By Jason Schepers 
This world does not lack problems. Problems are everywhere. Encountering issues in our lives, at home or at work, is bound to happen. It can happen weekly, daily, or hourly. We should not be surprised when we encounter hurdles in life, as they are guaranteed. The key here is to develop skills that will help us get through these difficulties. How do we resolve these issues? Well, there is a process for it.
Some industries, like automotive or appliance repair, exist to resolve problems. Unless you are the infamous Maytag man with your feet on your desk all day, the people in these industries are busy fixing broken products. They develop troubleshooting and problem-solving skills that get them through the most challenging problems. Even if we do not repair items for a living, we will run into issues. It is not always a repairman who fixes problems; salespeople fix problems every day by providing products that help customers solve them. The average person is not free from issues. Everybody has to solve problems.
If a problem is solved correctly, everyone is happy. The customer is satisfied because his problem has been cured. The company providing the sales or service is pleased because the customer will tell people he knows about the great experience. The issue was resolved quickly and accurately during the first attempt. Future business is a sure thing.
What if the customer’s problem is not resolved? The customer paid good money for the product or service that was supposed to make his life better. Returning his money will not fix the problem he initially had. If the problem is not adequately addressed, resources will be wasted on continued attempts to repair. These resources of time, personnel, or service parts can be expensive. The customer may have already paid for the repair and may not agree to spend more. Performing a confident repair the first time is favorable.
For every problem, there is at least one cause. If you fix the problem, the cause might still exist. If the cause persists, whatever you fixed will eventually come back. By addressing the cause, you can thoroughly resolve the problem.
There is a systematic process for addressing the cause of a problem. This process is called Root Cause Analysis. Root Cause Analysis is the process of eliminating related symptoms to narrow down possible contributors to the problem. The easiest way to perform Root Cause Analysis is to ask the simple question of “why?” Once you have the answer to “why”? Ask yourself, “Why that answer?” If you only ask yourself “why” once, you are only addressing the problem, not the cause. The deeper you go, the closer you get to the root cause.
Let’s look at an example. Here, we have a widget factory that needs to increase productivity. The factory has 10 machines and needs to make 1,100 widgets a month. The factory currently only makes 900 widgets a month. The customer contacted the machine salesman to bring in more equipment to achieve these goals.
The salesman is very familiar with the equipment this customer has, as he sold the customer’s machines to him five years ago when the company moved to the area. The salesman knows that the customer has 10 pieces of equipment, each capable of making 100 widgets a month. That would be 1000 widgets in total. The salesman planned to sell the customer one more piece of equipment to bring the production from 1000 to 1100. The salesman went to meet with the customer.
The salesman arrived at the customer’s factory and discussed the issues and needs. The customer explained that he is only getting 900 widgets a month and needs more equipment to meet the 1100-widget goal. The salesman remembered that there was already a capacity to make 1000 widgets. Before any new equipment is to be sold to the customer, they need to figure out why they are only getting 900.
After further review, it was found that two machines were running slower than all of the others. When researching why, they discovered that these two machines had a setting enabled that slowed the machines down. The last technician who worked on the machine changed this setting for testing, but did not restore it. Once the setting was set to 100%, the factory produced 1000 widgets per month. Only one additional machine will be needed to produce 1100 widgets a month. The machine was ordered and delivered two weeks later.
The key to proper root cause analysis is to keep asking the question “why?” In the example above, we first needed to ask, “Why is the factory not making 1100 widgets a month?” The answer to that was that the factory has a capacity of making 1000, but is only making 900. Then we ask why the factory is making 100 fewer than it should. The reason is that two machines had an incorrect setting, which has now been fixed, and the factory is set to produce 1000 widgets. Since we need 1100 widgets a month, we need to ask why we can only make 1000 widgets. The answer is that with all machines at full capacity, we can only make 1000 widgets. We need one additional piece of equipment to reach 1100 pieces. The problem was solved by installing an additional machine.
In this process, simply asking the question “why” leads to the problem’s cause and the fix. When using this process, your direction is focused on the actual issue at hand.
Root Cause Analysis is practically impossible when you base the process on assumptions, emotions, or guesses. Anything that is done without fact is open to error. If assumptions, emotions, and guesses lead you to a conclusion, it would not be a strong analysis, so the problem could eventually come back. Keep your analysis honest and based on facts only. You will have a strong sense of confidence that the issue has been resolved, and you will not need to return to that customer for the same problem.
In the end, if there is a problem that needs to be fixed, you want to fix it quickly and accurately the first time. Performing a root cause analysis will identify the source of the problem, not just the symptoms. It is possible to address the symptoms, but if you do not address the source, the problem will return.