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CWP Online Course: Root Cause Analysis

CWP Online Course: Root Cause Analysis

September 20, 2021

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- There is still time to register for the Center for Workplace Performance's newest online course, "Root Cause Analysis." This course will be held from September 28 to September 30, running 1:00–4:45 p.m. daily. SHRM recertification credits and HRCI recertification credits are pending approval. The cost of this course is $495 and the class is limited to 20 students. 

You can find the Registration and view the full Course Outline.

Course Description

There are many sources of guidance on the development of a credible root cause analysis process, but one of the earliest and most quoted is that promoted by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. According to the Joint Commission,

"...A root cause analysis focuses primarily on systems and processes, not on individual performance. It progresses from special causes...to common causes in organizational processes and systems and identifies potential improvements in processes or systems that would tend to decrease the likelihood of such events in the future or determines, after analysis, that no such improvement opportunities exist."

The ultimate product of the RCA process is a plan (including implementation strategies and feedback mechanisms) that will create improvements in existing systems and work practices to reduce the possibility that similar harm will recur.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Describe and explain the purpose of root cause analysis and its relationship to traditional problem solving;
  • Identify those events/situations requiring RCA;
  • Analyze the composition of a team assembled to conduct an RCA;
  • Execute the “Five Whys” as a tool in determining the root cause of an event;
  • Systematically identify possible solutions using ROI and cost/benefit analysis;
  • Evaluate possible solutions in order to recommend the best alternative using a decision matrix; and,
  • Write a final report of an RCA project.

About the Instructor 

Antone Aboud, Ph.D., is the Director of Online Programs for the School of Labor and Employment Relations and the Director of the Center for Workplace Performance. He served as a consultant for 30 years, assisting organizations seeking to resolve HRER challenges. He has authored training programs that have been taught in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

This course is sponsored by the Center for Workplace Performance, an outreach activity sponsored by the School of Labor and Employment Relations at Pennsylvania State University. For more information about CWP’s activities, please write to Dr. Antone Aboud at aja19@psu.edu or call (518) 229-2184.

September 20, 2021

CWP Online Course: Root Cause Analysis