So far, we’ve talked about reporting failures, then we talked about doing some type of analysis to determine the cause of failures, and now for this week’s tip, we will begin discussing the Corrective Action phase of FRACAS.
Depending on the nature and severity of the failure(s), there may be two types of Corrective Action needed:
Short Term Corrective Action (Containment) – this type of corrective action is focused on taking the necessary steps to immediately resolve a failure. In many cases, this type of fix will address the Apparent Cause(s), but may or may not address the Root Cause(s). The goal of short term corrective action is to fix the problem, right now! This type of corrective action tends to be more reactive in nature. Containment should be thought of only as an interim step to ensure that the failure is contained in some manner; to temporarily resolve an issue until long term corrective action can be implemented. Key points to consider:
- Have the short-term measures been verified to work, i.e., are they appropriate and effective?
- What are the costs associated with the interim measures? Are they worth it?
- Have these actions been verified to not have an adverse impact on another aspect of the process or equipment?
- Containment is not a solution … don’t allow a short-term fix to cover up or prevent future efforts for finding a long term, permanent solution.
Long Term Corrective Action (Permanent) – this type of corrective action is focused on a permanent fix, one that prevents the problem from recurring in the future. Long term corrective action is focused on eliminating, reducing and/or mitigating Root Causes. This type of corrective action tends to be more proactive in nature. Key points to remember:
- Will the solution resolve the root cause(s)?
- How much time and cost will it take to implement the solution?
- Will the solution cause new problems?
- How difficult will it be to implement the solution?
- Can the solution be transferred to other processes, areas or equipment?
As with the RCFA process, you should use a team to determine the corrective actions to put in place. In most cases, the team that conducted the RCFA will be the same team that determines the corrective actions. The core team should be a small group of people with the process/product knowledge, allocated time, authority and skill in the required technical disciplines to solve the problem and determine corrective actions. Other Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Third Parties, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) should be added as necessary.
Remember, the fundamental objective is to break the cause chain; identify all possible ways to break the cause chain. The Quality of the solution depends heavily on the Quality of the cause chain. Evaluate solutions for effectiveness (does it reduce the likelihood of the failure incident recurring) and realism (is it reasonable to implement with respect to cost, time, organizational influence, technical requirements, etc.). Effective corrective actions are practical, feasible and cost effective!
In next week’s tip, we’ll finish up the Corrective Action phase of FRACAS.
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