When leading a root cause analysis, you want to make sure that you consider everything that may have contributed to the problem, otherwise you may find yourself dealing with the same problem more than once….you’ll feel like you’re in the movie Groundhog Day.

The easiest way to lead a root cause analysis is to identify what process the problem occurred in, then create a high-level process map that consists of approximately 4-6 process steps.  For each process step, you need to write down the inputs (Manpower, Method, Machine, Material, Mother Nature….known as the 5 M’s).

Then gather a few people that are knowledgeable on the process and let them know that you would like them to participate in a root cause analysis.  Review with them each input to determine if it may have contributed in any way to the problem.   This can be done quickly if you create a numerical rating system (i.e. 0 = Didn’t contribute, 3 = May have contributed, 5 = Definitely Contributed).  Then quickly go through each input and get a rating from the participants….document the average rating for each input and rank them in order from highest to lowest.  The input(s) that get the highest ratings should be addressed immediately.

Once you’ve implemented your solutions, you should monitor the process for a reasonable amount of time to make sure that you truly got to root cause….meaning the problem shouldn’t have occurred again during that time period.

Always make sure that you document your root cause analysis for two reasons:  You can verify to an auditor that a root cause analysis was completed, and if you find that the problem still exists you can revisit your work and look at the next likely root cause without having to start from the beginning.

Let me know if you’ve found this article helpful….I’d really like to know.

Take care,
Sandra