Root Cause Analysis

“How do we fix it?”

That’s probably the first question that is asked when a problem arises from an association member. Great to fix it, but many companies and employees stop there. Push further and determine the root cause analysis (RCA), so we prevent problems from happening again.

Let’s look at the RCA steps, or what I call?the 6 Ds…the last ‘D’ isn’t perfect, but “Review and Evaluate” didn’t quite fit in my naming convention!

1.??????Define or determine the problem. What are you trying to solve and what are the warning signs?

2.??????Data pick up. Play detective and search and collect the details about the event. Ask, “Who was involved?” but not in a finger-pointing way…be analytical and stick to the facts. What was the landscape, environment, or situation where and when the problem happened?

3.??????Data dump, or brainstorm all potential causes, even if some seem unlikely.

4.??????Determine the root cause. Keep the detective hat on as you figure out the underlying reason for the occurrence of the problem. Keep in mind that it is not a symptom of the problem, but rather the factor that caused the symptom to occur.

5.??????Deploy corrective actions. You and your team can play the hero here, so the problem doesn’t occur again.

6.??????Deconstruct (but it’s really, review and evaluate). You have the corrective actions in place…are they effective in preventing the problem from happening again?

Maybe this isn’t a formal step in RCA but remember to take a Bird’s-Eye View. It’s all about awareness. A problem happened but through root cause analysis, we took care of it and future occurrences, right? Well, there are no guarantees so, keep ‘an eye on things.’ Use this entire experience as a teaching tool.

What are examples of when an RCA should be conducted? The list is endless, and not just in the association world, especially spread across a variety of industries, but here are a few examples:

• Education: The eight grade students at a particular school performed poorly on standardized tests in 2023 compared to past years and with the 8th grade classes at neighboring schools.
• Manufacturing: The check engine indicator light flashes on the dashboard of a new car model at a frequency so high that recalls are issued.
• Warehousing: Lower back injuries at a large warehouse facility are dramatically increasing at a pace never seen before.

You can use the traditional models or tools for root cause analysis, like the Five Whys, Fishbone diagram (Ishikawa cause and effect), Pareto chart, etc., but the fundamentals are similar. The important concept is to adopt and implement a program that investigates RCAs.

Feel free to post a response here or send me a message at [email protected] and let me know your thoughts about this and other topics.