Determining the Causes
The process of cause analysis occurs at two levels: surface cause and root cause. It's important to include both levels of analysis.
Cause and Effect Analysis
- Surface Causes. These are those unique hazardous conditions and unsafe, inadequate, or inappropriate behaviors that occur during a process or procedure that have caused or contributed in some way to a nonconformity.
- Root Causes. The root causes are the related underlying EMS weaknesses that somehow contribute to the conditions and behaviors we have identified. Whereas surface causes are unique, root causes can have common effects throughout the entire EMS. EMS root causes can be categorized as follows:
- EMS Design Root Causes: Inadequate design of one or more components of the EMS. The design of policies, plans, programs, processes, procedures and practices.
- EMS Implementation Root Causes: Inadequate implementation of one or more components of the EMS. After each EMS component is designed, it must be effectively implemented. You may design an effective safety plan, yet suffer failure because it was not carried out properly. On the flip side, even if you effectively put into effect a poorly written safety plan, you will get the same results: failure. To achieve success, both EMS component design and implementation must be effective.
EMS root causes typically include:
- poor communications
- faulty or missing procedures
- inadequate preventive or corrective maintenance program
- lack of instruction and training
- inadequate accountability program
- lack of funding in support of corrective actions
You will need to establish a method to analyze the surface causes to determine the root causes of nonconformities in the EMS. If you're going to make any assumptions, assume the system has failed before making judgments about employee failures.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
6-5. The unique hazardous conditions and unsafe behaviors that cause or contribute to a nonconformity are considered _____.
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