can be found.
• develop a logical approach to problem solving, using data that already exists in most operations.
• identify current and future needs for organizational improvement.
• establish repeatable, step-by-step processes, in which one process can confirm the results of another.

What can CIRAS do for my company?

CIRAS can provide assistance in various methods of root cause analysis, including

• the development of root cause analysis for specific applications.
• the education of staff in conducting root cause analysis using simple forms and diagrams.
• assistance in establishing typical root cause codes.
• a review of root cause analyses developed by other organizations for the purposes of comparison. 

What is my next step?