Writing Direct Causes
The hardest part of any continuous improvement process is accurately identifying the reason that risk is present in the system to begin with. This is also the most critical step when implementing improvements.
The Direct Causes section in a job assessment is a place to document the root cause analysis for any high-risk body segments identified in the Baseline assessment. To conduct a root cause analysis, we recommend using the “Five Whys” approach. Asking “Why?” five times is an effective way to narrow in on the root cause of a problem. For example:
- Why is there duct tape on this chair? To hold the pad in place.
- Why does the pad need to be held in place? Because there is no padding on the chair.
- Why should there be padding on the chair? Because the surface is hard and uncomfortable to sit on.
We recommend using the following template when writing direct causes:
For more information about writing effective direct cause statements see:
For information about adding direct causes to job assessments, see:
