RCA RCA Tools and Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a Control Chart, what do points falling outside the control limits indicate?
- Normal process variation
- A special cause of variation that requires investigation (Correct answer)
- Data entry errors only
- Successful process improvement
Correct answer: A special cause of variation that requires investigation
Points outside control limits signal special-cause variation, indicating an unusual event that warrants RCA investigation.
Question 2: Which RCA technique involves breaking a problem into smaller components using a top-down tree structure?
- 5 Whys
- Fault Tree Analysis (Correct answer)
- Affinity Diagram
- Swimlane Diagram
Correct answer: Fault Tree Analysis
Fault Tree Analysis decomposes a top-level undesired event into lower-level causes using a branching tree structure.
Question 3: What is the main advantage of using the Fishbone Diagram over the 5 Whys technique?
- It is faster to complete
- It organizes multiple categories of causes simultaneously (Correct answer)
- It requires no team input
- It automatically identifies the root cause
Correct answer: It organizes multiple categories of causes simultaneously
The Fishbone Diagram groups causes into categories (e.g., People, Process, Equipment) allowing teams to explore many potential causes simultaneously.
Question 4: In FMEA, what does 'RPN' stand for?
- Root Problem Number
- Risk Priority Number (Correct answer)
- Repeat Process Notation
- Residual Problem Note
Correct answer: Risk Priority Number
RPN (Risk Priority Number) is calculated by multiplying Severity, Occurrence, and Detection scores to prioritize failure modes in FMEA.
Question 5: Which RCA tool is most appropriate when causes fall into natural groupings or themes?
- Control Chart
- Affinity Diagram (Correct answer)
- Scatter Plot
- Fault Tree Analysis
Correct answer: Affinity Diagram
An Affinity Diagram organizes a large amount of brainstormed ideas or data into natural groupings based on their relationships.
Question 6: What does 'Detection' measure in the FMEA RPN calculation?
- How severe the impact of a failure is
- The likelihood that the failure will occur
- The ability of current controls to detect the failure before it reaches the customer (Correct answer)
- The time needed to correct the failure
Correct answer: The ability of current controls to detect the failure before it reaches the customer
In FMEA, Detection scores how well current controls can identify the failure mode before it impacts the customer or next process step.
RCA RCA Tools and Techniques 2
In a Control Chart, what do points falling outside the control limits indicate?