Root Cause Analysis Training for Non-Engineers

Root Cause Analysis Training for Non-Engineers

Root Cause Analysis Training for Non-Engineers Course Description

Root cause analysis training for non-engineers discusses the concepts behind root cause analysis methodology. Also this hands-on seminar will teach you the methods and tools involved in root cause analysis. Since this training course is designed for the individuals with no engineering background, the statistical and mathematical methods are developed accordingly. Root cause analysis training for non-engineers focuses on the non-industrial, non-engineering applications of root cause analysis such as health care, lab quality, business process, sales, marketing, etc.

What is Root Cause Analysis in A Simple Language?

Root cause analysis is a methodology through which we get to the bottom of a problem to discover the most important cause of the problem.

Root cause analysis is the process of defining the problem, identifying the underlying casual factors, collecting data, analyzing the collected data, recommending solutions, selecting the best solution, implementing the solution, and monitoring the effect of the implemented solution on the system to evaluate if it was effective.

Philosophy of Root Cause Analysis

• Each problem is an opportunity for improvement
• It is crucial that everybody gets involved in improving quality
• The “right” problem must be identified before any action is taken
• All people involved in identifying the problem should be focused, free-minded, relentless, and patient

Root Cause Analysis vs. Symptom Approach

Conducting a poor root cause analysis is as though you put bandaids on the symptoms of the problem instead of curing it from the roots.

• In symptom approach, errors are the results of human (worker) mistakes, while in root cause analysis errors are the results of system defects. People are only one element of the system
• In symptom approach, workers and employees are trained to be “more careful”, whereas in root cause analysis, mistake-proofing methods are implemented to prevent the errors from happening again
• In symptom approach, there is no time or resources to explore the underlying causal factors, while in root cause analysis, it gets to the bottom of the problem and identify the real problem to eliminate it permanently

Root Cause Analysis Major Methods

• Events and Causal Factor Analysis
• Change analysis
• Barrier analysis
• Management oversight and Risk Tree (MORT) Analysis
• Human Performance Evaluation
• Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making

Why Do You Need Root Cause Analysis Training?

• You will learn how to identify the real problem
• You will learn how to identify the most important cause with the biggest effect
• You will learn to derive effective corrective action and preventive plan for the problem to avoid the same problem from happening again

TONEX Root Cause Analysis Training Methodology

• TONEX root cause analysis training for non-engineers includes several in-class activities; hands on exercises, case studies and workshops.
• TONEX root cause analysis training for non-engineers is in the form of an interactive workshop.
• During the TONEX root cause analysis training for non-engineers, participants can bring in their own sample problem statements or incidents description and through our coaching, conduct a thorough root cause analysis.

Audience

TONEX root cause analysis training for non-engineer is a 2-day course designed for:

• Quality scientists
• Healthcare managers and supervisors
• Medical, microbiology, chemistry, and genetics lab managers
• Regional managers
• Franchise managers
• Hospital personnel
• Business owners
• Marketing and sales people
• All the individuals who are involved with problem solving

Training Objectives

Upon the completion of root cause analysis training for non-engineers, attendees are able to:

• Evaluate the symptoms to identify the real problem
• Define the problem statement clear and with sufficient detail
• Apply proper tools to collect data
• Generate ideas about all potential root causes of the problem
• Eliminate the root causes logically and based on the collected data until the most important cause is determined
• Analyze the collected data
• Generate ideas about possible solutions
• Express advantages and disadvantages of each solution
• Select the best solution
• Implement the solution confidently
• Follow up on the implemented solution to ensure that’s the right solution
• Develop an action plan
• Develop a preventive plan in order to avoid the problems from happening again in future

Course Outline

Overview of Root Cause Analysis

• Definition of root cause
• Definition of root cause analysis
• Some brief background on root cause analysis
• Purpose of root cause analysis
• Logic behind root cause analysis
• Why do we need root cause analysis
• Non-engineering fields of applications
• Advantages of root cause analysis
• Root cause analysis limitations and barriers

First Step: Learning How to Solve the Problem in Action?

• Define a problem statement, clear with no ambiguity?
• Identify the right problem?
• Components of problem identifying
  • Defect Creation
  • Physics of Failure
  • Human Factors
  • Life Cycle Gaps
  • Hidden Failures
• Why prioritizing matters and how to do it?
• Methods of problem solving
• Identifying potential causes
• Measuring the effect of each cause
• Discovering the roots of the problem
• Going proactive
• Understanding the problems deeply and thoroughly
  • Comprehend the problem
  • Utilizing flowcharts
  • Developing checklists
  • Creating performance matrices

Exploring the Causes, All of Them

• How to ensure all the causes are considered?
• How to decide which causes are crucial?
• Fault tree analysis methods
• Utilizing the fishbone diagrams to generate causes
• Brainstorming the causes

Gathering All the Relevant Information and Evaluate Them

• Methods to gather data
• Taking advantage of the already existing data
• Perform samplings
• How population is different from sampling?
• Preparing Check sheets
• Using surveys
• Problem cause data collection checklist

How to Evaluate the Collected Data?

• How data analysis works?
• What are the tools you can use to assess the data?
  • Run charts
  • Histograms
  • Pareto diagram
  • Modified scatter diagram
  • Pivot tables
  • Affinity diagrams
  • Relationship diagrams
• Integrated data analysis tools

How to Deal with the Human-Based Errors?

• Different analysis of incident/accident
• Causes and solutions to these errors

More to Do with Data

• The 3D variables
• Specifying the major factors
• Data comparisons approaches

Brief Introduction to Statistics

• t, F, and ANOVA tests
• Excel the statistics
• Chi-square for count data

Management Impact on Root Cause Analysis

• How phycological biases impact the system?
• The Workplace environment
• What are the characteristics of supportive manners and why they matter?

Executing the Chosen Solutions

• Getting ready to execute the decided solutions
• Establishing an action plan to execute the changes/modifications
• Employing tree diagrams
• Accepting the changes and preparing to implement them
• Applying force-field analysis

TONEX Hands-On Workshop Sample

• Practice what you learned on an organizational project
• Define the problem statement/describe the incident
• Outline the process
• Identify the right problem
• Investigate the potential causes by using the tools taught in the class
• Collect data
• Use check sheets
• Create sample surveys or interviews
• Analyze the data
• Come up with a list of solutions
• Select/eliminate solutions until you have a final solution
• Develop an action plan based on your recommended solution
• Develop a preventive plan

Root Cause Analysis Training for Non-Engineers