Root cause analyses are great tools for asset management professionals. Root causes help identify systemic issues and areas of improvement by categorizing the causes of a noted deficiency.
Root cause analysis are often used when evaluating:
- Discrepancies noted during internal audits and self-assessments
- Asset management losses
- Inventory discrepancies
- Failure to reach performance metrics
But not all root cause analyses are created equal.
Often times, folks seeking to identify and correct cited deficiencies misidentify the root cause by focusing on addressing symptoms related to root cause.
Think of pruning the blades off a weed, instead of killing the weed at the source, at the root.
Symptoms are often easily visible and identified, whereas root causes are buried and overlapped by different factors.
Let’s take a look at several examples depicting root cause analysis.
Inaccurate material balance or inadequate procedures?
As part of the company’s annual inventory the asset management team identified inaccurate record balances.
Reconciliation effort found the inventory counter miscounted the material by counting the packages and not the individual balances. For example, the inventory counter found 9 sealed bag containing 100 pieces of material in each, and 1 additional unsealed bag containing 80 pieces. The inventory recorded 10 units (10 bags) when they should have counted 980 units.
The company may misidentify the symptom (miscounting) as the root cause, and offer a corrective action of training the staff to ensure they count units vs. packages when applicable.
However, why did the employee not know to count the individual units in the first place? Is this truly a “people” problem?
Are there clear instructions readily available for all staff members to follow?
Perhaps the employee didn’t know individual units are to be counted, vs. unsealed packages, because they were never trained.
Does the company have a training program for this specific task?
Was that employee properly trained on how to conduct the inventory count?
If there’s no training program in place to ensure tasks are being conducted consistently through the different departments.
Why isn’t there a training program? Should there be?
Perhaps there is training, but there are no procedures, processes, or instructions for how the inventory should be conducted. Why not?
Addressing the root cause of the actual problem reduces the likelihood of the same recurring discrepancy (the symptom). Establishing a procedure/progress, then training to that process, and providing clear instructions that are understood can help prevent miscounting in the future.
Overconsumption of material, Production damage, or lack of routine maintenance?
As part of the company’s manufacturing the company identifies an increase in material consumption.
The company has a fixed ratio of spools of wire to power cables. For every 1000 feet of wire, they produce 100 cables. However, over the past 3 months they’ve been yielding 85 cables for the same 1000 feet of wire.
A material consumption review tracked numerous instances where additional material was issued due to damages (mis-stripped wires) during the assembly.
An inadequate analysis may chuck up the increase production scrap rate and increase the procurement of wires to yield the cable quantity needed.
But a closer review may ask WHY? Why is there an increase in damages/consumption to yield the same results?
A closer look found the damages all occurred within the same assembly team. While investigating why there’s an increase in damages, they found the unit is using wire-strippers that haven’t been maintained (sharpened) in months.
As a correction, the company added a quarterly reminder for employees to bring their tools to be maintained. But why wasn’t a systemic approach adopted?
How often are the wire-strippers required to be maintained?
Is there a maintenance program designed to remind technicians when a tool (not just the wire-strippers) is due for calibration or maintenance?
This review may find other tools needing maintenance on a recurring bases, which reduces waste and saves the company material, time and money.
A company may adopt any of the many great root cause analysis tools available, but a main takeaway is no matter the deficiency/opportunity for growth/challenge, taking the extra step to adequately identify the root cause of a specific incident will reduce reoccurrence of the noted deficiencies, save the company time, money and effort by reducing the amount of resources spent on fixing symptoms, instead of the root cause.
Root Cause Classifications (derived from the Product Data and Evaluation Program Corrective Action Request (CAR) System User Guide, January 2022 https://www.pdrep.csd.disa.mil/)
Machine
- Machine or equipment related
- Fixture Related
- Tool Related
Management
- Training was insufficient or inadequate
- Responsibilities not defined or not understood
- Resources competencies were inadequate
- Communication issues
- Planning and controls were insufficient
- Instructions or requirements were insufficient or inadequate
People
- Instruction or requirements were not followed
- Wrong decision was made
- A reading error was made
- Material handling error
- Known defect or issue not reported or inadequately reported
Material
- Material shelf life expired
- Material did not comply with specification
- Contamination of product
Method
- Validation of process was insufficient
- Manufacturing process capability was insufficient or inadequate
- Packaging, labeling, or identification of material was inadequate
- Design process was inadequate
Environment
- Natural disaster
- Information technology system failure
- Fire or power outage
- Unpredictable event
- Environmental conditions were inadequate
- Lighting conditions were inadequate
- Ergonomic conditions were poor
Measurement
- Inspection tool inadequate
- Un-calibrated inspection tool used
- Calibration error
- Instruments, displays, or controls were inadequate
- Transcription error while recording result
- Verification method was inadequate
- Inspection criteria was inappropriate or unclear
Additional resources for conducting in-depth root cause analyses
ASQ
https://asq.org/quality-resources/root-cause-analysis
Mindtools
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_80.htm
SixSigma
National Property Management Association (NPMA)
Performing Root Cause Analysis for Corrective Action Requests [The property Professional, Vol 30 issue 4]
Clarifying the 5 Why’s Problem-Solving Method
Books (Amazon affiliate links allow me to potentially earn commission on any purchases, at no cost to you)
Root Cause Analysis, Second Edition: The Core of Problem Solving and Corrective Action (5 stars on Amazon)
Root Cause Analysis: The Core of Problem Solving and Corrective Action (4.3 Stars on Amazon)
Interested to learn about physical asset management and industry leading practices?
Check out trade associations like the National Property Management Association (NPMA.org) to interact, learn and share practices with a community of Asset Managers with disciplines across most industries (Fleet management, logistics, defense, hospitals, local Government, education, and more!)