Time and Tide Wait for No Man

Time and Tide Wait for No Man
(Reprinted and updated from the May 2014 Root Cause Network™ Newsletter. Used by permission.)

TIME SPENT

Some TapRooT® Users lament:

“I don’t get enough practice using TapRooT® to be good at finding root causes.”

Why do they say that? Because they only use TapRooT® to investigate major accidents. For most TapRooT® users, major accidents are few and far between.

Not having major accidents is good, so this complaint isn’t all bad. But why aren’t they getting practice using TapRooT® proactively to find root causes and improve performance? I think the answer to this question concerns the effective use of TIME.

USING TIME

There’s never enough time to do it right,
but there’s always enough time to do it over. – Jack Bergman

The first thing that I notice is that most people are reactive. They aren’t planning ahead. Instead, they respond as things go wrong. As W. Edwards Deming said:

Stamping out fires is fun,
but it only puts things back the way they were. 

To become excellent is to look ahead and avoid firefighting. To avoid being reactive.

However, many complain that they don’t have the time to be proactive and get ahead of their problems. They should remember:

 The great dividing line between success and failure
can be expressed in five words: “I did not have time.” – Franklin Field

Lack of time is always an excuse. Here are two quotes to remember when someone complains about having too little time:

If you have time to whine and complain about something,
then you have the time to do something about it. – Anthony J. D’Angelo

 and …

One always has enough time
if one will apply it well. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 TIME WASTED

The first step in creating time for proactive analysis is to avoid wasting time on ineffective reactive efforts.

Start by being good when reactive improvement is called for. Get the training you need to apply TapRooT® RCA effectively (we suggest the 5-Day TapRooT® Advanced Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Course) and continue to learn by attending the TapRooT® Summit.

Next, make sure that your reactive investigations are as efficient as possible. Read Book 2, TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Implementation,

for ways to apply root cause analysis more efficiently and effectively.

Also, make sure your management is aware of the support they need to provide to make THEIR root cause system effective. Suggest that they read Book 1, TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Leadership Lessons, or hold a 1-Day TapRooT® Executive Leadership’s Role in Root Cause Analysis Course for them. Well-informed management will save time by avoiding needless investigations or time wasted by uninformed management reviews of investigations.

SPEND TIME BEING PROACTIVE

Start small and start now using TapRooT® RCA proactively to find and fix the root causes of problems before they happen.

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. – Napoleon Hill

Learn how to use TapRooT® RCA proactively by reading Book 6, TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Audits and Proactive Improvement, or attending the 2-Day Auditing & Proactive Improvement Using TapRooT® Course.  What can you learn? One example is the proactive use of TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis in after-action reviews. Another is to use TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to improve audits and the corrective actions developed after an audit.

What if you still can’t see how to find the time for proactive improvement?

In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do;
it is not really the time but the will that is lacking. – Sir John Lubbock

PICTURE SUCCESS

To develop more “will” to be proactive, picture success. Picture…

• Never having to investigate a major accident – EVER.
• No fatalities.
• Crisis management eliminated.
• Reliable equipment that doesn’t fail when you need it the most.
• No major cost overruns and no major schedule slippages.
• Happy clients that aren’t complaining about quality issues.

The only way to achieve this goal is to systematically and proactively improve using root cause analysis. Reactive root cause analysis will never lead to this picture of success.

Success is simple.
Do what’s right,  
the right way,
at the right time.
– Arnold H. Glasgow

GET HELP AND SAVE TIME

If you still need help picturing success, contact one of our implementation advisors…

Give us a call (865-539-2139) or drop us a note (click here). We can explain our training options and help you develop a plan (a roadmap) for success. We can also schedule an executive briefing for you and your management.

Finally, remember…

Time is not measured by the passing of years,
but by what one does,
what one feels, and
what one achieves.
– Jawaharlal Nehru