Hallo,
Hopefully this is just a quick question.
When we record the RCA do we need to be saying the steps taken to identify the RCA or is it sufficient to just say what the root cause is?
My understanding was that you need to say how you got to the root cause because there could be other causes besides the one that they identified (but how do you know that if you didn't look at what they did to identify the cause?). I could be asking too much of the staff though if all they need is to say what they identified the root cause to be.
Before asking them to complete it I just wanted to make sure I'm not asking them what isn't called for!
Thanks,
Avril
Hopefully this is just a quick question.
When we record the RCA do we need to be saying the steps taken to identify the RCA or is it sufficient to just say what the root cause is?
My understanding was that you need to say how you got to the root cause because there could be other causes besides the one that they identified (but how do you know that if you didn't look at what they did to identify the cause?). I could be asking too much of the staff though if all they need is to say what they identified the root cause to be.
Before asking them to complete it I just wanted to make sure I'm not asking them what isn't called for!
Thanks,
Avril
A good rule of thumb for me is to be able to look upon one of these records a year down the road and know exactly how we determined what the true problems were, because most of the time, if you don't record this critical step of the process, then its information will essentially decay into tribal knowledge - sometimes that includes important information which could come in very handy later, and you would be smacking yourself on the forehead for not jotting it down beforehand.
While my company does not use a sector-specific format like 8D, we do use a CA form tailored to our specific needs. It includes fields for containment actions, root cause(s), and failure analysis....for us, this field outlines exactly how we reached our root cause determinations. To me, it is the best insurance policy for backing up a root cause justification, so why not use it to your advantage? It just makes good business sense - no matter what field you're in.
Brian