Root-Cause Problem Solving in an Industry 4.0 Context

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a highly effective methodology for product design teams and manufacturing managers to engage in creative problem solving by utilizing the tools of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—Industry 4.0. This article outlines the RCA problem-solving process as it is applied to detect and resolve problems in a consumer product manufacturing setting. This article presents a case study of collaborative design, testing, and implementation of a product-specific solution to resolve quality control issues caused by a flawed component specification. The provided case study details company's application of RCA. Once the problem is identified, we describe how the design and production teams collaborated to verify and validate the revised product design via three-dimensional product simulations. Having identified a solution, the company's manufacturing managers and supervisory staff incorporate this change into their standard operating procedures, conduct staff training, and share the solution across the organization. This problem-solving approach, implemented as part of a wider continuous improvement effort, also includes the utilization of digital applications and smart devices to share data across the company in real time.