2: Root cause analysis to identify bottlenecks in an end-to-end process
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 9:03 am
Root cause analysis is a technique used to identify the underlying causes of problems within a business process. By identifying problems at the root, organizations can address them at the source and implement sustainable improvements.
An informative process analysis essay is a type of essay that aims to inform the reader about a specific topic rather than giving them instructions. It is important to differentiate between an informative essay and a directive essay and to structure the content clearly in order to maintain the reader's interest.
Example of a fishbone diagram
Example of a simplified fishbone diagram for root cause analysis
Peter's example: Root cause analysis to optimize hospital capacity
Peter gives an example of root cause analysis in the emergency health services sector. Specifically, he describes the analysis he witnessed to analyse the flow of patients from triage in accident and emergency (A&E) departments to other specialist units.
"The goal of frontline emergency services, like the emergency department, is often to get them out as quickly as possible because they want to maintain capacity, they need the facilities and the staff to be able to take care of the next patient.
If you look at the flow of patients within a hospital, you will see that there are intensive care units and other specialized areas where patients can be sent for more advanced care after the emergency room. What you often see in this scenario is that people are not interested in the overall process, but only in their part of the process. In fact, there is a massive disconnect between the different departments within the hospital.
To understand the challenge, you can use root cause analysis. You reach out to key stakeholders and ask them questions like:
Why are patients transferred in this way?
why can't we move them into the next department?
why don't we have any beds ready?
In this case, one of the root causes may not be that phone number in the philippines physicians are doing a poor job of signing patients out, but that the process has been designed so that they only do it in the afternoon or at a specific time during their shifts. These misalignments in processes across departments can be corrected and have a significant impact on the bigger picture.
Peter's advice : "Root cause analysis is absolutely vital. The problem arises if you stop too early. In that case, you're not solving a root cause, you're solving a symptom. That can happen quite often. That's why in my analysis, I really dig deep until you can be convinced, from a data perspective and from a process perspective, that you've really gotten to the root cause.
3: Workflow Analysis as Part of Business Process Analysis
Workflow analysis involves mapping current workflows within an organization to identify bottlenecks, redundancies, or other inefficiencies. This analytical approach is similar to writing a process essay, where each step is carefully examined and documented. It can help companies optimize their processes and increase efficiency.
An informative process analysis essay is a type of essay that aims to inform the reader about a specific topic rather than giving them instructions. It is important to differentiate between an informative essay and a directive essay and to structure the content clearly in order to maintain the reader's interest.
Example of a fishbone diagram
Example of a simplified fishbone diagram for root cause analysis
Peter's example: Root cause analysis to optimize hospital capacity
Peter gives an example of root cause analysis in the emergency health services sector. Specifically, he describes the analysis he witnessed to analyse the flow of patients from triage in accident and emergency (A&E) departments to other specialist units.
"The goal of frontline emergency services, like the emergency department, is often to get them out as quickly as possible because they want to maintain capacity, they need the facilities and the staff to be able to take care of the next patient.
If you look at the flow of patients within a hospital, you will see that there are intensive care units and other specialized areas where patients can be sent for more advanced care after the emergency room. What you often see in this scenario is that people are not interested in the overall process, but only in their part of the process. In fact, there is a massive disconnect between the different departments within the hospital.
To understand the challenge, you can use root cause analysis. You reach out to key stakeholders and ask them questions like:
Why are patients transferred in this way?
why can't we move them into the next department?
why don't we have any beds ready?
In this case, one of the root causes may not be that phone number in the philippines physicians are doing a poor job of signing patients out, but that the process has been designed so that they only do it in the afternoon or at a specific time during their shifts. These misalignments in processes across departments can be corrected and have a significant impact on the bigger picture.
Peter's advice : "Root cause analysis is absolutely vital. The problem arises if you stop too early. In that case, you're not solving a root cause, you're solving a symptom. That can happen quite often. That's why in my analysis, I really dig deep until you can be convinced, from a data perspective and from a process perspective, that you've really gotten to the root cause.
3: Workflow Analysis as Part of Business Process Analysis
Workflow analysis involves mapping current workflows within an organization to identify bottlenecks, redundancies, or other inefficiencies. This analytical approach is similar to writing a process essay, where each step is carefully examined and documented. It can help companies optimize their processes and increase efficiency.