RCA TRAINING

Root Cause Analysis training by Sologic provides the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to solve complex problems in any sector, within any discipline, and of any scale.
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SOFTWARE

Sologic’s Causelink has the right software product for you and your organization. Single users may choose to install the software locally or utilize the cloud.  Our flagship Enterprise-scale software is delivered On Premise or as SaaS in the cloud.
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The benefits of adopting Root Cause Analysis and creating a positive problem solving culture.

All organisations want to create a positive and optimistic workplace culture.  Every responsible Team Leader, Head of Department and CEO knows that a positive problem solving culture is fundamental to high performance and much more.  But very few leaders have an established process in place or understand the implications if they don’t.
 
Whatever the industry, successful companies accept that problems will inevitably occur. Alongside this, these firms also acknowledge that major problems have to be addressed head on and that a structured problem solving method, shared across the whole organisation, is much more effective, faster and ultimately less expensive than any ad hoc set of responses. 
 
With a set of firm problem solving foundations, organisations can become genuinely lean and agile, and achieve those incremental benefits and marginal gains that represent significant business improvement. 
 
In this article, we look at the top ten essential improvements that effective RCA delivers, thereby creating a sustainable and effective problem solving culture;
 
Ensures problem solving becomes a team game
Successful organisations build great teams, set them clear goals and allocate the resources needed to uncover effective solutions. RCA supports the creation of teams of empowered, diverse thinkers capable of tackling repeat and complex problems.
 
Helps build the stamina to fail
Great leaders nurture the ‘stamina to fail’ and ensure important decision-making is evidence-based and data driven. RCA teams know that effective solutions come from a full understanding of any problem – and that requires an acceptance of failure and a willingness to discuss it openly. 
 
Define the problem clearly
Are you solving the causes of your major problems or are you just tackling the symptoms? Experience tells us that without a well-defined problem solving process employees often view the issue personally, influenced by how it affected them or their team, and then work towards different, often conflicting solutions.  RCA skills ensure a team defines the problem clearly and understands the exact impact on the organisation; from cost to revenue, from customer service to reputation and from compliance to sustainability.
 
Creates an environment for understanding
Successful organizations know that effective problem solving requires genuine analysis and that this requires time.  Sometimes lots of it.  In this age of time poverty, targets and financial pressures we often feel the need to solve problems quickly.  This can be exacerbated by the perception that a ‘good problem solver’ should always be able to come up with great solutions immediately.   The opposite is closer to the truth.  RCA ensures that the time available for problem solving is used efficiently and effectively.  RCA teams achieve more with less.
 
Separate analysis from storytelling
Humans are natural storytellers, but stories rarely make for strong analysis. RCA encourages an analytical mindset and robust evidence-based decision making. In recent years the lines between analysis (logic) and narrative (stories) have become increasingly blurred. Much of what we once considered narrative and opinion has been repackaged as analysis and vice-versa.  RCA trained professionals know the difference.
 
You’ll look beyond ‘what happened’
Imagine your problem is water spilt from a knocked over bottle. Simple cause perhaps? But you don’t only have to tip the bottle over (the ‘what happened’), you also have to have water in the bottle and no cap on the bottle to restrict any leak (the ‘how it happened’). A positive problem solving culture encourages teams to look well beyond the actions that took place and investigate the environment and circumstances too.  Because of this RCA trained teams bring a holistic and comprehensive view to any problem, issue or event.
 
No more blame game
When it comes to problems, there is nearly always a human involved somewhere.  But were they really the cause or just the final part of an inevitable chain of events? Many managers often stop at the human, leading to exhausting micro-management and a blame culture. This toxic culture not only distracts from the bigger picture, it also causes people to close ranks, stop sharing information and storing up greater and greater risk for the future.  The evidence-based approach favoured by RCA trained professionals is a major barrier to workplace bias, assumptions, blame and hidden agendas.
 
Stop expecting a single cause
RCA practitioners recognise that problems are rarely, if ever, the result of just a single cause. When asked to describe the difference between himself and a typical person, Einstein explained that the typical person, faced with the problem of finding a needle in a haystack, would stop when they had located a needle. But Einstein said that he would tear through the entire haystack looking for all possible needles. This ‘single needle’ approach explains why so many issues we think that we have solved repeat over, and over again. It’s often this small ‘grit in the machine’ that when fully accounted for really hurts performance.
 
Don’t rely on a magic bullet solution
In addition to trying to find a single cause to a complex problem, organisations can also become fixated on uncovering the ‘right’ solution.  RCA trained problem solvers know that trying to uncover a ‘magic bullet’ or ‘unicorn solution’ is doomed to fail.  A portfolio of complementary solutions always provides the maximum protection from future risk. They understand cause and effect and know exactly where the interventions should take place.
 
Share effective reporting
Great organisations pride themselves on effective reporting.  They create and utilise intelligent ways to record, present and share mission-critical information – and they act upon it. RCA teams will collect, understand and communicate valuable information to greatly improve their organisation’s corporate memory. Continuous improvement is central to the mindset.
 
 
These ten RCA-driven improvements reveal how the Sologic method helps to create a positive, robust and sustainable problem solving culture.  When problems occur, they rarely stay silo’d in just one part of the business.  A company wide understanding of RCA, led by a number RCA Champions helps any organisation understand, solve and prevent problems, reduce risk and improve performance. 
 
 

RCA TRAINING

Root Cause Analysis training by Sologic provides the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to solve complex problems in any sector, within any discipline, and of any scale.
Learn More
 

SOFTWARE

Sologic’s Causelink has the right software product for you and your organization. Single users may choose to install the software locally or utilize the cloud.  Our flagship Enterprise-scale software is delivered On Premise or as SaaS in the cloud.
Learn More