Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Root Cause Analysis: A Practical Guide

Many reactive organizations assume root cause analysis (RCA) is the first step to reliability improvement. Yet, after a few RCA sessions, the findings often highlight well‑known gaps such as weak preventive maintenance (PM) and poor planning and scheduling.

The typical justification for launching an RCA initiative is straightforward: “We have a lot of equipment breakdowns, so let’s analyze them to find the root cause and eliminate it.” It sounds logical, but if basic PM and scheduling are lacking, almost every RCA will return to those deficiencies.

Typical outcomes focus on issues like incorrect lubrication, shaft misalignment, unbalanced machinery, missed inspections, and overhauls. The “human” or “process” causes usually trace back to poorly planned work orders.

If your organization is on this path, first solidify the fundamentals of PM and scheduling. These improvements reduce emergency work and free resources, setting the stage for a truly effective RCA process.

Implement and Eliminate: IDCON renamed its RCA process to RCPE—Root Cause Problem Elimination—to underscore the goal: not just analysis, but eradication of problems. The results should translate into prioritized, planned, scheduled, and executed work orders. Additional outcomes may include business process changes, updated engineering standards, and revised PM procedures.

In other words, the RCPE workflow must feed directly into your planning and scheduling system and interface seamlessly with engineering, purchasing, and leadership teams.

Involve the People: Front‑line personnel—hourly workers and first‑level managers—should drive the initial phases of RCPE. In 80‑90% of cases, the front line can identify and solve problems if the process is set up to empower them. Separate groups should only be mobilized if the front line cannot resolve the issue promptly.

Managers should allocate time for hourly staff to tackle problems during routine inspections—perhaps allowing one hour per day for operators and maintenance personnel to address issues as they arise.

Thinking Is Key: Many RCA trainers spend most of their time on tools like fishbone diagrams or logic trees. While useful for organizing data, these charts are not the heart of problem solving. They can even intimidate front‑liners.

The focus in RCPE should be on critical and creative thinking. Use critical thinking to evaluate problem statements, data, facts, and potential causes, and employ logical reasoning. Use creative thinking to devise ways to gather more information, generate possible solutions, and verify the chosen remedy.

Once the thinking process is understood, a simple list of facts and potential solutions may suffice. Introducing a more sophisticated tool is optional and should be reserved for complex cases.

Summary:

• Root cause results improve dramatically when basic planning, scheduling, and PM are established first.
• RCPE should focus on problem elimination, not just analysis.
• Front‑line teams can resolve many issues when empowered by proper processes.
• Trainers often overemphasize diagramming at the expense of creative and critical thinking.

Torbjörn (Tor) Idhammar is partner and vice president of reliability and maintenance management at IDCON Inc. He trains and supports implementation for preventive maintenance, condition monitoring, planning and scheduling, spare parts management, and root cause problem elimination. He authored “Condition Monitoring Standards” (volumes 1–3). Tor holds a BS in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in mechanical engineering from Lund University (Sweden). Contact Tor at 800‑849‑2041 or e‑mail info@idcon.com.
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