To have a successful implementation and adoption of your root cause analysis program it's important to have all the elements of an effective and efficient program clearly identified and agreed upon in advance.
We recommend conducting a 1-2 day facilitated workshop in order to define each of these elements of your RCA program and align them with your organisation's goals and objectives. The workshop can be conducted with any team that needs to solve problems in a consistent manner. The group may be senior managers at a corporate level, a small team, or anything in between.
Effective RCA program development is essential to the long-term success of any organization. Our team of experts are experienced in establishing a root cause analysis methodology as a standard for your ongoing RCA program. This 4-stage process provides a new way of thinking and goes far beyond the traditional root cause analysis problem solving processes. When developing a root cause analysis program, it is essential for your RCA team to have clear procedures and goals defined.
Here's a high-level look at the elements that will need to be defined:
- Define the goals and objectives of the program and assure they are in alignment with corporate/facility/department goals and objectives
- Perform a maturity assessment of existing RCA program to be used as a baseline to measure future improvements
- Identify KPI's with baselines and future targets to be used for measuring progress towards meeting program goals and objectives
- Determine which incidents will trigger a formal RCA and estimate how many triggered events may occur in the upcoming year
- Identify which tracking systems will be used to track the status and progress of open RCA's and implemented solutions
- Identify specifically who will have a role in the RCA effort including program sponsor, champion, RCA facilitators
- Determine who will be trained in the RCA methodology and to what level and in what time frame
- Identify who (or what committees or groups) will be responsible for managing tracking systems, decisions on solution implementation, program modifications over time, and general program performance
- Process mapping exercise to document RCA management from the beginning of a triggered incident to completion of implemented solutions, including their impact on organisation's goals and objectives
- Develop a Change Management plan, including a detailed communication plan, that specifically targets those whose job duties will be affected by the RCA effort
- Create a checklist to monitor RCA effort implementation including action items, responsible parties and due dates
