A clear, practical playbook for finding and fixing the real reasons problems keep coming back. Whether you work in manufacturing, IT, healthcare, construction, or services, this guide walks you through RCA from problem definition to verified results, with ready‑to‑use templates and realistic case studies.
💡Table of Contents
➥ Key Tips
➥ What is RCA?
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a way to find out the real reason why a problem happened.
Instead of just fixing the symptoms (the “quick fix”), RCA helps you remove the actual cause so the problem doesn’t come back.
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👉 Example: If your car tire keeps going flat, you can pump air every time (quick fix). But RCA would make you check if there’s a nail, a valve leak, or a rim problem so once you fix that, the problem doesn’t return.
➥ When to Use RCA
- When the same problem keeps happening again and again
- When the issue is serious (safety, customer complaints, big money loss, or downtime)
- When temporary fixes aren’t working
➥ The 7 Simple Steps of RCA
1. Define the Problem Clearly
Write down exactly what the problem is, where it happens, how often, and what the impact is.
👉 Example: The conveyor belt motor fails every Monday morning, causing 2 hours of lost production.
2. Stop the Immediate Damage
Before digging deep, put a temporary fix in place to avoid harm or downtime.
👉 Example: Use a backup motor or run production manually until you find the real cause.
3. Collect Information
Gather evidence about the problem:
- Logs, photos, machine data, maintenance records
- Talk to the people who actually see the problem
- Observe the process yourself
👉 Example: You notice the motor overheats after weekend cleaning, and the maintenance log shows no alignment check was done.
4. Look at the Process
Draw a simple map of how the work happens step by step.
This makes it easier to see where things might be going wrong.
👉 Six Sigma: Mastering DMAIC & DMADV for Process Excellence
👉 Example: In manufacturing, you can draw a flow from raw material → machine → inspection → packing.
5. Brainstorm Possible Causes
Think of all possible reasons why the problem could happen. Tools like:
- Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa) → Groups causes into categories (People, Machines, Method, Materials, Measurement, Environment).
- 5 Whys → Keep asking “Why?” until you reach the root cause.
👉 Example (5 Whys):
1. Why did the motor fail? → It overheated.
2. Why did it overheat? → Bearings got damaged.
3. Why were bearings damaged? → Misalignment and water got inside.
4. Why misalignment? → No standard alignment method.
5. Why no method? → Outdated maintenance procedure.
6. Find and Confirm the Root Cause
Use data and facts to narrow down the real cause.
👉 Example: After checking, you confirm that wrong lubrication and poor alignment caused the repeated failures not operator mistakes.
7. Fix the Root Cause (Corrective Action)
Plan actions that will remove the real cause. These should be practical and measurable.
👉 Example:
- Add a laser alignment tool for setup
- Use the correct grease
- Update the maintenance checklist
- Train the team on new procedure
8. Prevent It from Happening Again
Think ahead what can you do so similar issues don’t appear in the future? (Preventive action).
👉 Example: Add vibration monitoring sensors to catch bearing problems early.
9. Check if the Fix Worked
After making the changes, measure results.
👉 Example: Machine failures reduce from every week to once in six months.
10. Standardize and Share
Update your standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, and train others so the solution becomes permanent.
👉 Kaizen in Industry: The Key to Continuous Improvement Success
👉 Example: New technicians now get trained on the updated maintenance method.
➥ Real-Life Example in Simple Words
Case: IT System Outage
Problem: A website crashed during a flash sale. Customers couldn’t place orders for 30 minutes.
Investigation: Database overloaded because of inefficient queries in the checkout code.
Root Cause: Poorly written software update + no performance testing.
Fix: Rewrote the code, added caching, tested under heavy traffic before going live.
Result: Next sale handled 4x more users without any crash.
➥ Key Tips
✅ Always ask Why multiple times until you reach the real cause
✅ Don’t blame people look at the system or process
✅ Write fixes that change the process, not just “train again”
✅ Measure before and after results to confirm success
👉 RCA = Problem → Evidence → Analysis → Real Cause → Permanent Fix → Check Results → Standardize.
Also, Read our below Category 👇👇👇:
➡ Safety
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