FEATURED BLOG

Author: Bruce Ballinger 

To have a successful implementation and adoption of your new RCA program, it’s crucial to have all the elements of an effective and efficient program clearly identified and agreed upon in advance.

Here’s a high-level look at the elements that will need to be defined:

1. RCA Goals and Objective Alignment

• Define the goals and objectives of the program and assure they are in alignment with corporate/facility/department goals and objectives

2. Status of Current RCA Effort

• Perform a maturity assessment of existing RCA program to be used as a baseline to measure future improvements

3. Key Performance Indicators

• Identify KPI’s with baselines and future targets to be used for measuring progress towards meeting program goals and objectives

4. Formal RCA Threshold Criteria

• Determine which incidents will trigger a formal RCA and estimate how many triggered events may occur in the upcoming year

5. RCA and Solution Tracking Systems

• Identify which internal tracking systems will be used to track status/progress of open RCA’s and implemented solutions

6. Roles and Responsibilities

• Identify specifically who will have a role in the RCA effort including, program sponsor, champion, RCA facilitators 

7. Training Strategy 

   • Determine who will be trained in the chosen RCA methodology and to what level and in what time frame

8. RCA Effort Oversight and Management

   • Identify who (or what committees or groups) will be responsible for managing tracking systems, decisions on solution implementation, program modifications over time, and general program performance

9. Process Mapping

   • Process mapping exercise to document RCA management from the beginning of a triggered incident to completion of implemented solutions, including their impact on organization’s goals and objectives. 

10. Human Change Management Plan

    • Develop a Change Management plan, including a detailed communication plan, that specifically targets those whose job duties will be affected by the RCA effort.

11.  Implementation Tracking

    • Create a checklist to monitor RCA effort implementation including action items, responsible parties and due dates

We recommend conducting a workshop in order to define each of these crucial elements of your RCA program. 

The workshop should be conducted for what we call a “functional unit” which ideally is no larger than a plant or facility, however, it can be modified to accommodate multiple facilities.

Common elements of a functional unit include:

• A common trigger diagram
• Common KPI’s
• The same Program Champion
• Members have an interdependence and shared responsibility on one another for functional unit performance

By structuring programs to fit within the goals and objectives of the business, or “functional unit”, rather than applying a 'one size fits all' solution, effective and long lasting results can be realized.

Implementing a new RCA program or need to reinvigorate your current one? ARMS can help you create a customized plan for its successful adoption. Contact Us for more information.