Focuses on past data after the damage has already happened.Represents only qualitative data that cannot be quantified.Improves problem-solving skills of the team.Assess the cumulative impact of a defect over a long period of time.Helps prioritize solution-identification.Identify and determine the main cause by ranking them in the order of their severity.Pros and Cons of the 3 RCA Techniquesīelow is a table providing the advantages and disadvantages of the three RCA techniques. Pareto can help with prioritizing the causes and addressing each in the order of severity for continuous improvement. The 5 Whys can enhance the impact of these insights by allowing every cause to be drilled down further. The two can also be used together to visualize the several causes of a problem and organize them for further analysis and data gathering.įishbone is especially useful in facilitating collaboration between the different stakeholders, representing their ideas visually, stimulating and broadening thoughts on the causes and their solutions, and coming to a consensus. The 5 Whys method is especially useful when there is no evident root cause, while Pareto helps to grade the known causes and prioritize the response to each.įishbone and 5 Why also allow links to be established between different events and their causes, which helps to identify the appropriate, meaningful, and impactful solution. While Fishbone enables grouping them into different categories, 5 why helps to dig deeper into each root cause. If a problem has many root causes, the Fishbone diagram, and 5 Whys can help to unearth them. Application of the Three RCA Techniques in Quality Management It helps to categorize the suspected causes and can be subdivided into multiple levels, going deep into the problem. This further enhances the understanding derived from the Pareto chart.įishbone Diagram: A fishbone diagram is also known as a cause-and-effect or Ishikawa diagram. It is a simple tool and doesn’t need advanced data. It works on Pareto’s law that lays down the 80/20 rule, where 20% of inputs are known to cause 80% of the results.ĥ Why: In the 5 Why method, the question ‘why’ is asked repeatedly at every level, helping to dig deeper and identify the true cause of an issue. This helps the quality team identify problems that need attention on priority. What Is a Pareto Chart: A Pareto chart represents the frequency or the impact of problems in descending order from left to right in the form of a bar chart. Comparing the Pros and Cons of Pareto, 5 Whys, and Fishbone Methods of RCA for Driving Quality Performance In this blog, we will compare and analyze Pareto Chart, 5 Whys, and Fishbone diagram and discuss their pros and cons as a root cause analysis method. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).There are several kinds of root cause analysis techniques.

Root cause analysis helps “with defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling problems” – all with the goal of delivering continuous improvement of all quality management processes. The root of the problem revolved around the lack of proper training wherein the equipment settings had to change depending on the product being manufactured. Eventually, the quality team conducted an RCA using the 5 Why framework. Both issues were solved, yet the problem kept resurfacing. One, lack of proper equipment maintenance resulting in faulty production, and two, a supplier issue where one of the parts didn’t meet specs. The quality team, after conducting a quick RCA, spotted two issues. There was an issue with a certain batch of products not meeting the required specifications. Let’s take the example of a quality issue at a manufacturing company. By conducting a well-designed root cause analysis (RCA) process, enterprises can get to the “root of the problem”, and approach it systematically with the goal of finding a long-lasting solution. This will lead to the problem festering and recurring, sometimes with greater severity. Often, there may be a surface-level reason for an issue, and in a rush to meet deadlines and other commitments, the root cause may be missed and only a reactive solution gets implemented. All Quality Management Standards emphasize the importance of identifying the root cause of any problem – to address it more effectively and find a lasting solution to prevent its recurrence.

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