Root Cause Analysis

Nowadays, tail lights using Two-Colour (2K) Molding Process with the material of PMMA is facing crack defects in automotive production plant. Furthermore, the cost of replacement of this component is expensive. Therefore, for this analysis it would be focusing on finding the root-cause of the pre-initial stress of the tail lights after being assembled on the car which needs to be concluded whether there’s a fault in assembly itself or material.

Background: National, regional and local activities to improve patient safety in Sweden have increased over the last decade. There are high ambitions for improved patient safety in Sweden. This study surveyed health care professionals who held key positions in their county council's patient safety work to investigate their perceptions of the conditions for this work, factors they believe have been most important in reaching the current level of patient safety and factors they believe would be most important for achieving improved patient safety in the future. Methods: The study population consisted of 218 health care professionals holding strategic positions in patient safety work in Swedish county councils. Using a questionnaire, the following topics were analysed in this study: profession/occupation; number of years involved in a designated task on patient safety issues; knowledge/overview of the county council's patient safety work; ability to influence this work; conditions for this work; and the importance of various factors for current and future levels of patient safety.

... for that taking selected ordering parameters as input is much efficient for modeling. ... Taleb-Bendiab, “Performance Evaluation for Self-Healing Distributed Services and Fault Detection Mechanisms,” Journal ... 4].M. Steinder and AS Sethi, “A Survey of Fault Localization Techniques ...

Whilst healthcare has increased its awareness of the retrospective safety assessment techniques, such as root cause analysis, adoption of the corresponding predictive safety assessment techniques has been slow and sporadic. Reasons for this may include lack of support in technique choice and practical knowledge in the published literature. Whilst there have been many publications on these techniques, few have aimed to support the novice user in selecting a technique from the broad array of choice to facilitate targeting of education in techniques for specific purposes. This paper aims to address this through collecting an evidence base towards developing a bottom-up (resources and constraints) and top-down (requirements) approach to technique selection. Conclusions indicate there is a lack of practical experiences described in the literature to conclusively define a technique for selection and a need for a dedicated research in this area to make it accessible for healthcare and other novice users.

The goal of this study was to examine the efficiency and feasibility of a specifically designed tool that could help novice bakers gain confidence in decorating cakes. The tool known as "ShapeSweetie" was designed in order to overcome the main issue of inexperienced and novice bakers at Keningau Vocational College who were not able to create decorative shapes from fondant and marzipan properly. If they were not able to acquire the basic skills in baking class, it would be difficult for them to continue their learning with a more advanced training in baking class. Thus, an intact class of 25 students from a baking and pastry programme was chosen as the subjects for this study. They were taught on how to use the tool and they were expected to use it in their class where they had to decorate their cakes. A rubric was used to assess the students' final products and the results showed that most of the students attained higher scores in executing the task. This indicated that "ShapeSweetie" could be commercialized and used widely in baking class across bakeries and learning institutions in the state.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." In software, these expressions translate into the common observation that the longer a defect stays in process, the more expensive it is to fix . Moreover software defects are expensive and time consuming. The cost of finding and correcting defects represents one of the most expensive software development activities. And that too, if the errors get carried away till the final acceptance testing stage of the project life cycle, then the project is at a greater risk in terms of its Time and Cost factors. A small amount of effort spent on quality assurance will see good amount of cost savings in terms of detecting and eliminating the defects.

The purpose of this paper is to present a technique, called Knowledge FMEA, for distilling textual raw data which is useful for requirements collection and knowledge elicitation. The authors first give some insights into the diverse characteristics of textual raw data which can lead to higher complexity in analysis and may result in some gaps in interpreting the interviewees' world view. We then outline a Knowledge FMEA procedure as it applies to qualitative data and its key benefits. Examples from a case study are presented to illustrate how to use the technique. Proposed Knowledge FMEA brings many advantages such as forcing the analysts to become deeply immersed in the raw data, identifying how the information is connected in causation, classifying the data according to why, what, how formulations and quantifying the findings for further quantitative analysis.

The Islamic sect generally dubbed Boko Haram has led a
campaign of terror on the Nigeria state for years and without
end in sight. Following their set objective of an Islamizing
mission, it has generally been considered a strictly religious
driven problem. However, we argue in the article that this approach is fairly narrow since it almost ignores other
compelling factors. We argue also that despite the overbearing
religious camouflage of Boko Haram mission, there is an
almost ignored underlying causal factor - Poverty. Based on
this, we employ the root cause approach to understanding
poverty in Northern Nigeria as a driving force behind the
taking up arms against the Nigerian state and as viable
approach to understanding the enigmatic and dreadful Boko
Haram sect.

The current case study is carried out at Tyre manufacturing plant by a Quality Circle (QC) team. The main focus of the work is to reduce the waste in Extruder Department. The QC team identified 52 problems after multiple brainstorming sessions. The various quality circle techniques like ABC analysis and 3P analysis are used to finalize the problem statement. The selected problem is part poly roll generation at 8x6 " CFE due to difficulty in fitting parallel poly roll to first poly roll. The QC tools like Root Cause analysis, 4 W & 1 H analysis, Cause and Effect Diagram and Why-Why analysis are used to find the root causes and solution. After implementation of proposed solution the part roll generation is reduced from 15 to 0, part roll scrap is reduced from 9 to 0 and cost benefit of Rs. 3, 08,460 per year is achieved.

Knowledge of the up-to-date network topology (i.e. Layer 2 & Layer 3) is crucial for efficient network management. Issues like congestion avoidance, resource management, resource discovery, root-cause analysis and event correlation require accurate information of the topology map. Due to dynamic nature of today's IP networks, keeping track of topology information manually is a daunting task. Thus efficient algorithms for automatically discovering physical network topology are necessary. The earlier work has typically concentrated on discovering topology either using completely SNMP-MIB or ICMP echo request/reply, DNS, Trace route, etc. Our proposed algorithm does not rely totally on SNMP-MIB information as it is not usually supported by all devices in the network. Instead we propose an approach where SNMP agent should only be enabled on the routers and managed switches. Rest of the network computers/hosts need not have SNMP agent enabled. We propose an efficient algorithm not only to find available computers/hosts but also to find appropriate timeouts and delays in the network. The experimental results validate our approach, demonstrating that our algorithm discovers accurate physical topology.

City of Izmir as the third largest city of Turkey, is the opening gate of Anatolia to the world through Aegean Sea. The city with its great volume of cargo capacity plays crucial role both in international and domestic sea trade. The Port of Alsancak located at the inner part of the bay is the largest seaport of Aegean Region in terms of annual loading capacity. The main objective of this research is to find the root-causes of accidents that have resulted in the groundings in Bay of Izmir. To do this, the Root Cause Analysis methodology was carried out on the accidental data provided by Turkish Main Search and Rescue Coordination Center (TMSRCC). Between 2001 and 2016, a total of 24 ships grounded at the entrance of Yenikale due to shallow water conditions, which is regarded as the riskiest point in terms of groundings. In this study, the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method which is the one of the most preferred root cause analysis methods was used. As a result, it was found that equipment failures and geographical factors are the main reasons of grounding accidents in Bay of Izmir. In order to eliminate these causes, necessary precautions have been offered and suggestions for further studies have been made.

As the complexity of commercial cellular networks grows, there is an increasing need for automated methods detecting and diagnosing cells not only in complete outage but with degraded performance as well. Root cause analysis of the detected anomalies can be tedious and currently carried out mostly manually if at all; in most practical cases, operators simply reset problematic cells. In this paper, a novel integrated detection and diagnosis framework is presented that can identify anomalies and find the most probable root cause of not only severe problems but even smaller degradations as well. Detecting an anomaly is based on monitoring radio measurements and other performance indicators and comparing them to their usual behavior captured by profiles, which are also automatically built without the need for thresholding or manual calibration. Diagnosis is based on reports of previous fault cases by identifying and learning their characteristic impact on different performance indicators. The designed framework has been evaluated with proof-of-concept simulations including artificial faults in an LTE system. Results show the feasibility of the framework for providing the correct root cause of anomalies and possibly ranking the problems by their severity.

When confronted with a problem, have you ever stopped and asked “why” five times? If you do not ask the right question, you will not get the right answer. The Five Whys is a simple question-asking technique that explores the cause-and-effect relationships underlying problems.

Problem-solving ability is a much sought-after trait in executives, especially if it includes the ability to solve human performance problems. This paper proposes a systematic root cause analysis process that effectively and consistently uncovers the root causes of human performance problems and controls the causes in a way that prevents the problems from recurring. Applying action research the study brings into being a Human Performance Variation Analysis (HPVA) process, which consists of three phases: (1) performance variation assessment, (2) performance variation analysis, and (3) performance variation resolution. The HPVA provides much-needed capability in solving human performance problems in organisations.

Debugging large-scale parallel applications is challenging. In most HPC applications, parallel tasks progress in a coordinated fashion, and thus a fault in one task can quickly propagate to other tasks, making it difficult to debug. Finding the least-progressed tasks can significantly reduce the effort to identify the task where the fault originated. However, existing approaches for detecting them suffer low accuracy and large overheads; either they use imprecise static analysis or are unable to infer progress dependence inside loops. We present a loop-aware progress-dependence analysis tool, Prodometer, which determines relative progress among parallel tasks via dynamic analysis. Our fault-injection experiments suggest that its accuracy and precision are over 90% for most cases and that it scales well up to 16,384 MPI tasks. Further, our case study shows that it significantly helped diagnosing a perplexing error in MPI, which only manifested at large scale.

Which Software Reliability Engineering (SRE) methods should be applied during the various phases of the lifecycle of a product? The answer given here centres on learning from errors. The classification and evaluation of methods is strictly based on causal analyses of disasters, accidents and incidents with undesired outcome. The lifecycle model of IEC Standard 61508 has been adopted as a classification scheme. A couple of examples are given. The SRE methods considered here are those of IEC 61508. These methods are dealing with software reliability as well as with the production of highly reliable software. As an example of some more recent proposals Extreme Programming (XP) has been included.

The aim of this study was to examine the reasons on why some students frequently missed school. Chronic absenteeism is a prevalent problem across schools and it requires comprehensive analysis in order to be properly resolved. Six students from the construction technology programme at Keningau Vocational College were selected to be the subjects of this study as these students recorded high rate of absenteeism. Two stages of interviews were carried out in order to examine the root causes of their truancy and two root cause analysis methods were used to categorize and narrow their reasons. These tools were Fishbone Diagram and 5 Whys. The findings showed that there were six main factors: student, environment, transport, school, family and teacher. It was suggested that there are several ways that can be developed in order to overcome this issue and that involve coordination efforts from the school, parents, students and community to facilitate transportations, revise school rules, foster effective communication between teachers and students as well as train students to manage their time effectively.

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) has a key role in the quality system of thermal power plants. Electricity production is definitely not only production of a product, but also becomes a customer service. Reliability is the top quality tier of this service. Incorporation in the Integrated energy system means fast transformations of organization on all levels. The reliability of modern generation components basically influences the efficiency and capacity of a power plant as a whole. This paper presents the results of RCM practice on Unit Two of The Thermal Power Plant ″Nikola Tesla -B″, 2x600 MW, Yugoslavia. RCM implementation on current problems during exploitation emphasized problems with the boiler tubing system. The methodological approach included outages analyses, marking of the most significant ones, determination of main causes of damage (determination of the material exhaustion state based on expert analyses), application of adequate remaining life assessment methodology and finally the recommendations. Based on these analyses, certain technical solutions were performed and as a result, the mean time between failures of the plant increased, as well as its reliability. According to cost efficiency, RCM methodology presented the most effective cost-benefit method for reliability upgrade.

In the design of chemical/energy production systems, a major challenge is to identify the bottleneck issues and improve its sustainability effectively. Due to the multi-dimensional feature of sustainability, how to account for the impacts of various design factors and the cause-and-effect relationships can be very difficult. This paper will present a sustainability root cause analysis method based on the combination of Pareto Analysis and Fishbone diagram. The sustainability of the process is assessed incorporating economic, environmental, societal and efficiency concerns.

In a competitive world most desirable goal is best quality, shortest lead time and lowest cost. For all three aspects burning issue is reducing rework and improving quality. Lack of proper methodology and scientific solution every sector face same type of problem in a regular interval. Most of the cases try to find out the short term solution by trial and error basis without finding the root causes. In this study, problem solving tools are used to identity and reduce the causes, sub-causes, root-cause to improve First Time Through (FTT). In Bangladesh RMG sector contribute 78% export earning within total earnings in 2012. To achieve the competitive advantage, it is essential to improve FTT level. This study has been done in a multinational RMG manufacturing company for improving FTT level through PDCA cycle by using different tools and technique. On the basis of raw data present FTT situation are analyzed and set the long term target. For achieving the long term target identifies the major defects, which contribution is 80% of total defect by Pareto analysis. Uncut thread, spot, Bottom hem and waist band are identified as a top defects. Brainstorming session was done for identifying the possible causes along the bottom hem defects. Causes are classified into four categories like Man, Machine, Material and Method by cause effect diagram (Fish bone diagram). To improve bottom hem process form a team from different department's people as a QC circle. Set an action plan by involving the team member inclined to causes and sub-causes with a completion date. Set two lines as pilot for bottom hem process. Bottom hem related process are studied and developed also set the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the process. Comparing the result with short term target and counter measure the current bottom hem defect status, it is observed that Bottom hem defect has been decreased to 52.62% and the FTT level is increased.

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo ser un aporte para organizar, analizar, y determinar el verdadero origen de las fallas en el proceso productivo de una pieza fundida, utili-zando para ello, herramientas y metodologías de análisis de causa raíz, logrando con ello optimizar nuestros recursos, te-ner un mínimo de rechazos, y evitando realizar reparaciones relevantes en nuestros lotes de piezas producidas. Se mencionan las metodologías, y técnicas que se pueden utilizar para éste desarrollo, de modo que se detecten, y re-suelvan las desviaciones, discontinuidades, y no conformida-des, de manera oportuna, y que éstas no lleguen finalmente al usuario, y se presente una falla prematura típica durante el servicio del componente. Se mencionan además, las diferentes etapas, y numerosas variables que participan para el conformado de las piezas fun-didas. Cada una de ellas se convierte en una potencial causa para originar o incrementar el nivel de una falla o defecto en las piezas, cuando no son controladas adecuadamente. Finalmente, se presenta un caso de un análisis de falla o de-fecto, detectado en pleno proceso productivo, de una zapata de oruga, parte del sistema de movimiento de las palas me-cánicas, utilizadas en la gran minería de tajo abierto.

Autor: Juan Carlos Heredia, Tecsup

BACKGROUND: Fishbone diagrams have been widely promoted as a systems-focused hazard analysis tool for use in root cause analysis, but they suffer from a number of structural weaknesses, including a unidirectional structure that only takes into account forces that promote an accident (ignoring those that make the accident less likely or less severe) and a means of displaying these forces that does not convey any difference in strength of influence. In a separate but related issue, many healthcare organizations suffer from a lack of change management expertise.

PROPOSED SOLUTION: To address these concerns, I present a novel technique, the Lovebug diagram, which draws from both Fishbone diagrams and force-field analysis (an approach to analyzing planned change). This new technique adds value to both its progenitor methods, while retaining their key strengths and ease of use. It can be used both prospectively, to assess planned changes, and retrospectively to assess unplanned (accidental) departures from the status quo.

DISCUSSION: The Lovebug diagram is a more powerful analytical tool than its progenitor methods; however, overall adoption of systems-focused tools for root cause analysis remains suboptimal. Additional research is needed to determine how best to promote a truly systems-focused approach to healthcare root cause analysis. Beyond this retrospective use of the technique, it represents a simple tool to assist healthcare organizations with prospective change management.

Available from: http://cri.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/10/25/1356262213510855.abstract

Purpose -This paper seeks to document an approach to reduce scrap losses using the root cause analysis technique in a lean manufacturing environment. Design/methodology/approach -The study uses lean manufacturing root cause problem solving (RCPS) technique. The study starts with the collection phase, followed by the analysis phase and ends with the solution phase. Supporting data are presented using a Pareto chart to prioritise wastage in order to be more focused for improvement. The Toyota Production System's 5-whys analysis is performed to analyse the cause of wastages, to formulate and implement corrective actions. Findings -The application of the 5-whys analysis in a manufacturing industry (XYZ Corporation) provides a fact-based and structured approach to problem identification and correction that not only reduces, but also totally eliminates defects. Corrective action has permanently eliminated the top defect, which is the "last piece material scratch" and this results in zero scrap thereafter. In this study it was also proven that with sound understanding of manufacturing coupled with possible solutions using the 5-whys analysis the authors were not only able to eliminate waste, but also to do it with zero-cost. Originality/value -The approach documented in the paper can be extended to other areas in the manufacturing industry to help improve overall equipment efficiency, breakdown, time loss, customer complaints, etc.

This final year paper report is about the design and Fabrication of jigs and fixtures for manufacturing process. For this project, it is focus on the perspective of the job handling to produce the part. Improvement that is trying to do is by replace the manual handling for the process by designing the jigs and fixture for this process. The objectives of this project are to investigate the collected data and analyse the design of jig and fixture to ease work handling. The methodology adopted for problem identification in connecting rod line are Root cause analysis for quality-related problems is a key and necessary step in the operations of manufacturing processes, especially in high-throughput automated processes. The design of jig and fixtures is using CATIA V5 software. Jigs and fixtures are specially designed so that large numbers of components can be machined and to ensure interchangeability of components. To reducing the setup, loading, unloading and machining time during drilling, reaming, Tapping and chamfering operation. The jigs and Fixture is successfully designed and implemented for the radial drilling machine for line balancing of existing connecting production line and it help to ease the handling of the job. It will make easy, quick and consistently accurate locating, supporting and clamping the blank in alignment of the cutting tool. Guidance to the cutting tool like drill, reamer, tap etc. Increase in productivity and maintain product quality consistently. It will reduce operator's labour and skill requirement, Also reduce measurement and its cost. After the implementation of jigs and fixture on Radial drilling machine the non-productive time (loading and unloading) was reduced from 78 seconds to 52 Seconds and machine setup time reduced to 120 to 96 seconds also machining time reduced to 38 to 30 seconds due to increase in spindle speed where the difference of 58 seconds is converted as the productive time and this will help to overcome the problem of bottleneck in existing connecting rod production line, productivity will be improved and this also helps to good will of the company.

Excerpts:
"The ‘5 whys’ technique is one of the most widely taught approaches to root-cause analysis (RCA) in healthcare. Its use is promoted by the WHO,1 the English National Health Service, [2] the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, [3] the Joint Commission [4] and many other organisations in the field of healthcare quality and safety. Like most such tools, though, its popularity is not the result of any evidence that it is effective. [5–8]"
....
"But the real problem with ‘5 whys’ is not how it is used in RCA, but rather that it so grossly oversimplifies the process of problem exploration that it should not be used at all. It forces users down a single analytical pathway for any given problem,[13] insists on a single root cause as the target for solutions [9 ,13 ,20] and assumes that the most distal link on the causal pathway (the fifth ‘why’) is inherently the most effective and efficient place to intervene."

Salah satu sentra pengembangan industri biofarmaka (tanaman obat) di propinsi Jawa Tengah terdapat di Kabupaten Karanganyar, yaitu Klaster Biofarmaka Karanganyar. Klaster ini adalah salah satu pemasok bahan baku perusahaan jamu PT. Sido Muncul yang berupa rimpang segar dan simplisia. PT. Sido Muncul memiliki ketetapan standar kualitas yang harus dipenuhi dari bahan baku yang dipasok, yaitu untuk rimpang segar harus berumur minimal 8 bulan dengan tampilan produk besar, sehat, segar, berkulit kencang, dan cerah serta untuk produk simplisia harus memiliki kadar air tidak lebih dari 10%. Saat ini, hasil produk klaster biofarmaka masih sering mengalami retur/ tertolak dari PT. Sido Muncul karena belum mampu memenuhi standar yang telah ditetapkan tersebut. Berkaitan dengan permasalahan tersebut, perlu dilakukan identifikasi penyebab kegagalan produk klaster memenuhi standar kualitas perusahaan jamu. Hal ini diawali dengan pemetaan proses bisnis, identifikasi permasalahan aktivitas bisnis serta identifikasi akar penyebab masalah menggunakan root cause analysis (RCA). Berdasarkan akar masalah yang teridentifikasi, tahap selanjutnya yaitu akan dikembangkan solusi perbaikannya. Dari hasil kajian diperoleh, permasalahan muncul dari segi teknis dan manajemen organisasi. Permasalahan teknis bersumber dari kurangnya ketrampilan seputar proses budidaya (bibit tanaman), pengelolaan pasca panen (pencucian, sortir), dan proses produksi simplisia (pengeringan) serta pengiriman produk klaster ke konsumen (pasar dan perusahaan jamu). Sedangkan, permasalahan manajemen organisasi bersumber dari kurangnya pengetahuan pengelolaan administrasi keuangan dan pengelolaan organisasi. Baik permasalahan teknis maupun manajemen juga disebabkan oleh lemahnya kontrol dan pendampingan dari dinas ataupun instansi terkait (Bappeda, Balittro, Dinas Pertanian, industri, dll).

Solving problems effectively is part of being an effective organization. Beneath every problem is a cause for that problem. In order to solve a problem one must identify the cause of the problem and take steps to eliminate the cause. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a method that is used to address a problem or non-conformance, in order to get to the "root cause" of the problem. One of the main requirements of medical equipment calibration laboratory accreditation process is the laboratory policy to address the problem of nonconformance of its activity. This paper presents an established and accredited procedure for the control of nonconforming calibration work and/or results. The procedure is based on the experience of the Medical Equipment Calibration Lab (MECL) of the Systems and Biomedical Engineering Department (SBME), Cairo University. A description of some nonconformity problem cases reports and their root cause analysis is also provided.

El reto ABP Cubos es el primer capítulo de "El legado de Robert. Novela de ingeniería para el mejoramiento empresarial". Este capítulo está siendo utilizado como estudio de caso en cursos relacionados con gestión de la calidad, de procesos, de la manufactura esbelta y de la mejora organizativa en general; incluso hay reportes de asignaturas de psicología organizacional. El libro "El legado de Robert. Novela de ingeniería..."  se deriva de 10 años de anécdotas y estudios sobre el sector productivo, y provee un marco de mejora continua que articula dimensiones "duras" y "blandas" de la gestión organizativa, compartido en forma narrativa. ISBN (2015): 978-958-58897-0-5. ISBN (2018, PoD): 978-958-58897-5-0. Test de autoevaluación de El reto ABP Cubos: https://bit.ly/2UmLwv9. Libro: https://amzn.to/2K0qxO5

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) has a key role in the quality system of thermal power plants. Electricity production is definitely not only production of a product, but also becomes a customer service. Reliability is the top quality tier of this service. Incorporation in the Integrated energy system means fast transformations of organization on all levels. The reliability of modern generation components basically influences the efficiency and capacity of a power plant as a whole. This paper presents the results of RCM practice on Unit Two of The Thermal Power Plant ″Nikola Tesla -B″, 2x600 MW, Yugoslavia. RCM implementation on current problems during exploitation emphasized problems with the boiler tubing system. The methodological approach included outages analyses, marking of the most significant ones, determination of main causes of damage (determination of the material exhaustion state based on expert analyses), application of adequate remaining life assessment methodology and finally the recommendations. Based on these analyses, certain technical solutions were performed and as a result, the mean time between failures of the plant increased, as well as its reliability. According to cost efficiency, RCM methodology presented the most effective cost-benefit method for reliability upgrade.

Purpose -This case seeks to illustrate the specific problem of excessive defects in radial tyres produced in a renowned tyre manufacturing company in India. This paper aims to show how lean Six-Sigma methodology can be used to tackle the specific issues like defects reduction. Design/methodology/approach -The management took this problem on top priority as it is eroding their brand value and financial performance. A Mumbai-based lean Six-Sigma consulting group was approached to tackle the issue. One of the authors, who is pursuing research on determinants of successful lean manufacturing implementation in Indian industries, joined this project as a part of his field study and he spent considerable time in discussing and observing the issue with people of different hierarchical levels of the company. Lean Six-Sigma methodologies were incorporated and the problem was evaluated with root-cause analysis. This case is formulated on the basis of the initial findings of the study in an Indian tyre manufacturing organisation keeping the actual name of the company in disguise. Findings -On the basis root-cause analysis of the radial tyre manufacturing process, it was found that presence of foreign particles in the manufacturing environment, under-ageing and over-ageing of tyre components, and inefficient bead winding process, were the main culprits of defects. It was confirmed that lean Six-Sigma methodology can serve as a major tool to reduce defects in the tyre manufacturing process in India. Originality/value -This paper provides some key insights to the successful adoption of lean Six-Sigma tools in an Indian industrial environment, where lean practices are still in the very nascent stage and very little literature is available in this context.

Invented by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, the Pareto Analysis is a root cause analysis (RCA) tool that can help sort out multiple problems and prioritize their importance. Tonex offers Root Cause Analysis Training that covers the Pareto method and many other RCA tools.

The paper deals with the licensing nuclear power plants; it focuses primarily on the licensing process implications into the international nuclear market. Nowadays there are twenty-six countries that are planning to build new nuclear facilities, and thirty-seven where nuclear reactors are proposed; on the other hand, there are mainly ten international reactor vendors. At international level, there are few vendors that have sufficient resources, capabilities and experience to carry out the design and delivering of a nuclear power plant in the international market; On the other hand, the licensing processes are strictly dependent on national law frameworks, and on the nuclear policies. The paper proposes a comparison of six licensing processes (the ones established in Finland, France, Italy, South Korea, USA and UK), and analyzes its main features and implications; the IAEA licensing process is taken as reference point. The objective of the paper is to propose a systemic approach for considering the licensing procedures. The framework proposed enables facilitating the licensing management and inferring the main features of licensing contexts. The paper concludes with a forecast of the nuclear licensing context, especially with respect to the fourth generation of nuclear reactors.

Susceptibility scanning is an increasingly adopted method for root cause analysis of system-level immunity sensitivities. It allows localizing affected nets and integrated circuits (ICs). Further, it can be used to compare the immunity of functionally identical or similar ICs or circuit boards. This paper explains the methodology as applied to electrostatic discharge and provides examples of scan maps and signals probed during immunity scanning. Limitations of present immunity analysis methods are discussed.

Purpose -This paper seeks to document an approach to reduce scrap losses using the root cause analysis technique in a lean manufacturing environment. Design/methodology/approach -The study uses lean manufacturing root cause problem solving (RCPS) technique. The study starts with the collection phase, followed by the analysis phase and ends with the solution phase. Supporting data are presented using a Pareto chart to prioritise wastage in order to be more focused for improvement. The Toyota Production System's 5-whys analysis is performed to analyse the cause of wastages, to formulate and implement corrective actions. Findings -The application of the 5-whys analysis in a manufacturing industry (XYZ Corporation) provides a fact-based and structured approach to problem identification and correction that not only reduces, but also totally eliminates defects. Corrective action has permanently eliminated the top defect, which is the "last piece material scratch" and this results in zero scrap thereafter. In this study it was also proven that with sound understanding of manufacturing coupled with possible solutions using the 5-whys analysis the authors were not only able to eliminate waste, but also to do it with zero-cost. Originality/value -The approach documented in the paper can be extended to other areas in the manufacturing industry to help improve overall equipment efficiency, breakdown, time loss, customer complaints, etc.