Current Quality Blog » Root Cause Analysis

Wow Your Audience With Mind Mapping

Sandra Gauvin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:36:16 +0000

If you use brainstorming as a tool and would like to communicate the results creatively, then you should learn how to Mind Map. The concept was created by Tony Buzan as a way to communicate information visually through pictures and word associations so you remember the information more easily….a majority of us think visually, plus it’s a fun way to jazz up a list. But don’t think this tool is limited to just brainstorming….you can also use it to solve business problems, find root cause, etc.

First you start out with a central idea, and draw main branches that represent words related to it, followed by smaller branches….don’t forget to add pictures! Although you can purchase mind mapping software, I think hand drawn maps have more ‘personality’. Check out the map by Paul Foreman, an experienced mapper and talented artist….most of his maps focus on inspiration.

Since hand-drawn maps aren’t a practical solution in the business world, I’ve been spending time evaluating mind mapping software that’s easy-to-use….stay tuned for my final evaluation.

Mystery Author Identified

Sandra Gauvin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:29:39 +0000

A great big thanks to everyone that submitted questions for the upcoming RCA interview!!

The interview will be with Denise Robitaille, a published author and industry expert on all things related to Quality Systems (both regulated and non-regulated industries). She also writes regularly for Quality Digest (just last week she wrote an interesting article on the ‘4 Things You Should Get From Root Cause Analysis‘) and has published several books, one specifically on ‘Root Cause Analysis: Basic Tools and Techniques‘. You can read Denise’s bio below….

The interview will take place on Monday, November 23rd. Once the interview is available, all Current Quality members will be notified and have access to the interview. If you’re not a member, you can sign up here.

Take care,
Sandra

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Denise Robitaille is the author of nine books. She is an internationally recognized speaker who brings years of experience to the quality profession. She is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality. In 2005, she was recognized in Quality Digest as one of the “Drivers of Quality.”

She is a member of US TAG to ISO/TC176, where she participates at the international level with other colleagues in the revisions to the ISO 9000 family of standards. She is also an RAB-QSA certified lead assessor and an ASQ Certified Quality Auditor.

Denise has helped numerous organizations to achieve ISO 9001 registration and to improve their quality management systems. She has conducted training courses for thousands of individuals on such topics as document control, corrective action, root cause analysis, management review, auditing and implementing ISO 9001. Denise’s books include: The Corrective Action Handbook, The Management Review Handbook, Document Control: A Simple Guide to Managing Documentation, The Preventive Action Handbook, Managing Supplier Related Processes and The Insiders’ Guide to ISO 9001:2008 (co-author). She is a regular columnist for Quality Digest and The Auditor and is the author of numerous articles.

NonConformance Report: 4 Key Things To Consider

Sandra Gauvin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:42:07 +0000

Write A Good Problem Statement
I’ve learned over the years that writing a good problem statement in your NonConformance Report is probably the most important part of any investigation. If the problem isn’t stated clearly, then it becomes too easy to misinterpret the problem and lead the investigation in the wrong direction. A Good problem statement should tell someone ‘who, what, where, and when’….the ‘why’ will be addressed in the actual investigation.

Start Your Investigation Immediately
Every investigation has an assigned timeframe (specified in your Standard Operating Procedure) in which it must be completed….that means approved and closed out. So the day the NonConformance Report is initiated, the clock starts ticking. If you wait until you have very little time left before you begin, then you most likely won’t complete a through investigation and may find yourself revisiting the issue. Set up a timeline that will include milestones along the way so that you are working on the investigation little-by-little….before you know it your NonConformance Report will be completed and on-time!

Consider All Possibilities When Determining Root Cause
In your NonConformance Report, you want to make sure that you consider everything that may be contributing to the problem and rule each one out until you’ve gotten to the most likely root cause(s)….yes there can be more than one root cause. Sometimes our workload gets a bit crazy and it becomes too easy to quickly jump to a premature conclusion.

Verify That Your Corrective Action Was Effective
Give yourself enough time to evaluate whether or not the the problem has truly been corrected. For example, if the problem used to occur whenever you manufactured product X, then you would want to make sure you have at least three cycles of making product X after your corrective action has been implemented. If the problem hasn’t occurred during the three cycles, then you most likely got to the root cause.

Let me know what your experience has been with NonConformance Reports and if this post has been helpful.

Thanks,
Sandra

Leading A Root Cause Analysis

Sandra Gauvin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:37:04 +0000

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