Why did something bad happen? Why didn't the controls in place work? How can the problem be prevented in the future? Root Cause Analysis (RCA) examines issues that have the potential to be “people problems.” Prof. Henry “Skip” Lewandowski is putting this approach to work as a consultant to Mittal Steel and in the classroom. 
“About a year or so ago, Mittal (then ISG) was forming more work teams where employees union electrical and mechanical repairmen) were asked to make decisions on work priorities,” said Lewandowski. “This was intended to encourage supervisory engineers to focus more on big picture kinds of things, instead of tactical issues like making assignments and ordering parts.
“This is where RCA and I come in. I've been working with Mittal to get these engineers to focus on the big picture. I've been using the RCA approach, which demands that they no longer wait until something breaks before fixing it. Instead, RCA methods provide a path to preventive maintenance (like changing the oil in a car) or predictive maintenance (the use of infrared cameras to see if equipment is beginning to heat up too much so that it can be fixed at a convenient time instead of when it breaks). The RCA methods help establish priorities that reduce costs and increase profit by keeping the mill up and producing, while allowing engineers to spend more time on strategic issues. Everyone wins when this happens.”
Lewandowski is able to quickly transform these experiences into lessons in the classroom, such as his MBA Operations Analysis class, which is a requirement for MBA students. The class analyzes the various aspects of how companies deliver goods and services. “The projects that I work on allow me to give current, concrete examples of day-to-day struggles,” said Lewandoski. “It also helps students who come from other industries to realize that many solutions can be borrowed or applied to their organizations, as business is an applied field of study.”
Lewandowski's approach of applying work experiences in the classroom is a true embodiment of the B-W brand: practical, principled and powerful.
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