Root Cause Analysis Blog
August 31, 2010 at 2:55 PM PDT
Proactive RCA to Eliminate Systemic Causes?
This workshop at the upcoming Apollo RCA Symposium in Indianapolois on September 16-17 will show attendees how to find and eliminate common and systemic causes of persisting problems.
August 25, 2010 at 2:34 PM PDT
Are You Ready to React When the Next Big Incident Occurs? You Should Be.
Are you prepared to handle a significant investigation when you get the phone call? Learn what you need to know to be ready.
August 17, 2010 at 12:39 PM PDT
Do You Continue to Struggle With How to Manage Human Error in Your Problem-Solving Efforts?
Apollo Vice President Brian Hughes will give a workshop at the Apollo RCA Symposium where he will share best practices in dealing with human error and show how to use them through case studies.
August 10, 2010 at 10:24 AM PDT
Does your business continue to suffer from the costs and risks of repeat problems? Does your organization effectively learn from previous incidents?
Beth Lay of Siemens will present on recent research in the field of critical incident messaging. She will discuss ways to improve communicating lessons learned to create a lasting impression and change behaviors.
June 21, 2010 at 8:10 AM PDT
Got an effective problem-solving culture? Get change management and organizational development.
A recent article published in Quality Digest pointed out that in order to foster a problem-solving culture, managers must serve as mentors and cultural leaders -- building the systems and atmosphere that support and encourage team members at all levels to problem solve effectively.
That is absolutely true, however, once these problem-solving roles are understood, truly developing an effective problem-solving culture will require the following three elements....
June 2, 2010 at 2:26 PM PDT
Solving IT Problems with Root Cause Analysis
Many IT departments struggle with the negative business impacts of recurring problems, and many also struggle with how to proceed with formally investigating each major problem. The risks are so significant that IT-related problems are estimated to impact the US economy to the tune of around $60 billion per year for software errors and around $140 billion per year for info/data security breaches.
May 21, 2010 at 1:32 PM PDT
Apollo Hosting Booth #816 at ASQ World Conference 5/23-5/25 in St. Louis
Come see us at booth #816 and get free Apollo gear!
May 4, 2010 at 3:50 PM PDT
Improve response to major incidents with effective preparedness and training
When a major safety event takes place at one of your company's facilities, what do you do? How do you manage the immediate issues - avoid more danger, handle employee fear, manage circling news trucks or helicopters, and the like?
April 13, 2010 at 9:32 AM PDT
Facilitating Root Cause Analysis at Satellite Locations?
When you help facilitate a root cause analysis or investigation at a company site removed from the corporate headquarters, do you ever experience push-back from the site employees?
March 31, 2010 at 10:58 AM PDT
IT incident management: Continuously improve response to problems
Catastrophic failures with enterprise-wide impacts are obvious and are easily identified as problems requiring formal investigation. Fundamentally, though, many IT organizations struggle to define the difference between some types of incidents and problems, and grapple with how to classify and respond to these unwanted service interruptions appropriately.
February 17, 2010 at 6:21 PM PST
Solving Supply Chain Problems Proactively
Managing the problems associated with the global supply chain of major products these days requires a flexible, adaptable, and consistent approach. Learn how in this Apollo root cause analysis blog.
February 9, 2010 at 11:02 AM PST
Is "More Training" the Solution to Human Error?
When something goes wrong in your organization, is human error often the identified cause? Is "more (task-related) training" for the people involved often the designated solution? As a result, have employees in your organization reluctantly endured many kinds of training - often referred to as "flavor of the month"? And do the problems you are trying to prevent continue to occur? Given limited resources, are you getting the most out of those resources?
December 11, 2009 at 8:17 AM PST
Want to Grab Execs’ Attention? Solve Costly System-wide Problems
- Wouldn't it be nice if your leaders would more overtly and/or actively support corrective action and root cause analysis to help you get everyone on board?
- Do you write it off as impossible because there's too much competition for their time, and they're already stretched too thin?
- Is there any way to spark their interest?
December 3, 2009 at 11:47 AM PST
IT problem management: When does an interruption in IT service deserve formal investigation?
Many emerging ITIL programs either don't have a formal root cause tool in place or take an ad hoc approach to identifying problems. Either way, most don't know how to separate incidents from problems in order to right-size the investigation response, so that time and money is not spent needlessly.
November 17, 2009 at 5:23 PM PST
Feel expendable to upper management? Improve the corporate quality culture.
Q: Do employees hesitate or refuse to participate in a root cause analysis (RCA) team, or provide subject-matter expertise, because they don't feel it's an approved activity? Or, do they fear repercussions for taking time away from their regular job responsibilities and deadlines?
Q: When you present the results of a root cause analysis, do decision makers question the conclusions, thinking they know better?
Q: Are you denied budget for solution implementation?
If so, read on....
October 30, 2009 at 3:07 PM PDT
Risk, Vampires, and the Politics of Perestroika
Brian Hughes reflects upon Halloween, risk, and lessons learned at the 2009 National Safety Congress in Orlando, FL.
September 3, 2009 at 10:26 AM PDT
OK, now what? Best practices in RCA facilitation
Best practices for assembling a team for an RCA - roles, pitfalls and tips.
August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM PDT
10 Simple Tips for Building a Strong Argument into Your Next Root Cause Analysis
Think of your Realitychart as an argument you are making a strong case for.
June 26, 2009 at 1:32 PM PDT
Risky Business with Brian Hughes
Apollo VP Brian Hughes discusses risk and how it can be mitigated using RCA.
May 28, 2009 at 9:28 AM PDT
Lean Six Sigma and Root Cause Analysis?
How have you used root cause analysis techniques (beyond 5-Why's and Fishbone) to improve your Lean and/or Six Sigma program?
May 1, 2009 at 3:37 PM PDT
Thinking Ahead - Will the future labor force be more prone to committing errors?
How is your organization preparing for an eventual shortage of skilled employees as the baby boomers retire?
March 27, 2009 at 10:25 AM PDT
RCA For Positive Events?
When can root cause analysis be used for positive events and how?
March 13, 2009 at 9:43 AM PDT
Can Digital Security Problems Be Solved Using Representative Industry Trend Data?
I recently received a new credit card in the mail with a letter stating - "we believe the security of your old card may have been compromised". My new card contains a computer chip for added security so when used at a new "security chip enabled" checkout terminal the card is apparently more secure. In fact, when the computer chip is digitally verified by the checkout computer I don't even have to sign the credit card slip anymore. For online purchases I need to use a new PIN number to verify my card at the time of purchase. So this got me thinking - are the new security features effective solutions? Well...I don't know. What caused my personal information to be compromised in the first place? I don't know. Am I any better protected than before?
February 18, 2009 at 3:30 PM PST
Peanut Products Recall – What does it help us learn?
We discuss what the peanut product recall helps us learn about analyzing events, fostering problem-solving cultures, implementing effective solutions, and preventing recurrence.
February 6, 2009 at 2:26 PM PST
Root Cause Analysis or Risk Assessment?
Do you think RCA, used proactively on identified hazards, could simply replace the effort duplicated by the risk assessment / risk management process and one could simply rely on hazard analysis and RCA to management risk?
December 31, 2008 at 8:41 AM PST
How Are You Using RCA To Cut Costs?
How Are You Using RCA To Cut Costs?
October 30, 2008 at 3:12 PM PDT
Root Cause Analysis Blog: Will you come out of the financial crisis on top?
We're exploring the current financial crisis, and the strategies different companies use to get through uncertain times. Is cost cutting the answer? Should training be put off until times are more certian, or should we continue improving and be better prepared for when the economy does come back around?
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- Proactive RCA to Eliminate Systemic Causes?
- Are You Ready to React When the Next Big Incident Occurs? You Should Be.
- Do You Continue to Struggle With How to Manage Human Error in Your Problem-Solving Efforts?
- Does your business continue to suffer from the costs and risks of repeat problems? Does your organization effectively learn from previous incidents?
- Got an effective problem-solving culture? Get change management and organizational development.
- Solving IT Problems with Root Cause Analysis
- Apollo Hosting Booth #816 at ASQ World Conference 5/23-5/25 in St. Louis
- Improve response to major incidents with effective preparedness and training
- Facilitating Root Cause Analysis at Satellite Locations?
- IT incident management: Continuously improve response to problems