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250 Part IV: Quality Assurance
Environment Personnel Equipment
Defect(s) under
investigation
Techniques or
methods
Materials
Figure 19.2 Initial form of a cause-and-effect diagram.
Environment Personnel Equipment
Workers underpaid Not enough training No proper maintenance
Part IV.B
No funds for
research
Not enough workers
Lack of management
communication
Techniques or
methods
Lack of proper
supervision
Supervisors not
knowledgeable
Lack of
communication
Handling of
shipment
Design not well
planned
Lack of SPC online
Materials
Figure 19.3 A completed cause-and-effect diagram.
Machines are old
Software not updated
Defect(s) under
investigation
Improper inspection
Improper distribution
Mishandling of raw
material
Too many suppliers
Using a brainstorming session, the team brings up all possible causes under
each category. For example, under the environment category, causes could include
the management’s attitude, their unwillingness to release any funds for research,
unwillingness to change suppliers, non-cooperation among middle and top management,
or something similar. Under the personnel category, causes could include
lack of proper training for workers, supervisors who are not helpful in solving
problems, lack of communication between workers and supervisors, or workers
who are afraid of asking their supervisors questions for fear of repercussions on
their jobs, promotions, or raises. Once all possible causes under each major category
are listed in the cause-and-effect diagram, the next step is to isolate one or
more common causes and then eliminate them. Thus, for example, in the above
case a completed cause-and-effect diagram might appear as shown in Figure 19.3.