Organizing the Root Cause Questions to Get Better Results
Your project has a problem, but before you can fix it you need to identify the root cause. In order to conduct proper analysis, you must ask the right questions. A method suggested by Kepner-Tregoe® suggests applying the 5-Why tool. This enables the analyst to arrive at a problem that is already near the core reason.
How the Five-Why Tool Works:
Therefore, the presence of radon emissions in the workplace is the primary problem to be addressed. In establishing this as the main issue, the questions used in the root cause analysis helped us draw closer to the root cause.
Below is the framework for traditional data gathering to help determine the root cause:
1. Identify the problem The first step is a brief description of the incident and why it is considered as a problem. The problem is identified by asking a series of questions.
What happened?
This question probes not only on what was visible at the time of the incident but also the conditions felt or sensed by the interviewees.
The description may be brief but it should aim to describe in full.
When did the event happen?
The answer could be easily stated as the date and time the event transpired. Additional questions can fully explore any peculiarities present in relation to the time of the event.
What area was affected?
It’s not just about the area and how it was affected, but also what was included in the area.
Hence, probing questions regarding susceptibility of a particular work stage or worker to the occurrence of error, breakdowns or unauthorized operation, can be determined.
What records are available for the affected area?
Investigations will center mostly in the area where most workers on disability leave are assigned.
2. Establish the Procedures or Process Employed
What procedural steps were being followed by the workers?
Here the questions are best formulated by mapping out a process flow diagram to determine the order by which the procedures take place. This is also where human factors come into focus as the performers of the action that led to or those who were affected by the events.
3. Prepare a Problem Analysis Worksheet for the Answers Gathered:
To maintain an organized method of analysis, each set of questions are categorized as answers to:
a. Systems or procedural failures
b. Failure that is inherent to the location
c. Failure to maintain informational records or documentation
For every answer gathered, place it under a descriptive columns: Is a Cause and Could be a Cause but is not.
We now analyze why there are an increasing number of employees going on an extended disability leave by re-organizing our answers.
Is a Cause:
Could be a Cause but is not:
It has been ascertained that there is lack of consultancy services and that there are no documents to support the organizations’ claim that the place is being tested for emissions. There is also evidence that the employees are overworked and are not supported by training manuals. Hence the analyst could not readily decide if radon emissions were the cause since doing so entails making recommendations for building renovations.
However, there are still other factors to investigate such as the fully depreciated state of the building and its inefficient exhaust vents as well as the presence of other chemicals in the workplace. Gathering data through interview processes may be long and tedious, but if one asks the right questions, the analyst can be confident of getting better results.
Organizing the Root Cause Questions to Get Better Results
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