Overview
People are often frustrated when required to use a cause & effect diagram to find the root causes of problems. The diagram puts too many possible causes on the agenda simultaneously that it creates cognitive overload no wonder people often use a guessing/voting process to identify the most likely cause (which in itself isn’t logical).
One tool people often do know about is a flowchart. However, while the tool is widely used for process improvement it is highly underutilized for root cause analysis, partially because people don’t know how it can be beneficial. And few know about the logic tree (it’s usually not even taught in six sigma courses), which is a much better way to look at and search through causal categories.
Both of these tools allow reducing the amount of noise and time required to find problem causes. Since they are based on systems design thinking and data are used for their deconstruction, greater confidence in results will also result.
This webinar will demonstrate the use of flowcharts and logic trees and how to use them in an iterative way to perform a structured where-where and/or why-why analysis that drills down to the level of system where the actual causes live.
Why you should Attend
Every organization at one time or another needs to find the root causes of problems. Unfortunately, the logical thinking process for doing a causal search is not something typically taught in school. So, people tend to use their previous technical experience related to the issue and jump to conclusions unsupported by data.
Two system analysis tools, the flowchart and a logic tree, can help provide a more structured approach to analyzing a problem situation. They allow dealing with causes in categories, and eliminate a large number of possible causes each time a causal decision is made.
This webinar will show how these two tools can provide leverage for performing a search for root causes. Cautions for their use will also be discussed.
Areas Covered in the Session
- Why cause & effect diagrams are inefficient
- How flowcharts are under or poorly used
- Where found versus where caused
- Search techniques for flowcharts
- How a logic tree makes the 5-why process more rigorous
- Structural logic options for logic trees
- Interaction between the two techniques
- Cautions for their use
- When the two techniques might be less useful
Speaker
Duke Okes has been a consultant & instructor for designing, implementing, auditing, fixing and improving management systems since 1985. He was formerly a quality engineer with TRW Automotive, and holds degrees in technology, business and education. He holds ASQ certification as a manager of quality/organizational excellence, quality engineer and quality auditor.
He is the author of three books and dozens of articles on quality management topics, and has presented hundreds of workshops and spoken at numerous conferences on root cause analysis, quality auditing, failure mode & effects analysis, risk-based thinking, human error and other topics across the US as well as more than a dozen foreign countries. Since 2013 he has conducted more than five dozen webinars for a variety of providers.
Who Should Attend
- Managers of management systems such as ISO 9001 & 13484, IATF 16949, AS 9100, ISO 20000 & 22000, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 55000, etc.
- Product & Process Engineers
- Quality Engineers
- Environmental & Safety Personnel
- IT System Support Personnel
- Corrective Action Coordinators
- Management System Auditors
