Problem statement:
There is no dedicated facility to conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) within audits and safety reports.
Current behaviour in AM captures RCA inside Action pop-ups, which is incorrect. RCA should precede and inform actions, not be captured as part of an action.
Required changes:
Introduce a dedicated RCA module/section for audits and safety reports
RCA should be a first-class component linked to the specific finding/non-conformance/observation.
Provide structured RCA fields (example set; confirm framework):
Problem statement / finding reference
Immediate cause(s)
Underlying/root cause(s) (e.g., 5 Whys analysis)
Contributing factors
Evidence and data considered
Selected RCA method (5 Whys, Fishbone/Ishikawa, Etc.) and its artifacts
Verification/validation notes
RCA owner, participants, dates, and status
Support attachments and diagrams (e.g., fishbone diagram images).
Decouple RCA from Actions
Remove any RCA inputs from Action creation/edit pop-ups.
Actions (corrective/preventive) should be created as outcomes of a completed or in-progress RCA and must reference the RCA record.
Allow multiple actions to be linked to a single RCA.
Workflow and permissions
RCA lifecycle: Draft → In Review → Approved/Closed (confirm exact states).
Permission controls: who can create/edit/approve RCA vs who can raise actions.
Prevent action approval/closure if the referenced RCA is missing or not in an appropriate state (configurable).
UI/UX integration
On each finding within an audit/safety report: “Start RCA” or “View RCA.”
RCA workspace with guided templates (5 Whys, Fishbone) and autosave.
Linkage panel to create/manage related actions from the RCA view.
Clear separation in the UI between RCA content and Actions.
Data model and integrity
New RCA entity linked to Finding/Observation (1:N: one finding may have zero or many RCAs; confirm desired cardinality).
Actions reference RCA ID (N:1 to RCA).
Enforce referential integrity; prevent deletion of RCA if actions depend on it, or require reassignment.
Reporting and audit trail
Include RCA fields in reporting and exports.
Maintain full change history (who/when) for RCA records.
KPIs: time-to-RCA completion, actions per RCA, recurrence rates.
Acceptance criteria:
RCA can be created and managed independently of Actions, directly from findings in audits and safety reports.
Action pop-ups contain no RCA fields; actions must reference an RCA when required by configuration.
Multiple actions can link to a single RCA; links are visible in both directions.
Role-based permissions and state transitions function as designed.
All RCA activity is captured in audit logs and appears in reports.
Totally agree. This is needed.
See also
https://ideas.avinet.com.au/ideas/AM-I-906
https://ideas.avinet.com.au/ideas/AM-I-907