Root cause analysis

Abstract

The utility of root cause analysis has been demonstrated in many applications, including several case histories in the food industry. In one instance, the technique was used to find the cause of a leak in a soybean oil filter (4). The information from this study was used to construct the fishbone diagram in Fig. 1. Undoubtedly more reports of success using root cause analysis will appear as the food industry gains greater confidence in this management tool. One of the most recent examples involves breakfast cereals. Kellogg has sought to increase the efficiency of its operations, and to do so, floor operators and supervisors have been instructed to execute a systematic effort to find the root causes of all slowdowns in production (8). A quote by Albert Einstein summarizes the motivating force for using root cause analysis (2): "You can't solve a problem with the same type of thinking that caused it." Accordingly, complete reliance on intuition is to be avoided. In its place, a rational method must be embraced.