How do you prioritize root causes using quality management tools?
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Quality management is a systematic approach to ensuring that products and services meet customer expectations and standards. One of the key aspects of quality management is identifying and solving problems that affect quality, such as defects, errors, waste, or delays. However, not all problems have the same impact, urgency, or complexity. Therefore, it is important to prioritize the root causes of problems using quality management tools and techniques. This article will explain how you can use four common tools to prioritize root causes: Pareto chart, fishbone diagram, 5 whys, and matrix diagram.
Pareto chart
A Pareto chart is a graphical tool that displays the frequency or magnitude of different causes of a problem in descending order. It also shows the cumulative percentage of the total effect of the causes. A Pareto chart helps you to identify the most significant causes that account for the majority of the problem, based on the 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. To use a Pareto chart, you need to collect data on the causes and their effects, and then plot them on a bar chart and a line chart. The bar chart shows the individual causes and their effects, while the line chart shows the cumulative percentage of the total effect. You can then use the Pareto chart to prioritize the causes that are above the 80% line, or the ones that have the highest bars.
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All these tools are excellent but they are not used in isolation, the Pareto would be used to identify the problem to be worked on, problematic part or a common issue within a family of parts etc. Then Fishbone used to identify potential causes and 5 whys to drive down to the root cause of the potential cause.
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Fishbone diagram
A fishbone diagram is a visual tool that helps you to analyze the potential causes of a problem in a structured way. It also helps you to identify the relationships between the causes and the problem. A fishbone diagram looks like a fish skeleton, with the problem as the head, and the main categories of causes as the bones. The main categories can vary depending on the nature of the problem, but some common ones are people, process, equipment, materials, environment, and management. To use a fishbone diagram, you need to define the problem clearly, and then brainstorm the possible causes for each category. You can then draw a fishbone diagram with the problem as the head, and the categories and causes as the bones and sub-bones. You can then use the fishbone diagram to prioritize the causes that are most likely, most frequent, or most severe.
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In my opinion, fishbone diagram is the easiest tools to use for running the root cause analysis. We could dig in into more details of why the problem occurs, based on 4M+1E approach (Man, Machine, Method, Material and Environment). This method also allows team member to take part of the analysis in an internal discussion, and together we choose and vote for the most reliable causes happened for related issue or problem.
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5 whys
The 5 whys is a simple technique that helps you to drill down to the root cause of a problem by asking why repeatedly. The idea is that by asking why five times, you can uncover the underlying cause that is not obvious at first glance. The 5 whys can help you to avoid superficial solutions that only address the symptoms of a problem, rather than the root cause. To use the 5 whys, you need to start with the problem statement, and then ask why it happened. For each answer, you need to ask why again, until you reach a root cause that cannot be further questioned. You can then use the 5 whys to prioritize the root cause that is most fundamental, most actionable, or most preventable.
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The 5-Why analysis is the final step of systematic problem solving. In this we need to ask multiple Why's one after the other until the team thinks the actual root cause has been reached and it is actionable. Beauty of the 5 Why tool is that it can also be used as a stand alone tool for solving day to day issues at all levels of management.
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Matrix diagram
A matrix diagram is a table that helps you to compare and evaluate the relationship between two or more sets of data. It can help you to prioritize the root causes of a problem based on multiple criteria, such as importance, urgency, difficulty, or cost. A matrix diagram can also help you to identify the best combination of root causes to address, or the best solution to implement. To use a matrix diagram, you need to identify the sets of data that you want to compare, such as the root causes and the criteria. You then need to create a table with the data as the rows and columns, and assign a score or a symbol to each cell to indicate the strength or the nature of the relationship. You can then use the matrix diagram to prioritize the root causes that have the highest scores or the most favorable symbols.
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All of them are great tools for decision making however not used properly most of the times due to lack of understanding. Which one would be statiscally most used?
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Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
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Finally when the root causes have been identified, the action items list along with responsibility and target date of completion becomes the living document. The priority for the individual actions to be driven from Impact Vs Cost and Impact Vs Efforts quadrants. The important step after implementation of actions is to find avenues for leveraging the learnings. This step more often than not is ignored, resulting in reinventing the wheel every time a problem hits.
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