Root cause analysis is a process used by business managers to determine the true source of a problem and prevent it from recurring in the future. It looks at the process behind the problem rather than blaming employees and seeks to promote collaboration between departments.
A root cause analysis is a questioning and investigation process that business managers use to determine the true source of a problem. He seeks to go beyond treating the symptoms of the problem and isolate the real cause. The main objective of a root cause analysis is to prevent the problem from recurring in the future.
Companies may become aware of a problem in one of their processes during several stages. For example, it could be a defect in the design of a product that appears during testing. The problem may not appear until the product is in the hands of a customer and the company receives a complaint. If a company becomes aware of the problem when the product is in the customer’s hands, it will result in increased costs.
The costs of correcting the problem increase, as the customer may not continue to purchase products from the company due to their dissatisfaction. If the issue is not resolved by the company in a way that pleases the customer, it could result in negative word-of-mouth publicity. The customer may well tell his family, friends and casual acquaintances about his negative experience. A root cause analysis seeks to prevent this type of scenario.
Rather than blaming employees, a root cause analysis looks at the process behind the problem. For example, if an employee is involved in an accident while performing their duties, company managers will delve deeper into the work procedures and policies established around the task that led to the injury. Managers may also need to review any equipment involved, including procedures for maintaining it. Root cause analysis continues to ask why the injury occurred and goes back through all the processes involved.
If managers determined that faulty equipment was causing employee injury, they would start with the faulty equipment. The analysis may lead them to the discovery that the faulty equipment should not have been used. Perhaps it was not determined that the employee was at fault because he did not receive adequate training. An analysis may even discover that the faulty equipment was not replaced due to a disagreement as to which department in the company should be responsible for purchasing the correct equipment.
The result of the root cause analysis revealed that the real cause was an unwillingness to promote cross-departmental collaboration and spend the necessary funds to ensure employee safety. To prevent the problem from happening again, the company’s managers would first need to ensure that the proper equipment was purchased. Additionally, they would need to work to create an environment where the two departments would see each other as a team rather than adversaries.
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