Supporting Root Cause Analysis: A Manager’s Perspective by Robert J. Latino, EVP, Strategic Development, Reliability Center, Inc. 

Abstract: In a world inundated with the perceived “programs-of-the-month”, many legitimate efforts are discounted because of guilt-by-association.  While many of these perceptions may be invalid and not based on current reality, nevertheless they are the belief systems of the workforce and therefore what they base their decisions on.  So how do managers successfully implement proven methods, practices and techniques into such an environment?  This paper will strive to discuss management’s specific role in one reliability method called Root Cause Analysis.

The purpose of this paper is not to educate managers in the various methods of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) on the market, but to inform them of how to support the concept that RCA embellishes and successfully apply it.

For the sake of having unity in our understanding of terms, let’s define Root Cause Analysis as the following:

“Root Cause Analysis is any evidence-driven process that, at a minimum, uncovers underlying truths about past adverse events, thereby exposing opportunities for making lasting improvements. (5/20/04 – Mr. William Salot).”  

This definition is certainly ambiguous and open to argument.  However, we want to focus only on the concept and its desired outcomes for this article. We wish to reduce costs and increase production through the elimination of failures and problems. 

Providing we have selected an RCA approach, how do we ensure as management that the effort is successful for the corporation?  We will explore in this paper the roles of three key support positions for a RCA effort: 

·         Executive Management

·         RCA Champions

·         RCA Drivers 

THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT IN RCA

1.       It must start with an executive putting a rubber stamp on the RCA effort and outlining specifically what his or her expectations are for the process and a time line for when he or she expects to see bottom-line results.

2.       The approving executive(s) should be educated in the RCA process themselves, even if it is an overview version.  Such demonstrations of support are worth their weight in gold because the users can be assured that the executives have learned what they are learning and agree and support the process.

3.       The executive responsible for the success of the effort should designate a Champion of the RCA effort.  This individual’s role will be outlined later.

4.       It should be clearly delineated how this RCA will benefit the company, but more importantly it should also delineate how it will benefit the work life of every employee. 

5.       Next the executive should outline how the RCA process will be implemented to accomplish the objectives and how management will support those actions.

6.       A policy or procedure should be developed to institutionalize the RCA process.  This is another physical demonstration of support that also provides continuity of the RCA application and its perceived staying power.  It gives the effort perceived staying power because even if there is a turnover in management, institutionalized processes have a greater chance of weathering the storm.

7.       However, the most important action an executive can take to demonstrate support is to sign a check.  We believe this is a universal sign of support.

 THE ROLE OF A RCA CHAMPION

 There are three major roles of a RCA Champion:

1.       The Champion must administer and support the RCA effort from a management standpoint.  This includes ensuring that the message from the top to the floor is communicated properly and effectively.  Any deviations from the plan will be the responsibility of the Champion to align or get back on track.  This person is truly the “Champion” of the RCA effort.

2.       The second primary role of the RCA Champion is to be a mentor to the Drivers and the Analysts.  This means that the Champion must be educated in the RCA process and have a thorough understanding of what is necessary for success.

3.       The third primary role of the RCA Champion is to be a protector of those that utilize the process and uncover causes that may be politically sensitive.  Sometimes we refer to this role as providing “air cover” for ground troops.  In order to fulfill this responsibility, the RCA Champion must be in a position of authority in order to take a defense position and protect the person who uncovered these facts.

The RCA Champion’s additional responsibilities include insuring that the following responsibilities are carried out:

1.       Selecting and training RCA Driver’s who will lead RCA teams.  What are the personal characteristics that are required to make this a success?  What kind of training do they need to provide them the tools to do the job right?

2.       Developing management support systems such as:

A.     RCA performance criteria – What are the expectations of financial returns that are expected from the corporation? What are the time frames?  What are the landmarks?

B.    Providing time – In an era of re-engineering and lean manufacturing, “How are we going to mandate that designated employees WILL spend 10% of their week on RCA teams?”

C.     Process the recommendations – How are recommendations from RCA’s going to be handled in the current work order system?  How does improvement (proactive) work get executed in a reactive work order system?

D.     Provide technical resources – What technical resources are going to be made available to the analysts to prove and disprove their hypotheses using the “Whatever It Takes” mentality?

E.    Provide skill-based training – How will we educate RCA team members and ensure that they are competent enough to participate on such a team?

3.       The Champion shall also be responsible for setting performance expectations. The Champion should draft a letter that will be forwarded to all students that attend the RCA training.  The letter should clearly outline exactly what is expected of them and how the follow-up system will be implemented.

4.       The Champion should ensure that all training classes are kicked off whether by they, an executive or other person of authority, giving credibility and priority to the effort.

5.       The Champion should also be responsible for developing and setting up a recognition system for RCA successes.  Recognition can be in the form of a letter from an executive to tickets to a ball game.  Whatever the incentive is, it should be of value to the recipient.

THE ROLE OF THE RCA DRIVER

From a functional standpoint the RCA Driver’s roles are:

1.       Making arrangements for RCA training for team leaders and team members - This includes setting up meeting times, approving training objectives and providing adequate training rooms.

2.       Reiterating expectations to students - Clarify to students what is expected of them, when it is expected and how it will be obtained.  The Driver should occasionally set and hold RCA class reunions.  This reunion should be announced at the initial training so as to set an expectation of demonstrable performance by that time.

3.       Ensure that RCA support systems are working – Notify RCA Champion of any deficiencies in support systems and see that they are corrected.

4.       Facilitate RCA teams – The Driver shall lead the RCA teams and be responsible and accountable for the team’s performance.  The Driver will be responsible for properly documenting every phase of the analysis.

5.       Document performance – The Driver will be responsible for developing the appropriate metrics to measure performance against.  This performance shall always be converted from units to dollars when demonstrating savings, hence success.

6.       Communicate performance – The Driver shall be the chief spokesperson for the team.  They will present management updates as well as other individuals on-site and at other similar operations that could benefit from the information.  The Driver shall develop proper information distribution routes so that the RCA results get to others in the organization that may have, or have had, similar occurrences.

While we have specifically focused in on one Reliability Method called RCA in this article, we can see how many of these tasks apply to implementing any corporate initiative.  Oftentimes such well-intentioned efforts obtain the label of “program-of-the-month” by the workforce because they feel that management will not support it.  Management cannot expect change to occur in the behavior of the workforce without first demonstrating the desired behavior themselves to the population.  Sometimes management does not realize how closely their actions are monitored and scrutinized by the workforce.  A little show of support goes a long way.

These are merely guidelines and not meant as being perceived as a cookbook.  This information should provide a framework by which we can modify to accommodate our specific circumstances.

Once the workforce has accepted this effort to be legitimate because of the support shown, management’s concerns will refocus on how to handle all of the creativity that will be submitted by the employees.  The power of a unified workforce is phenomenal and the profitability staggering.  This is a good problem to have!