Root Cause

The causal or contributing factors that, if corrected, would prevent recurrence of the identified problem.  The “factor” that caused a problem or defect and should be permanently eliminated through process improvement.  The factor that sets in motion the cause and effect chain that creates a problem.  The “true” reason that contributed to the creation of a problem, defect or non-conformance.

A standard process of:

•  Identifying a problem
•  Containing and analyzing the problem
•  Defining the root cause
•  Defining and implementing the actions required to eliminate the root cause
• Validating that the corrective action prevented recurrence of problem