Skip to main content

Why you need to push for the root cause

I see how many businesses handle their end of project reviews, or their non-conformance reports.

I see how they try to skip along the process, trying to get back to what they were doing in the first place.

For some of these businesses, what they were doing before is how they got into the bother they are looking at presently... so why go back to it?

The root cause is important. It help organisations of all shapes and forms to improve. But only if you get to the root cause. The root cause is the aha moment, the point when you realise that the change is in your power to resolve.

When you fail to dig down to the right level, you are left with vague conclusions. You aren't left with the clarity of a root cause realisation. You don't have a clear set of steps you can take.

This is the power of the root cause and I urge you to embrace it if you aren't doing so presently.

Available on Kindle and Paperback
A few years ago I wrote a book on getting the most out of the 5 Why technique for determining root causes. The book is called Effective Root Cause Analysis. Apart from some practical ideas on how to use this technique in a way that achieves better results than just asking 'why?' and hoping for the best, I put a challenge in there.

The challenge was to take ownership of the root cause. When you make this a personal issue, the impact, the control the ability effect change, all changes.

If you haven't experienced this yet, and you keep facing Groundhog day (with the same issues rearing their heads day in and day out) then I can't stress enough the importance of the root cause.

Look at your meetings where you review business wide challenges, or non-conformances, and don't let yourself off the hook. See what you can personally take responsibility for and what change you can make.

If you have an enlightened team then they can join in the process. A team full of people willing to take responsibility for the shortcomings can do amazing things. I've seen it first hand and I've seen it through my consulting clients.

If you want some practical ideas around this, then don't forget to check out my book Effective Root Cause Analysis.

Solving problems properly, once, is a far better use of time and resources and going over old ground time and time again.

Enjoy!


About the author:

Giles Johnston is a Chartered Engineer who specialises in helping businesses to grow and improve through better business processes and embracing Kaizen.

Giles is also the author of Effective Root Cause Analysis and 'What Does Good Look Like?'.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you think?

Popular posts from this blog

The Kaizen Checklist is here!

Do you want to get better results from your Kaizen programme? Improve your business results quickly with my downloadable kit (including guidebook, workbook and templates) for only $39. Are you looking for a sustainable way to identify and implement improvements across your business? Practical improvement strategies The Kaizen Checklist is a downloadable kit that you can use with your management team to develop a system that suits your business and allow you to quickly implement Kaizen effectively at your place of work. This works great if you use it as the centre piece of your own internal workshop. The kit includes a 40 page guidebook, a workbook, four appendices and three templates. All parts of this kit are designed to get you up and running as fast as possible. If you are unfamiliar with Kaizen, let me stress that this is a simple improvement philosophy that is so much more than just  ‘a Japanese word for continuous improvement’. I’ll cover what it...
Read more

How to get started with continuous improvement

We all know that continuous improvement is a strategy that is essential for business. It involves constantly seeking ways to improve processes, products, or services in order to achieve better results and outcomes. However, for many people, the thought of starting on the path of continuous improvement can be daunting. The fear of doing it incorrectly or not knowing where to start can be overwhelming.    The key to successful continuous improvement is to start small and gradually build upon your successes. Here are some tips to help you get started if you are unsure of how to begin:   1. Identify areas for improvement: The first step in continuous improvement is to identify the areas that need improvement. This can be done by looking at the processes, products, or services that are not performing as well as they could be. It is important to involve all stakeholders in this process to gain a comprehensive understanding of the areas that need attention.   2. Set specifi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nail the number one improvement project

Over the past few weeks I have intervened in my client's continuous improvement programmes . I did this for one good reason: They weren't getting results. They caught the improvement bug, like so many organisations do. They got caught in the trap of wanting to change everything now! As I said, this happens to most of us from time to time. You start with some small improvements and you then identify more improvements you could get your teeth into. The next thing you know, you are trying to run ten improvement projects as well as deliver your day job. I know from bitter experience that this usually leads to having lots of loose ends rather than tangible increases in performance. So, what can you do about this? I know that with careful experimenting and resource management, you could find your sweet spot and figure out how many projects you can handle at once. Or, you can take the quick route and pare back your list until you have one priority. The one project that will give you t...
Post a Comment
Read more