Getting Root Cause Analysis to Work for You

I have heard one manager in a plant that has stipulated a maximum of two hours for an Root Cause Analysis to be conducted in his organisation. Another expects at least “brainstormed” solutions before the conclusion of day one – within 6 or 7 hours.  It is not uncommon for a draft report to be required within 48 hours of the RCA. The following three tips may assist to meet tight deadlines and when time expectations are short. One advantage of the Apollo RCA process is that it is a fast process but the “driver” has to be on the ball to achieve the desired outcomes – effective solutions.

Many different factors contribute towards the failure of a pump. Some factors that did not seem to have contributed to earlier failures were not examined or considered and may become the cause of failure under other situations. Failures do not occur suddenly. Usually there are many symptoms, which signal a failure situation and are generally termed as potential failure modes. The ignorance of such symptoms almost always leads to failure. Below are two case studies pertaining to mechanical seal systems, a vital component of pumps operating in running process plant.

DOE Order 5000.3A, "Occurrence Reporting and Processing of Operations Information," investigation and reporting of occurrences (including the performance of root cause analysis) requires the and the selection, implementation, and follow-up of corrective actions. The level of effort expended should be based on the significance attached to the occurrence. Most off-normal occurrences need only a scaled down effort while most emergency occurrences should be investigated using one or more of the formal analytical models. A discussion of methodologies, instructions, and worksheets in this document guides the analysis of occurrences as specified by DOE Order 5000.3A.

What we need to do today is make management aware through education and awareness that our cultures live with these chronic events that typically end up costing 100 times more than the occasional sporadic event. Unfortunately, the sporadic events get all the attention. When our cultures are enlightened, we will begin to enjoy the fruits of our efforts in the form of return on investment (ROI) figures as high as 7000-8000 percent. Then the believers will come.

Lately, I’ve been asked to provide root-cause analysis training more than ever before in my 14 years as an independent quality/lean consultant. This is interesting in the age of Six Sigma, especially because “analyze” is the heart of DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control). I find this interesting in this age of lean, in which the lean tools that are taught to so many people are only possible solutions to good root-cause analysis. I began to wonder, “Why does root-cause analysis suck?,” and I came up with the following possible root causes. You decide which apply to your company by asking “Why?” somewhere around five times until you find the systemic reason(s) that it sucks at your company. Drum roll, please . . .

Much has been written on the subject of the “root cause” and “root cause analysis” (RCA) of failures and it is a subject on which it is worth spending considerable time and effort. But first, lets define a “root cause”.

The business process is most commonly named Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) or root cause analysis. The name itself implies the largest and most expensive problem when implementing problem solving in an organization. The results wanted from the process are to eliminate the problem, not to analyze the failure. To convey the desired result to the organization, the name should therefore be changed to Root Cause Problem Elimination (RCPE).