There are range of problem analysis and solution tools for dealing with incidents, especially those which interrupt business processes and operations. However, despite well understood fault diagnostic tools and techniques, there is considerable variation in how they are applied and there are a number of common mistakes which are frequently seen.
Common Mistake #1 - Blaming Someone
When an incident occurs it is natural to apportion blame and take disciplinary action against those perceived to be at fault. This does absolutely nothing to deal with the problem itself, and in order to find out exactly what has occurred it is necessary to have the candid cooperation of the people involved.
Blaming someone is not the way forward, and fostering a culture of blame destroys the underlying need for people to be mentally prepared to accept responsibility and be accountable for what has happened.
Common Mistake #2 - Considering Problems as Having an Isolated Cause
Root cause analysis supposes that we can identify one, underlying event or occurrence which results in the problem under review. By stopping or removing that root cause we can cure the problem - unfortunately, this is based on a false assumption, i.e. that problems are due to isolated instances.
The reality is that there will be a number of faults which will occur, leading to the culmination of the problem under review. For instance, poor supervisor training leads to a failure to properly monitor line staff who received inadequate training to operate equipment, which led to inappropriate use of equipment in product production which resulted in contamination of finished product.
Common Mistake #3 - Describing the Problem
A common mistake is to simply describe what the problem is - for instance, "On 1st January, drive shaft in unit A suffered misalignment failure creating loss of Pump B and shutdown of production line C."
This narrative may serve to tell us what happened, but it does not tell us what the problem is. In other words, a problem description is not a substitute for problem analysis. An analysis goes back through time to find and review why each step in the series of events occurred and how it led to the final problem and allows focus and concentration on possible solutions.
Common Mistake #4 - Analyzing the Problem in Terms of Cause
Analyzing a problem in terms of what the problem is or what created it is almost invariably futile. Think of the last time someone said to a group of people, "What's the problem?" Nothing is guaranteed to engender disagreement faster than that question! One person may say, "The seal broke on this pipeline", another may say, "Maintenance failed to reseal the leak reported to line management last month" and yet another will say, "The problem is line management never reported the problem to maintenance."
The analysis should instead concentrate on what the goals should be; for instance, "How much downtime do you want to experience?" - the answer will be the same from the CEO down to the line staff - "Zero!"
Common Mistake #1 - Blaming Someone
When an incident occurs it is natural to apportion blame and take disciplinary action against those perceived to be at fault. This does absolutely nothing to deal with the problem itself, and in order to find out exactly what has occurred it is necessary to have the candid cooperation of the people involved.
Blaming someone is not the way forward, and fostering a culture of blame destroys the underlying need for people to be mentally prepared to accept responsibility and be accountable for what has happened.
Common Mistake #2 - Considering Problems as Having an Isolated Cause
Root cause analysis supposes that we can identify one, underlying event or occurrence which results in the problem under review. By stopping or removing that root cause we can cure the problem - unfortunately, this is based on a false assumption, i.e. that problems are due to isolated instances.
The reality is that there will be a number of faults which will occur, leading to the culmination of the problem under review. For instance, poor supervisor training leads to a failure to properly monitor line staff who received inadequate training to operate equipment, which led to inappropriate use of equipment in product production which resulted in contamination of finished product.
Common Mistake #3 - Describing the Problem
A common mistake is to simply describe what the problem is - for instance, "On 1st January, drive shaft in unit A suffered misalignment failure creating loss of Pump B and shutdown of production line C."
This narrative may serve to tell us what happened, but it does not tell us what the problem is. In other words, a problem description is not a substitute for problem analysis. An analysis goes back through time to find and review why each step in the series of events occurred and how it led to the final problem and allows focus and concentration on possible solutions.
Common Mistake #4 - Analyzing the Problem in Terms of Cause
Analyzing a problem in terms of what the problem is or what created it is almost invariably futile. Think of the last time someone said to a group of people, "What's the problem?" Nothing is guaranteed to engender disagreement faster than that question! One person may say, "The seal broke on this pipeline", another may say, "Maintenance failed to reseal the leak reported to line management last month" and yet another will say, "The problem is line management never reported the problem to maintenance."
The analysis should instead concentrate on what the goals should be; for instance, "How much downtime do you want to experience?" - the answer will be the same from the CEO down to the line staff - "Zero!"
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