When we look at the widely used and misunderstood tool of root cause analysis (RCA), we should reflect its interpretation in our own environments. Think about it: when is RCA typically requested and applied in your environment?
Based on the author’s experience, it is requested and applied when:
- Someone is injured
- There is a catastrophic damage
- There is an environmental incident
- There is a “near miss”
- There is public scrutiny over an issue at the site
- There is a quality issue that a customer is complaining about.