he purpose of root cause analysis is to check at the root of a problem by finding and resolving its root causes. Root cause analysis is “a class of problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems.The practice of root cause analysis is predicated on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms.”

Most sustainability problem solvers are doing exactly what the above definition cautions against. They are “merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms” with superficial solutions. These absolutely cannot work because they do not “correct or eliminate root causes.”

Root cause analysis is an approach for identifying the underlying causes of an incident so that the most effective solutions can be identified and implemented. It’s typically used when something goes badly, but can also be used when something goes well. Within an organization, problem solving, incident investigation, and root cause analysis are all fundamentally connected by three basic questions:
• What’s the problem?
• Why did it happen?
• What will be done to prevent it from happening again?

Three problem-solving steps

Root causes analysis using the Cause Mapping methods consists of three steps:

steps-defined-01- Define the issue by its impact to overall goals. People often disagree over how to define the problem. You can get alignment when the problem is defined by the impact to the goals.

steps-defined-02-Break the problem down into a visual map. Using a Cause Map provides a thorough explanation revealing all of the causes required to produce the problem.

steps-defined-03-Prevent or mitigate any negative impact to the goals by selecting the best solutions. Effective solutions should make a change to how people execute work process.

My answer choice is : A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur. 

 

By definition Root cause is the main or that single cause ,avoiding which we could prevent the failure. This also implies that there are other causes

that can cause failure although the most significant one is the root cause. So fixing the root case is definitely necessary to avoid failure but not sufficient

as there could be other causes which could still be enough to cause the failure

In Root cause analysis if we take Necessary condition as A and sufficient condition as B

 

A is a necessary condition of B if B could not be the case without A being the case. A is a sufficient condition of B if A could not be the case without B's being the case. However there are weaker and stronger ways of thinking of necessary and sufficient conditions. On the weakest conceivable reading, A's being a necessary condition of B simply asserts the contingent truth of the material conditional "If B then A", and A's being a sufficient condition of B the contingent truth of the material conditional "If A then B". The stronger readings imply that the conditionals be necessarily true in some sense. If A is a necessary and sufficient condition of B in this stronger sense, then A can be said to give the essence of B.

 

Hope this clears the approach to root cause.

While doing the root cause - it will land up in any of these four categories.

 

How should our approach to problem-solving change for each of the above situations?

 

I would suggest FMEA (Failure mode effect analysis) - is the best approach for identifying the right cause and implement right control if the existing control is not effective. The FMEA is for identifying all the potential failures, its effects, potential causes, occurrence, detectability. Here the causes may fall under any of the four categories. we will also look at the past occurrences and detectability (current control). Basis the severity, occurrence and detectability - the RPN (Risk priority number = Severity * Occurrence * Detectability) will be generated. Basis the top contributing RPN, we need to brainstorm and implement new controls to mitigate the risk.

A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur

To me the above statement means that a problem can occur due to numerous causes (parts) but it doesnt imply that if the parts dont function properly the problem will always arise.

This to me indicate that the root cause of the problem is something else and the respective cause is not significant enough to cause the particular problem.  In my view under such circumstances, our effort should be directed to first identify the main cause of the problem and then design a solution around it.

 

A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to happen. 

The above statement to me means that problem can happen due to numerous causes. While some of these will be identifiable and within our control, but there can be causes which are outside our control. In such cases, we cant do much to resolve the issue.

 

A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur.

The above statement to me means that problem can happen due to numerous causes. While some of these will be identifiable and within our control, but there can be causes which are outside our control. In such cases, we can just be more prepared and alert to address the issue and prevent it from recurring.

 

A cause may be both sufficient and necessary for a problem to occur.

To me the above statement means that for a problem to occur, a cause needs to be present and at the same time this cause should be significant enough to cause the problem. Such are mostly cases where we have done RCA and know the significance and impact of the cause on the problem. The only way to address issues where the above situation arises would be to let the processes not deviate from the control limits.

 

 

 

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a popular and often-used technique that helps people answer the question of why the problem occurred in the first place. It seeks to identify the origin of a problem using a specific set of steps, with associated tools, to find the primary cause of the problem.
In RCA systems and events are interrelated. An action in one area triggers an action in another, and another, and so on. By tracing back these actions, you can discover where the problem started and how it grew into the symptom you're now facing.

Three basic types of causes:

Physical causes – Tangible, material items failed in some way (for example, a car's brakes stopped working).

Human causes – People did something wrong, or did not do something that was needed. Human causes typically lead to physical causes (for example, no one filled the brake fluid, which led to the brakes failing).

Organizational causes – A system, process, or policy that people use to make decisions or do their work is faulty (for example, no one person was responsible for vehicle maintenance, and everyone assumed someone else had filled the brake fluid).

RCA looks at all three types of causes. It involves investigating the patterns of negative effects, finding hidden flaws in the system, and discovering specific actions that contributed to the problem. 

Necessary Condition:  A is True only, if B is True, B is necessary for A because B is being True is needed A to be True         
Sufficient Condition:  If R is true, Then S is true, R is sufficient for S because R is all you need to get S. R is enough to Get S        

1. A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur 
"Air is necessary for human life.", "Human beings must have air to live."

 

2.A cause may not be necessary but sufficient for a problem to occur 
while air is a necessary condition for human life, it is by no means a sufficient condition, i.e. it does not, by itself, i.e. alone, suffice for human life. While someone may have air to breathe, that person will still die if s/he lacks water (for a number of days),

 

3.A cause may be neither necessary nor sufficient for a problem to occur 
"Wanting to succeed is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for success."
"Being the smartest student in a class is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for achieving the highest grade in that class."

4.A cause may be necessary and sufficient for a problem to occur 
I placed an order in an online shopping, I need update proper delivery pincode to get my Item/ goods to be delivered.
"Since having air to breathe is necessary for human life, if follows that the existence of human life suffices for the existence of air."

Generally whenever we do a root cause analysis we tend to draw a fish bone diagram to list down all the causes followed by a pareto to identify a vital few and then look out for solutions to avoid the vital few. Identification of necessary and sufficient condition would also be a good practice. 

 

We can consider a situation which was shown in the movie "Sully'" recently.  US Airways flight 1549 ditched in the river Hudson in Jan 2009. The Root Cause analysis of this failure was done. It was considered a miracle that no one died in this accident. We can say that the bird hit that happened to one engine of the aircraft was a necessary and sufficient condition to damage the aircraft it was not a sufficient condition to bring down the aircraft. Bird Hit happening to both engines was a necessary and sufficient condition to bring down the aircraft. Taking this analogy further, shutdown of engines that occurred was a necessary and sufficient condition for the aircraft to start losing height, it was not a sufficient condition for the aircraft to crash on land. Pilot through their presence of mind aligned the aircraft over the river to land it over water. People might have died due to Hypothermia or by drowning. Landing over water and asking people to jump in water or sliding them out in water might be said to be a necessary condition for people to drown but again not necessary. Presence of ferry boats in the hudson river ensured or demonstrated that this was not a necessary condition for people to die. They reached for help quickly and saved all the passengers, crew and pilots of the aircraft.

 

Presence of mind of the pilots and the crew and the help extended by passenger to each other and the emergency help extended by the ferry boats ensured that it was a necessary and sufficient condition for all the passengers to be saved.

 

The logic can be stated in Binary Algebra as the AND / OR Logic. In case of Necessary conditions it can be 

CAUSE1.AND.CAUSE2.AND.CAUSE3...... = Necessary Condition

CAUSE1.OR.CAUSE2.OR.CAUSE3.......= Sufficient Condition

 

Given Possibilities:-

1. A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur. 
2. A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to happen. 
3. A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur. 
4. A cause may be both sufficient and necessary for a problem to occur. 

 

First I will try different RCA techniques Like Pareto and data Analysis, brain storming, Fishbone Diagram or 5 whys, Fault Tree Analysis if I get point D situation I will go for Improve and Control section.

 

If not, like the rest three cases,

1. Will analyse data with scatter charts, Pareto charts, affinity diagrams or histogram properly.

2. Then will go for 5 why/Fish-bone/Fault Tree analysis to eliminate the root cause

3. We might take help six thinking hat or theory of inventive problem solving or systematic inventive thinking and then a tree diagram or force field analysis to implement solution 

I will follow this:

 

 

Image Courtesy: http://www.variation.com/6sigma/processes/problem_solving.html

 

Hi 

Please find our reply in attached document ...

RCA.docx

A common approach for above scenarios

 

1.We need to understand the cause first. It might be minimal now but we need to foresee it's impact in future. 

2.We need to take corrective actions as a temporary solution. 

3.We need to take preventive actions to avoid the problem in future. 

4.We need to convert problem to opportunity for better solutions. 

 

 

 

 

Let's start with the basics. We assume we are doing the root-cause analysis for a problem that we want to prevent, like fire in the house or attrition in a company or a heart attack.

 

A cause which is neither necessary nor sufficient, should probably just be ignored. Very little point in pursuing those. Even if you do manage to prevent such causes, they will probably have no impact on the problem that we want to prevent.

 

Second, the necessary conditions should be explored. Eliminating a necessary condition is the surest way to prevent a problem, so if it is cost-permissive, we should try to kill the necessary conditions. For e.g. oxygen is a necessary condition for fire, so removing oxygen is the surest way to douse a fire. Mosquito bite is a necessary condition to spread malaria, so eliminating mosquitoes (or at least preventing them from biting!) is a sure way to attack malaria. Out of the two options, necessary and sufficient versus necessary but not sufficient, they should the weighed on the basis of practicality and cost-effectiveness. Either of these options will be equally effective in preventing the problem since the absence of even a single necessary condition will cause the problem to disappear.

 

Lastly if it is not possible to sufficiently neutralize any of the necessary conditions, we may turn our attention to the sufficient but not necessary conditions. Eliminating these, of course, helps us solve our problem, but there is a catch!! We must eliminate all of the sufficient factors to eliminate the problem! Of course, life is not all so bad!!! So eliminating a few of the sufficient conditions also might significantly reduce the probability our problem occurring! And therein lies the reason why we keep popping anti-cholesterol pills...

On 9/5/2017 at 1:59 PM, Vishwadeep Khatri said:

Q2. Root cause analysis is essential to problem-solving. However, there are four possibilities - (you may watch this video to understand more - https://tinyurl.com/ybtjmnof )

 

1. A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur. 
2. A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to happen. 
3. A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur. 
4. A cause may be both sufficient and necessary for a problem to occur. 

 

How should our approach to problem-solving change for each of the above situations? 

 

You may like to carry out research over the internet, talk to your partner, and colleagues while framing your response. Each club may submit maximum two responses, one by each member. Please write the answer in your own words. Please do not copy and present someone else's explanation as your own. As Excellence Enthusiasts, we are against plagiarism. 

 

Remember - Your answer will not show when you submit. It will be made visible only at 4 PM tomorrow. May the best answer win. All the best! 

 

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Answer:

 

Case 1: By doing fish bone analysis or C&E diagram. Following this comes the data analysis to zero in the root cause.

Case 3: It is not possible. A problem should have a cause

Case 4: The cause will be the root cause itself.

 

Root cause analysis -

Root cause analysis is an approach for identifying the underlying causes of an incident so that the most effective solutions can be identified and implemented. It’s typically used when something goes badly, but can also be used when something goes well. Within an organization, problem solving, incident investigation, and root cause analysis are all fundamentally connected by three basic questions:

    What’s the problem?
    Why did it happen?
    What will be done to prevent it from happening again?
============================

A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur.  

A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur - It can be true as per the statement like to have a rain it needs to be cloudy which is necessary however are the clouds black enough to bring rain talks about sufficiency part.
 
In such situation our focus should be on sufficiency part because untill it becomes sufficient the problem part will not occur.so if we can prevent the sufficiency it will save the problem occurence.

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A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to happen

In this situation necessity does not play important role because being sufficient is more important.There could be more than one factor to make a thing sufficient.Hence we should work on all those reason to prevent from happening which can be sufficient for a problem to happen.

 

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 A cause may be both sufficient and necessary for a problem to occur.

 

In this situation both being sufficient and necessary are equally important and they are very much linked to each other for a problem to occur.so to prevent a problem to occur we should work on both the aspects together.

 

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A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur.

 

 

 

1) A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur.

Example: An problem has occurred and RCA states that it is knowledge gap. In this case, Knowledge gap is necessary condition for an error to occur but not sufficient. As there are other ways which circumvent knowledge gap by reaching out to supervisor, knowledge library, floor support.

Approach:

1) Identifying the competencies required to perform the job correctly.

2) Grading the person on the competencies identified and bench-marking it against the requisite level.

3) Identify the gap and train the person on the identified gap.

4) Assign a senior or mentor to review his work / address his query.

5) Doing regular intervention by doing quiz, assignment and test to test his competence level.

 

2.) A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to occur.

Example: An problem has occurred and RCA states that it is process non conformance. In this case, process conformance is sufficient condition for an problem to occur but not necessary. Since problem can occur because of other causes (knowledge gap, attitude issue, will issue etc)

Approach

1) Identify the measurement areas for process compliance

2) Identify whether it is a skill or will issue

3) if this is skill issue, conduct training, assign mentor, conduct periodic reviews, track performance levels.

4) if this is a will issue, taken action based on level and severity of the non conformance.

5) analyse and design mistake proofing methods to avoid occurrence of the problem and make the entire system process dependent than people dependent and reduce manual intervention.

3) A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur. 

Example: Recent Mumbai deluge is a perfect example for neither necessary not sufficient condition for problem to occur in any multi-national organization as far as deliveries are concerned.

Approach:

1) Business continuity plan with satellite delivery center and shift as far as operations there 

2) Provide work from home for as many people as possible

3) Work with the Client and set appropriate expectations on the delivery front and provide periodic updates.

 

 

Necessary - X is a must for Y to occur. Y cannot occur unless X is present.

Sufficient - X is enough to cause Y. However, Z may also cause Y.

 

Scenario 1 - Cause is necessary but not sufficient. X occured at some time for Y to have occured but alongside other factors. In this case, other causes that could have caused Y when combined X have to be found. E.g. there was a case of cars catching fire if hit from behind when the right indicator was on. Having the right indicator on was necessary but not sufficient for a car to catch fire. It had to be combined with the other factor of being hit from behind in order for it to catch fire. Hence, we are looking for critical combinations of other causes with this X.

 

2. Cause is sufficient but not necessary - means that X on it's own can cause Y. But this is not the only cause leading to Y. It is required in this case to make sure that other causes are also found out, else the problem may remain unresolved even when X is fixed. E.g. not having enough water in a day can cause headaches. But so can not eating on time. Even if you keep having water, but not having food could.still trigger the headaches.

 

3. Neither sufficient nor necessary - Even if X happens, Y will not occur. In this case this cannot.be deemed as a root cause. Solving for this X will be futile. Other causes ought to be explored in order for the problem to be solved. E.g. an executive assistant not having an app for calling a cab for her boss is neither a reason sufficient to not get a cab, nor is it necessary. A cab can still be called via a phone call, by asking someone else to order, or booked through a website, by hailing from the street.

 

4. Both sufficient and necessary - must be solved for as whenever X occurs Y will occur. If this is not solved, you have not resolved the problem

 

Hi All,

I am taking a scenario of a poor husband, who had forgot to wish her wife first (expectation from poor wife is to have the first wish from her husband) but eventually he had made it some how to wish her late in the evening as a last wish!

The Problem is weather there is "Quarrel likely to happen between the husband and the wife" with the four possibilities!

As a family men lots of people would have definitely encountered this!

Possibilities	Root Cause			Problem to Occur	Description	Conclusion / Approach
	Necessary	Sufficient	Other factors
A cause may be necessary but not sufficient for a problem to occur.	Forgot to Wish her on her birthday First	but Wished her very late in the evening		Quarrel between a Husband and Wife tonight	Here though the root cause of not wishing first is necessary, and since he had wished her late, it is not sufficient for the problem to occur	Narrow escape
A cause may be sufficient but not necessary for a problem to happen.	Forgot to Wish her on her birthday First	but Wished her very late in the evening		Quarrel between a Husband and Wife tonight	Here the husband didn’t wish her first, immaterial you wish her second or third, the root cause is sufficient enough for the problem to occur	Nobody can save the husband soul
A cause may be neither sufficient nor necessary for a problem to occur.	Forgot to Wish her on her birthday First	but Wished her very late in the evening	On the same time you wished your wife's Twin sister First	Quarrel between a Husband and Wife tonight	Here the other factor of wishing her twin sister first would have eliminated weather you wish her first or last is enough for the problem to occur	Nobody can save the husband soul
A cause may be both sufficient and necessary for a problem to occur.	Forgot to Wish her on her birthday First	but Wished her very late in the evening		Quarrel between a Husband and Wife tonight	Here, though the root cause of not wishing first is necessary, and though you had wished her late, it is sufficient for the problem to occur	Nobody can save the husband soul

 

 

Thanks and regards,

Ramanan