Risk & Business Magazine Hardenbergh Magazine Fall 2019 | Page 13
CAUSE AND EFFECT
O
ne of the first, and most basic,
things that everyone learns
is the concept of cause and
effect. If you push over a
domino, the domino is going
to fall down. If you leave a pizza in the oven
for too long, the pizza is going to burn.
Cause and effect is a simple concept, yet
many people don’t think to apply it very far
in their day-to-day lives. When it comes
to risk management, instead of looking at
an effect, it is often better to examine the
cause of that effect through what is known
as root cause analysis.
Root cause analysis is a deep dive into a
specific problem in order to identify the
cause of that problem. A simple example
would be the following: an employee falls
down on the job after slipping on a puddle
of water. A root cause analysis would
consist of a series of questions delving into
the problem:
1. Why did the employee slip? There was
water on the floor.
Great Falls is now Eastern Alliance
2. Why was there water on the floor?
Because the air conditioning was
leaking.
3. Why was the air conditioning leaking?
Because regular maintenance was not
being performed on the unit.
From the beginning, we had what looked
like a straightforward issue but what we
ended up with was something entirely
different. The bright side, however, is now
that the cause has been determined, it is
relatively simply to turn that around and
find a viable solution. One of the most
unfortunate realities of life is trying to find
a solution without even knowing what the
real problem was.
Though this is a very simple example, it
shows how root cause analysis can be
used. Typically, it won’t take more than
five questions to get to the bottom of
something. The idea is, however, not to
assign blame. You go after the cause from
the neutral standpoint of simply finding
out why something has occurred so that
the issue can be rectified in the future.
When the cause of a given problem has
been identified, it can be rectified and
prevented in the future. That is precisely
what risk management is all about. Not
only does this analysis help to prevent
issues in the workplace and to solve
problems but it helps keep employees from
being injured and property from being
damaged, both of which can ultimately
reduce insurance premiums.
Perhaps best of all, this technique is
applicable to all walks of life. It is not
confined simply to the workplace. Problems
with health issues, the home, automobiles
or just about anything else can be diagnosed
in the exact same way utilizing root cause
analysis. It is a powerful technique for
problem solving, and it belongs in the
toolbox of virtually everyone.
For more information or to find out how
root cause analysis is being applied to
insurance issues, contact Helen Goodwin
at [email protected]. +
Great Falls is now Eastern Alliance
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See how Eastern Alliance can deliver fresh outlooks and better outcomes to your organization. Visit easternalliance.com today.
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