Fishbone Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Fishbone and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Cause and Effect Diagram and DOE Cause and Effect Diagram The cause and effect diagram is also referred to as the Ishikawa diagram (created by Kaoru Ishikawa) or the fishbone diagram. In the cause and effect diagram, the problem or effect is stated on the head and the 5M (men (people), machine, material, measurements and methods) along with environment become the bones of the diagram. The team would brainstorm a list of possible causes for the problem and placed the causes in one of the six categories. The cause and effect diagram can assist the team in identifying areas that are contributing to the problem in a structured manner.Design of Experiments (DOE)One way to determine whether something is the root cause that is affecting a process would be to test it out in an experiment. For example if the team believes centrifuging stat and routine samples together contributes to the problem of increased turnaround time (TAT), then the team could design an experiment to test this out. Centrifuges could be designated as "stat centrifuges" and the TAT with and without the use of dedicated stat centrifuges could be compared. Keep in mind that just like in a scientific experiments, other factors must be controlled to validate the finding of the experiment. While DOE is a good way to verify root cause, it can be impractical or costly to setup. | View Page |
| The Fishbone Diagram One of the tools that can be used when performing a root cause analysis is the cause and effect diagram, popularly referred to as the "fishbone diagram" because of its appearance. Cause and Effect (Fishbone) Diagram ExampleThis type of diagram graphically helps identify and organize known or possible causes for a specific problem or area of concern. In this theoretical example, the identified problem is a "near miss." Two units of RBCs were taken to the Dialysis unit for tranfusion of two different patients. The first unit was hung by one clinical person and started just as another clinical person noticed that the unit that he/she picked up for transfusing another patient had the wrong identifying information. The blood was stopped immediately on the first patient. Some of the benefits of constructing a "fishbone diagram" are that it: Helps determine root causes using a structured approach. Encourages group participation and utilizes group knowledge. Indicates possible variations in a process. Indicates areas where more data should possibly be collected. | View Page |
| Select the Best Risk Management Treatment(s) Selecting the best risk management treatments involves two steps. The first step requires that there be an attempt to forecast what effect or effects the suggested alternative risk treatments might have on the desired objective(s). The second step entails implementing one or more of the alternative treatments that not only meet the desired objective(s) but also meet the desired objective in a cost-effective manner.Implement the selected treatment(s)The selected alternative treatment or treatments are then implemented. Everyone who might be affected by the selected treatment(s) must be made aware of the implementation. The pareto chart is a useful tool during the implementation phase. It graphically summarizes and displays the importance of the cause or causes that have been identified in the fishbone chart and helps the laboratory staff determine which cause to focus on first. | View Page |
