The Cause
We all know the difference between Cause and Effect - or in the case of construction, cause and DEFECTS.
For as long as we have been building, we have sought to understand the cause of construction non-conformances in order to take actions (Corrective Actions and possibly even Preventive Actions) which mean we don't make the same mistakes again.
Identifying the Root Cause
There are a number of Quality tools used to identify and analyse the true cause of a non-conformance - tools such as Ishikawa Diagrams, 5-Whys Analysis, ICAM Analysis - these tools help the investigator understand the root cause (or causes) of a non-conformance so that they can prevent it recurring.
Learning from Root Cause Data
But what about the data? Understanding the cause of a single NCR is important - but how does this help understand common themes across hundreds of project nonconformances or thousands of company NCRs?
In order to do this, we need a standardised categorisation system - a standard set of causes which can be applied to each NCR that is raised - and which give us data for the whole company.
Industry Standard Cause Codes
Over the past few months, the CQA's Cause Code Working Group has looked at a number of different cause lists and has developed a standard set of NCR Causes which it is now putting out for Construction Industry review. The hope is that we can develop a standard that the whole industry can use - which can then lead to better data on the cause of Nonconformance - and therefore better prevention as an industry.
The idea is that we have Cause Codes that are suitably specific and distinct - so that our Engineering staff (who typically assign the root cause) are clear which one to pick. To help with this, we have provided some context for each cause to ensure that it is clearly differentiated from the others. In some cases there may be multiple causes, and some systems may allow Engineers to assign multiple causes - but the end game is that we all describe things consistently.
Update: We reviewed submissions and have published the final codes in our October post.
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