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BEYOND THE ROOT CAUSE:
11 LESSONS LEARNED FROM A
LIFETIME OF TROUBLESHOOTING
Root Cause Analysis
R. Keith Mobley
THE REALITY OF
BEING A GOOD
TROUBLESHOOTER
In the mid-1980s, United Air
Lines produced a commercial that clearly
defined the life of an effective troubleshooter.
is corporate problem-solver could never
return home, bouncing from one emergency
to the next and living out of a suitcase on
his never-ending journey. I knew then, and
certainly now, just how he felt.
For 60 years, I lived out of a suitcase, trav-
eling to different countries and towns big and
small, solving a myriad of problems along the
way. It has been a good life, and reflecting
on my career, I'm happy to say that it was
a fulfilling one. e high points were when
I made people's lives better. Helping major
corporations increase profitability was great,
but when I directly improved people's lives
through problem solving, I felt the absolute
joy of troubleshooting.
One such instance involved a food manu-
facturing plant with about 700 employees
that was facing a shutdown due to enormous
scrap rates. Lacking a solution, a friend in
their corporate office asked for my help. Even
though I was already involved in a major
effort at a sizeable high-speed manufacturing
plant, I agreed to try.
My first visit was worse than I imagined. As
the employees finished their shifts, they were
obviously physically and mentally exhausted
