Mohamamd Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

CAUSE-AND-EFFECT DIAGRAMS
The purpose of a cause-and-effect diagram, also known as a fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram is to graphically document the analysis of factors (that is, causes) that relate to a single problem or opportunity (that is, effect).

Applications
Cause-and-effect diagrams are used in problem-solving situations and in general analysis to identify factors (that is, causes) related to a problem or opportunity (that is, effect) to help the problem-solving or analysis team understand how those factors may cause the given effect, and to help the problem-solving or analysis team focus on next steps in process improvement.

Mechanics
1. Select a single problem or opportunity (that is, effect). A cause-and-effect diagram is useful for analyzing only one problem or opportunity. The problem or opportunity that is selected for analysis is documented by a keyword description or short narrative description placed in a rectangle or box, generally on the right side of the diagram. When analyzing more than one problem or opportunity, a different cause and- effect diagram is used for each problem or opportunity. 2. Identify the major causes of the problem or opportunity. Cause-and-effect diagrams have been adequately described as fishbone diagrams where major causes are documented as the major bones of a fish skeleton. Major causes are generally described as they relate to people, hardware/equipment, the intended operating environment, methods, and materials. Teams should be formed to brainstorm possible causes or opportunities.

3. Identify the minor causes associated with each major cause. For each major cause (that is, people, hardware/equipment, environment, methods, and

Mohamamd Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

materials) associated with a problem or opportunity, minor causes are identified. Identification of minor causes may be graphically described as adding more structure to the fishbone skeleton. Minor causes appear graphically as bones attached to a major cause. 4. Identify additional cause structure. The analysis continues, adding detail to the fishbone structure until all causes associated with a problem or opportunity have been identified and documented. The analysis may continue until several more layers of detail have been considered and added to the diagram.

Figure 1

Illustration
Figure 1 depicts a high-level cause-and-effect diagram before detailed analysis is started. As mentioned previously, a single problem or opportunity is identified on the right side of the graphic. Major causes are normally associated with one or more of the following:

Mohamamd Zaid
People (personnel) Hardware/equipment Environment Methods Materials

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Major causes graphically represent the major bones of a fish while minor causes represent additional structure in the diagram. Figure generally is the starting point for a cause-and-effect analysis and, therefore, may be used as a template to help QEs begin. Figure 2 illustrates a continuation of the example shown in Figure 1 originally conceived by Stevenson (2000).

Figure 1
In Figure 2 we see that the effect of interest is bus safety discrepancies. We also see that the major causes of people, hardware/equipment, the intended operating environment, methods, and materials have been identified. Associated with each major cause are a series of supporting causes related to the major cause. In the major cause environment, for example, we see that driving conditions is a causal factor associated with bus safety discrepancies.

Mohamamd Zaid

http://iso-qms.blogspot.com/

Continuing with the analysis of driving conditions in the major cause of environment, we see that weather (that is, rain, snow, sleet, fog, and so on), as well as the time of day or night, can cause the effect. Road surfaces (that are dirt or paved) also cause the effect. The analysis continues until each major cause has been investigated and enough supporting structure has been added to the diagram to identify all the causes associated with the problem or opportunity.

For A rticle on Q uality visit my blog http:/ / iso-qms.blogspot.com/ Link to Previous A rticles
1. Quality Control Tools 2. Listening to your customers 3. PDCA Cycle 4. Top Quality Gurus 5. Quality management system - Summary of requirements 7. What is ISO 9000? 8. Quality Glossary A to Z 9. The Quality Control Audit - By Kaoru Ishikwa 10. The eight principles of quality management 12. Toyota Production System 11. Executive Summary of the 14 Toyota Way Principles 6. Difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control

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