RCA RCA Corrective Actions 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In RCA, what is a 'preventive action' as opposed to a 'corrective action'?
- Preventive actions fix existing problems; corrective actions prevent future problems
- Preventive actions address potential problems before they occur; corrective actions fix problems that have already happened (Correct answer)
- Preventive actions are mandatory; corrective actions are optional
- Preventive actions cost more than corrective actions
Correct answer: Preventive actions address potential problems before they occur; corrective actions fix problems that have already happened
Corrective actions respond to existing problems, while preventive actions proactively address potential problems identified before any failure has occurred.
Question 2: What is the risk of implementing a corrective action that only addresses a 'contributing cause' rather than the true root cause?
- The corrective action will be too expensive
- The problem will likely recur because the fundamental cause was not eliminated (Correct answer)
- Regulatory agencies will reject the investigation report
- Team morale will be negatively impacted
Correct answer: The problem will likely recur because the fundamental cause was not eliminated
Fixing only a contributing cause leaves the root cause intact, so the same fundamental conditions will eventually produce the same failure again.
Question 3: What does 'prioritizing corrective actions' based on risk involve in RCA?
- Assigning the most expensive corrective actions to the largest budget holder
- Addressing failures with the highest severity, probability, or detectability risk first (Correct answer)
- Completing the easiest corrective actions first to show quick progress
- Having management vote on which corrections to prioritize
Correct answer: Addressing failures with the highest severity, probability, or detectability risk first
Risk-based prioritization focuses limited resources on corrective actions that address failures with the greatest potential for harm or most likely to recur.
Question 4: In RCA, why might 'retraining an employee' be considered a weak corrective action?
- Training is always too expensive to justify
- Training relies on human compliance and does not change the system, so errors can still occur (Correct answer)
- Regulatory agencies prohibit training as a corrective action
- Training takes too long to implement
Correct answer: Training relies on human compliance and does not change the system, so errors can still occur
Training-based corrective actions depend on individuals consistently remembering and applying new knowledge, which is inherently less reliable than systemic or engineering controls.
Question 5: What is a 'corrective action plan' (CAP) in the context of RCA?
- A list of all possible causes identified during the investigation
- A documented plan specifying actions, owners, due dates, and resources needed to address identified root causes (Correct answer)
- A financial estimate of the cost of all future failures
- A summary report submitted to regulatory agencies
Correct answer: A documented plan specifying actions, owners, due dates, and resources needed to address identified root causes
A CAP formalizes the corrective actions to be taken, assigning responsibility, timelines, and resources to ensure systematic follow-through after an RCA.
Question 6: In RCA corrective action selection, what does 'feasibility' assessment involve?
- Evaluating whether the action is technically, financially, and organizationally possible to implement (Correct answer)
- Confirming that the corrective action matches industry best practices
- Verifying that the action was used successfully in a previous RCA
- Checking that the action can be completed within 24 hours
Correct answer: Evaluating whether the action is technically, financially, and organizationally possible to implement
Feasibility assessment ensures a proposed corrective action can actually be implemented given real-world constraints of technology, budget, and organizational capacity.
RCA RCA Corrective Actions 2
In RCA, what is a 'preventive action' as opposed to a 'corrective action'?