ROOT CAUSE SUBMITTED BY:

Preeti Baheti
Mohammed Rushnaiwala
ANALYSIS BFT-5

Under the guidance of

Mr. Ankur Makhija

Contents

1.Lean Tool ........................................................................................................................................ 2

ABOUT RCA ................................................................................................................................... 2
HISTORY ........................................................................................................................................ 2
APPROACHES................................................................................................................................. 2
How to Conduct RCA ..................................................................................................................... 3
2. Muda & Problems to be solved ...................................................................................................... 4
Overproduction ............................................................................................................................ 4
Excess inventory ............................................................................................................................ 4
Defect ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Waiting.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Processing ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Motion .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Transportation............................................................................................................................... 7
3.Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 7
4.Objectives and sub objectives ......................................................................................................... 8
5.Literature review ............................................................................................................................ 8
6.Proposed research methodology .................................................................................................... 8
7.Intended deliverable, benefit to society .......................................................................................... 9
8.References ..................................................................................................................................... 9
 1. Lean Tool

About RCA

A root cause is defined as a factor that caused a nonconformance and should be permanently
eliminated through process improvement. The root cause is the core issue—the highest-level
cause—that sets in motion the entire cause-and-effect reaction that ultimately leads to the
problem(s).
Root cause analysis (RCA) is defined as a collective term that describes a wide range of
approaches, tools, and techniques used to uncover causes of problems. Some RCA
approaches are geared more toward identifying true root causes than others, some are more
general problem-solving techniques, and others simply offer support for the core activity of
root cause analysis.
 History of root cause analysis
 Approaches to root cause analysis
 Conducting root cause analysis
 Root cause analysis resources

History

Root cause analysis can be traced to the broader field of total quality management (TQM).
TQM has developed in different directions, including a number of problem analysis, problem
solving, and root cause analysis.
Root cause analysis is part of a more general problem-solving process and an integral part of
continuous improvement. Because of this, root cause analysis is one of the core building
blocks in an organisation’s continuous improvement efforts. It's important to note that root
cause analysis in itself will not produce any results; it must be made part of a larger problem-
solving effort for quality improvement.

Approaches

There are many methodologies, approaches, and techniques for conducting root cause
analysis, including:

 Events and causal factor analysis: Widely used for major, single-event problems,
such as a refinery explosion, this process uses evidence gathered quickly and
methodically to establish a timeline for the activities leading up to the accident. Once
the timeline has been established, the causal and contributing factors can be identified.
  Change analysis: This approach is applicable to situations where a system’s
performance has shifted significantly. It explores changes made in people, equipment,
information, and more that may have contributed to the change in performance.
 Barrier analysis: This technique focuses on what controls are in place in the process
to either prevent or detect a problem, and which might have failed.
 Management oversight and risk tree analysis: One aspect of this approach is the
use of a tree diagram to look at what occurred and why it might have occurred.
 Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision Making: This model provides four
distinct phases for resolving problems:
o Situation analysis
o Problem analysis
o Solution analysis
o Potential problem analysis

How to Conduct RCA

When carrying out root cause analysis methods and processes, it's important to note:

 While many root cause analysis tools can be used by a single person, the outcome
generally is better when a group of people work together to find the problem causes.
 Those ultimately responsible for removing the identified root cause(s) should be
prominent members of the analysis team that sets out to uncover them.
A typical design of a root cause analysis in an organization might follow these steps:
 A decision is made to form a small team to conduct the root cause analysis.
 Team members are selected from the business process/area of the organization that
experiences the problem. The team might be supplemented by:
o A line manager with decision authority to implement solutions
o An internal customer from the process with problems
o A quality improvement expert in the case where the other team
members have little experience with this kind of work
 The analysis lasts about two months. During the analysis, equal emphasis is placed on
defining and understanding the problem, brainstorming its possible causes, analyzing
causes and effects, and devising a solution to the problem.
 During the analysis period, the team meets at least weekly, sometimes two or three
times a week. The meetings are always kept short, at maximum two hours, and since
they are meant to be creative in nature, the agenda is quite loose.
 One person in the team is assigned the role of making sure the analysis progresses, or
tasks are assigned to various members of the team.
 Once the solution has been designed and the decision to implement has been taken, it
can take anywhere from a day to several months before the change is complete,
depending on what is involved in the implementation process.
 2. Muda and Problems to be solved

The elimination of waste is the primary goal of any lean system. In effect, lean declares
war on waste – any waste. Waste or muda is anything that does not have value or does
not add value. Waste is something the customer will not pay for.

Overproduction

Overproduction means making more of a product than is needed by the next process or the
end customer. It can also be described as making the product earlier in time than is needed or
making a product at a faster rate than is needed. Overproduction has been labelled by some as
the worst waste because typically it creates many of the other wastes. Overproduction
happens each time you engage more resources than needed to deliver to your customer. For
instance, large batch production, because of long changeover time, exceeds the strict quantity
ordered by the customer. For productivity improvement, operators are required to produce
more than the customer needs. Extra parts will be stored and not sold. Overproduction is a
critical muda because it hides or generates all others, especially inventory. Overproduction
increases the amount of space needed for storing raw material as well as finished goods. It
also requires a preservation system.
Some of the most common causes are the following:
 Just-in-case logic
 Unlevelled scheduling
 Unbalanced workloads
 Misuse of automation
 Long process setup times

Excess inventory

Excess inventory is “any supply in excess of a one-piece flow through your manufacturing
process.” For example, in an excess inventory environment, your company requires more
people, more equipment, and more facility space. All the while you are making more
products (that you may or may not have customers for), more defects, more write-offs, and so
on. This robs the company of productivity and profitability. In a Lean six sigma environment
we reduce the sea of inventory and use the Lean or Six Sigma tools to identify the root causes
of why the inventory was needed and then eliminate the root causes once and for all.
Some of the most common causes are the following:
 Poor market forecast
 Product complexity
  Unlevelled scheduling
 Unbalanced workloads
 Unreliable or poor-quality shipments by suppliers
 Misunderstood communications
 Reward system

Defect

A defect can be described as anything that the customer did not want. Defects include product
or service attributes that require manual inspection and repair or rework at any point in the
value stream. Defects can be detected and identified before your product or service reaches
the customer or post-consumer in the form of warranty returns. Whenever defects occur,
extra costs are incurred reworking the part, rescheduling production, and so on. Defects cause
scrap, repair, rework, backflow, and warranty/replacements; consume resources for
inspection, correction, and replacement; cause opportunity loss (capacity and resources used
to fix problems); cost 5% of sales for Six Sigma and 40% of sales for One Sigma processes;
and reduce variability, lock gains, implement controls, and error proofing.
Some of the most common causes are the following:

 Poor purchasing practices or quality materials

 Inadequate education/training/work instructions
 Poor product design
 Weak process control
 Customer needs not understood
 Deficient planned maintenance

Waiting

Waiting waste is often described as time waiting for something to happen or occur. This
could be human waiting time, machine waiting, or materials waiting to be processed. When
this waste occurs, ultimately it is the customer who is left waiting as lead times expand to
accommodate the numerous waiting steps in your processes.
Causes of waiting waste include the following:
 Raw material outages
 Unbalanced scheduling or workloads
 Unplanned downtime for maintenance
 Poor equipment or facility layout
 Long process setup times
 Misuses of automation
 Upstream quality (flow) problems
For example, if you make a product that has 25 components and you are out of 2, you cannot
build your product. However, you have the inventory carrying costs for the 23 components in
stock. In addition, allowing outages to occur almost guarantees some of the other wastes,
such as overproduction and extra processing. You cannot build the entire product, so you start
building parts, and soon mountains of incomplete subassemblies begin to appear around the
facility as work-in-process (WIP).

Processing

Processing waste is described as any effort that adds no value to the product or service from
the customers’ viewpoint. These are steps that may not be necessary. Many examples of
processing waste are present in any product or service delivery. For example, let us consider
a product with 15 steps. If a subassembly at process step 3 is not assembled correctly, the
product moves through the facility and the problem is initially detected at assembly step 17.
Unfortunately, steps 5, 7, 9, and 11 may need to be disassembled and the correction made
before step 13 can proceed. These repeated steps are rework and take valuable time away
from employees who could be working on new products. This extra effort is called
processing waste.
Some of the most common causes are the following:
 Product changes without process changes
 Just-in-case logic
 True customer requirements undefined
 Over processing to accommodate downtime
 Poor communication
 Redundant approvals
 Extra copies/excessive information

Motion

Waste of motion occurs when there is any movement of people or information that does not
add value to the product or service. The ultimate objective in an LSS organization is to
properly connect materials, machines, man/woman power, and methods. When this is
achieved, there is a state of continuous flow. Continuous flow is often credited with the
highest levels of quality, productivity, and profitability. Wherever there are disconnects
between two entities, for example, materials and people, the waste of motion is inevitable.
This waste is related to ergonomics and is seen in all instances of bending, stretching,
walking, lifting, and reaching. These are also health and safety issues, which in today’s
litigious society are becoming more of a problem for organizations. Jobs with excessive
motion should be analysed and redesigned for improvement with the involvement of plant
personnel.
There are many possible causes for the waste of motion. Some of the major sources are the
following:
 Poor people, materials, and machine effectiveness
 Inconsistent work methods
 Poor information management
 Unfavourable facility or cell layout
 Poor workplace organization and housekeeping

Transportation

Transportation waste is any activity that requires transporting parts and materials around the
facility. Unlike motion waste that typically involves only people, transportation waste is
usually reserved for action involving equipment to move materials or parts. This equipment
comes in many forms, such as carts, rolling racks, forklifts, golf carts, and bicycles, to name a
few.
There are many possible causes for the waste of transportation. Some of the major sources are
the following:
 Poor purchasing practices
 Large batch sizes and storage areas
 Inadequate facility layout
 Limited understanding of the process flow

3. Introduction

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a comprehensive term encompassing a collection of problem-

solving methods used to identify the real cause of a non-conformance or quality
problem. Root Cause Analysis is the process of defining, understanding and solving a
problem. The root cause has also been described as an underlying or fundamental cause of a
non-conformance, defect or failure. Furthermore, the term “root cause” can also be referred to
as the precise point in the causal chain where applying a corrective action or intervention
would prevent the non-conformance from occurring.
We can implement Root cause analysis (RCA) in various areas in the garment manufacturing
industry. By using tools like Ishikawa diagram, cause and effect analysis and pareto chart
analysis we can eliminate defect waste and stoppage losses in machines by analysing their
root causes and sorting them. This in turn will reduce lead time and increase productivity in
the long run for the manufacturing unit. An enterprise can improve utilization of resources by
identifying unwanted machine stoppage and taking corrective actions at different points in the
production cycle. We can also analyse the root causes of over production waste and eliminate
it which will reduce the excess inventory waste.
To avoid the root cause analysis from becoming redundant, we can also use automated root
cause analysis. It harnesses the power of Machine Learning – a subfield of Artificial
Intelligence that focuses on developing and researching algorithms that learn from data. They
take the task of analysing and interpreting data away from the people on the factory floor,
thereby enabling them to focus on actually optimizing the processes and improving
performance.

4. Objectives and sub objectives

To reduce the defects waste and eliminate all the other root causes of lean wastes which will
increase overall productivity of the unit using several root cause analysis tools.

5. Literature review

The productivity of a yarn manufacturing factory is affected by several factors including

stoppage time losses, spindle speed, waste extraction percentage (Khan & Hossain, 2015). So,
the reduction of stoppage time is necessary to increase the productivity of ring frame in the
textile processing factory under discussion. The efficiency and productivity of a spinning mill
reduced due to unwanted stoppage of machinery. So, it is necessary to reduce unwanted
stoppage of machine or equipment for nonstop production to meet the demand. The stoppage
is categorized as major six losses which are used to calculate overall equipment efficiency
(Dal, Tugwell, & Greatbanks, 2000). Ahmed and Ahmad (2011) studied on minimization of
defects in lamp production process by the application of Pareto analysis and cause-and-effect
diagram. Using Pareto analysis, they analysed the defects and found major and minor
contributors to those defects. Then applied cause-effect diagrams for each defect and found
the main factor. They suggested that cause and-effect diagram is very useful in indicating the
appearance of abnormalities of the process in the form of excessive variations of process
parameters. From the literature, it is clear that Pareto analysis and cause and-effect diagram
are essential tools to analyse and identify the defects in a manufacturing or process industry.
A successful application of them reduces unwanted stoppage time losses and increases the
availability of machine for a long period of time, thereby increases productivity. Pareto
analysis and cause-and effect diagram are regarded as two basic tools of total quality
management (Patyal & Maddulety, 2015).

6. Proposed research methodology

We started this research with the intention to find problems that exist in the garment
manufacturing industry, and in turn find solutions for it using our chosen lean tool. These
problems are majorly that affect manufacturing costs, defects in garments and a few more.
The started off by understanding the lean tool, and how it works. We also wanted to find out
the need to solve these issues and what changes it will bring. Then next, for a better
understanding, we started reading pre-existing case studies that have identified and resolved
those problems. This was done so that we can understand the tool and the process a little
better.
In our research, you will find a detailed study of different articles, blogs, case studies and
research papers. We moved on then to give appropriate solutions to these problems, and how
can the problems be resolved in the best and most efficient way possible.

7. Intended deliverable, benefit to society

Automation: Automated RCA system can share information across factories within the same
company, allowing managers to record notes concerning a common root cause and take steps to
prevent it from happening at their own plant. When each facility shares data, every plant can work
more efficiently and avoid costly downtime and reactive maintenance.

Convenience: RCA is already a streamlined process — automating it makes it even more efficient.
You can detect safety hazards before they become a reality and predict deviations in product quality,
fixing those issues before they reach your consumers. Even without an automated solution, you still
gain the advantage of an arsenal of data you can use to stop problems in their tracks.
Realistic solutions: The solutions RCA creates can last for years. You can develop clear, step-by-step
processes that work every time and offer you incredible ease of use. Avoid struggling with producing
a new solution every time a malfunction occurs —plug in a tried and true formula, instead.

Cost savings: RCA can also help increase your revenue. Defects, downtime and maintenance all
affect how much money you bring in, and the longer you’re out of commission, the more you lose.
Reducing the occurrence of these issues keeps your company active, so you can maintain your
revenue stream.

8. References

Ahmed, M., & Ahmad, N. (2011). An application of Pareto analysis and cause-
and-effect diagram (CED) for minimizing rejection of raw materials in lamp
production process. Management Science and Engineering, 5, 87–95.

Dal, B., Tugwell, P., & Greatbanks, R. (2000). Overall equipment effectiveness as
a measure of operational improvement – A practical analysis. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management, 20, 1488–1502.

Khan, M. K. R., & Hossain, M. B. (2015). An experimental investigation of the

effects of some process conditions on ring yarn breakage. IOSR Journal of
Polymer and Textile Engineering, 2, 29–33.
Patyal, V. S., & Maddulety, K. (2015). Interrelationship between total
quality management and six sigmas: A review.
Global Business Review, 16, 1025–1060.

https://www.seebo.com/root-cause-analysis-examples-in-manufacturing/

https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/root-cause-analysis-in-the-age-of-
industry-4-0-9516af5fb1d0

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Machine-Learning-workflow-for-
automated-Root-Cause-Analysis-Thisprocedure-rank-all_fig1_320089206

Case study:

An application of Pareto analysis and cause-and-effect diagram (CED) to examine

stoppage losses.

An application of Pareto analysis and cause-and-effect diagram for minimizing defect

percentage in sewing section of a garment factory in Bangladesh.