Root
Cause
Analysis
DIGGING DEEPER

Does it happen in your
organization?
❖ You have a problem which gets repeated day after day, and month after
month.
❖ Whatever actions you take, it does not go away.
❖ You have tried training employees, changing the work instructions, but it
does not seem to make a big difference.
❖ There could be two reasons:
▪ You are not taking a Corrective Action
▪ You take it, but it is not effective

Root Cause Analysis
❖ Root Cause Analysis is used to analyze the root cause of a positive or
negative event. The purpose is to take corrective actions to prevent
recurrence of a negative outcome, or to facilitate the recurrence of a
positive outcome.
▪ In reality, it is mainly used for negative events.
❖ It is typically used to analyze:
▪ A quality problem
▪ A failure (product or service)
▪ A safety incidence

Root Cause Analysis
❖ Most common approaches for the Root Cause Analysis are:
▪ Five Whys
▪ Fishbone Diagram
▪ A3 Problem Solving
▪ 8D (Eight Disciplines)
❖ Root Cause Analysis is a part of the bigger theme: “Problem Solving”

Problem Solving
❖ Two ways to solve a problem:
▪ Reactive – Act once the problem happens and focus on removing the symptoms.
▪ Proactive – Focus on removing the cause of the problem so that problem does not happen again.
❖ Or even better, take actions even before the problem happens in the first
place.

Problem Solving
❖ Two ways to solve a problem:
▪ Reactive – Act once the problem happens and focus on removing the symptoms. (Correction)
▪ Proactive – Focus on removing the cause of the problem so that problem does not happen again.
(Corrective Action)
❖ Or even better, take actions even before the problem happens in the first
place. (Preventive Action)

Correction
❖ Action to eliminate a detected nonconformity
▪ A correction can be made in advance of, in conjunction with or after a corrective action.
▪ A correction can be, for example, rework or regrade.

Corrective Action
❖ Action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity and to prevent recurrence.
▪ There can be more than one cause for a nonconformity.
▪ Corrective action is taken to prevent recurrence whereas preventive action is taken to prevent occurrence.

Preventive Action
❖ Action to eliminate the cause of a potential nonconformity or other potential
undesirable situation
▪ There can be more than one cause for a potential nonconformity.
▪ Preventive action is taken to prevent occurrence whereas corrective action is taken to prevent recurrence.

Root Cause
❖ Cause and Effect relationship
❖ What is a root cause?
▪ A cause if corrected with prevent the recurrence of a problem.
▪ It will also prevent the occurrence of similar problems.
▪ It is the most basic reason of the problem that can be logically identified and corrected
▪ There could be multiple root causes of a problem
❖ A causal factor is one that affects an event's outcome but is not the root
cause.
▪ It might remove or reduce the problem but will not help in avoiding the problem from happening again.
▪ Causal factors are also called contributors or influencers.