7 Best Root Cause Analysis Templates

Root cause analysis is used in a variety of industries and fields including, but not limited to, manufacturing, healthcare, and software development. It is a crucial tool for enhancing quality, effectiveness, and safety and is frequently used with other approaches to problem-solving, such as Six Sigma and Lean.

With this root cause analysis template, you should be able to:

• Define the problem – Clearly state the problem you are trying to solve.
• Collect data – Gather data related to the problem, including when and where it occurred, who was involved, and what happened when the problem occurred.
• Recognize the symptoms – List the observed symptoms and effects of the problem.
• Identify possible causes – Brainstorm all possible causes of the problem, without ruling any out at this stage.
• Analyze the causes – Evaluate each possible cause and determine its likelihood of contributing to the problem. Use tools such as a Fishbone diagram or Pareto chart to help organize and analyze the data.
• Determine the root cause – based on the analysis, determine the fundamental cause of the problem.
• Develop solutions — Develop and evaluate possible solutions to address the root cause of the problem.
• Implement and monitor – Implement the solution and monitor its effectiveness over time. If the problem persists, go back and repeat the root cause analysis process to identify further improvements.

The 5 Whys analysis is a strategy for finding a problem’s underlying causes. Identifying the root of the problem entails posing a string of “why” questions—usually five. The 5 Whys analysis is a very useful method comparable to a root cause analysis since its major objective is to go beyond the symptoms of the problem and uncover the core cause in order to design effective solutions.

Using the 5 Whys Template, you may define the issue, explain why it occurred, assess whether this is indeed the primary cause, provide a solution to the problem, and create corrective actions to prevent it from recurring.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, also known as FMEA, is a powerful tool used to locate and analyze potential failures in a system or process. By determining the effects of these failures and developing strategies to mitigate or eliminate them, FMEA increases the reliability of systems and helps prevent failures from impacting business operations.

Although it is commonly used in industries such as manufacturing, automotive, and medical devices, FMEA can be adopted by any organization, system, or process that requires guaranteed dependability and safety.

In addition to identifying potential failures and developing techniques to address them, FMEA is also an effective root cause analysis tool. By recognizing symptoms of failures in systems, FMEA can help organizations determine the underlying root causes of these problems and devise impactful solutions to address them.

This free FMEA template allows you to:

• Specify the function you want to analyze
• Establish the potential failure mode and failure effect
• Determine its level of severity
• State the potential cause
• Identify occurrence rating
• Define current controls
• Record the detection rating

The 8D (Eight Disciplines) process is a team-based approach that involves eight steps for looking into a problem, figuring out what caused it, coming up with appropriate solutions, and implementing actions to prevent its recurrence.

The eight steps of the 8D Analysis are as follows:

1. Establish a team – Assemble a group of people with the necessary knowledge, abilities, and experience to investigate the issue.
2. Define the problem – Provide a thorough description of the issue, including when and where it happened, how frequently it occurs, and how it affects the process, system, or end product.
3. Control the problem – Enforce immediate action to contain the problem and prevent it from causing more damage to other parts of the process.
4. Identify the root cause – Determine the core cause of the problem by employing various problem-solving techniques such as Fishbone diagrams, 5 Whys, or Pareto charts.
5. Develop corrective action – Design corrective actions to address and resolve the root cause of the problem.
6. Implement corrective actions – Put remedial steps into action and continually monitor the procedure to ensure optimal effectiveness.
7. Prevent recurrence – Create preventative measures to avoid the recurrence of the problem.
8. Recognize the team – Commend the team for their efforts and review the process to identify areas for further improvement.

With the use of this 8D Report Template and by following the eight steps of the process, businesses can develop a solution that not only identifies the root cause of problems and resolve them but also prevents their recurrence.

DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is a structured, problem-solving approach that is frequently utilized in Six Sigma projects and other process improvement initiatives. Although DMAIC is primarily concerned with process improvement, it can also be used as a root cause analysis tool for a variety of industries. The data collected during the analysis can be leveraged in determining the main cause of problems in operations.

The DMAIC Analysis consists of the following five distinct phases:

1. Define – The problem and the project’s scope are both established at this step. This involves determining the target audience, parties involved, and the specific issue that needs to be resolved.
2. Measure – The second phase incorporates data collecting in order to establish a baseline for the process performance. The team decides what information must be gathered and how it will be gathered, then develops a measuring system that produces valuable data.
3. Analyze – To pinpoint the root cause of the problem, the team analyzes the data collected during the third phase This is accomplished using tools such as process flow diagrams, histograms, and cause-and-effect diagrams.
4. Improve – In the fourth phase, the team identifies and implements solutions to address the underlying causes of the problem. This may involve redesigning the process, improving process controls, or implementing new technologies.
5. Control – The final phase involves establishing control measures to sustain the improvements made in the previous phase. This can include developing new guidelines or work instructions, training employees, and establishing metrics to track the performance of ongoing processes.

Aside from providing users with a place to store the data collected during the analysis, this DMAIC Template also enables them to create corrective actions, attach media-based evidence for increased visibility, and seamlessly share the reports with the team and relevant stakeholders.

A3 Analysis is a problem-solving methodology that originated in Toyota and is now widely used in lean manufacturing and continuous improvement processes. It is named after the A3 paper size, which is used to document the entire problem-solving process on a single sheet of paper. A3 analysis emphasizes the importance of collaboration and communication, involving all stakeholders in the brainstorming process, and ensuring that everyone understands the problem and proposed solutions.

While A3 analysis is not a dedicated root cause analysis tool, it can be an effective way to identify and address the root causes of problems. By scrutinizing the current state and determining the underlying causes of the problem, organizations can develop targeted solutions to address those causes.

With this ready-to-use A3 Report Template, you should be able to efficiently do the following:

• State the background of the problem
• Define the current situation and control measures in place
• Specify the goals and desired outcome
• Identify the root cause using the 5 Whys method
• Provide possible solutions to achieve the desired outcome
• Implement actions and solutions
• Measure the effectiveness of implemented solutions
• Verify if the solution helped achieve the desired outcome
• Improve the solutions until the problem is resolved