Very Diligent Root Cause Analysis of Samonella in Chocolate

Company Says It Will Perform a “Very Diligent Root Cause Analysis”

At the end of June, the company Barry Callebaut announced that it had found salmonella in a batch of chocolate at its Wieze, Belgium plant. The internal quality control personnel identified the source of the salmonella as lecithin, an ingredient in chocolate production. They also verified that no contaminated chocolate had left the plant. And they said they were performing a very diligent root cause analysis.

The factory production was shut down while the source of the contamination was verified and all lines could be disinfected.

What Kind of Root Cause Analysis is Very Diligent?

After reading a Thomson Reuters story about the incident, I wondered:

“What is a very diligent root cause analysis?”

My first thought is that it would have to include all the fundamentals of root cause analysis (for the root cause analysis fundamentals, CLICK HERE).

But the article didn’t explain what the company meant when it said it would perform a very diligent root cause analysis. And as we all know, root cause analysis for one person is not the same as root cause analysis for another.

First, to decide about what kind of root cause analysis is very diligent, you might start with the definition of a root cause. The history of our definition is explained here…

Then you might read about what is a good root cause analysis and what is not good enough. Try these articles…

That might provide you with some ideas.

An article on DARE2GEMBA said that the company Barry Callebaut uses root cause analysis which the site says commonly includes Fishbone Diagrams and Cause and Effect Analysis.

But I disagree. A Fishbone Diagram or 5-Whys would not be a diligent root cause analysis. Read the articles above and you will see why. 5-Whys or Fishbone Diagrams would be root cause analysis malpractice.

What Is Diligent Root Cause Analysis?

That’s easy! TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis is a diligent root cause analysis.

TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis meets all the requirements of the root cause analysis fundamentals.

TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis guides investigators to the root cause of human errors and equipment failures. Here are Mark Paradies and Benna Hughes discussing the topic…

And when you get to root causes, TapRooT® RCA helps you develop corrective actions with the Corrective Action Helper® Guide.

The Guide can help you avoid ineffective corrective actions (for example, the Re_____ Corrective Actions).

Learn Very Diligent Root Cause Analysis NOW!

Where can you learn TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis? Probably the best place is the 5-Day TapRooT® Advanced Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Course. When and where are our public courses being held? Click on the link below for the latest schedule…

https://store.taproot.com/courses#sFilters=4!12

But what if you want a course at your site? CONTACT US by CLICKING HERE or calling 865-539-2139.

Talk to one of our TapRooT® Implementation Advisors to develop a Roadmap to Success when implementing TapRooT® RCA and get a quote for on-site TapRooT® Training.

But don’t wait! You need this training before you are called on to perform a diligent root cause analysis. And you need diligent root cause analysis to help you prevent major incidents by investigating precursor incidents.