Re: Root Cause Analysis - Presentations
Keep in mind that as the true root cause of a problem is turned on and off the problem should do the same. If If the problem dosen't react as we turn the root cause on and off, then we haven't found the true root cause and need to start over again.
Turning off [or on] a "suspected" root cause does not necessarily prove you have identified the true root cause - sometimes you have to ask whether there was an even deeper root cause affecting the suspected process. That deeper root cause may be lurking to bite you in the rear on another product.
I recall one instance where we determined a root cause of "chatter" on a CNC turning machine was due to the style and material of the tool bit and we therefore moved to a much more expensive tool bit which lasted a lot longer than the first, but still ultimately developed a chatter. A casual comment by a manufacturer's representative brought in to help us through our DOE led us to look at the material. A detailed metallurgical analysis of the material disclosed some inclusions not visible to the naked eye, but which were prematurely destroying our tool bits.
We replaced the material and were able to use either the original tool bit design or the newer one and get similarly large numbers of parts before we needed to replace the tool, resulting in production savings which far outpaced the cost of the root cause investigation.