Root cause analysis (RCA) is a problem-solving technique that assists in identifying the underlying reasons of an issue or nonconformance in order to prevent its recurrence. It's a systematic approach to dealing with problems and determining why they occurred, rather than just what happened and how. By determining the underlying cause of any problem, suitable corrective actions can be implemented to ensure that similar problems do not reoccur. The following are the essential steps of RCA: Identifying a problem Conducting a root cause analysis Making reparative measures Results are monitored and verified. For example, if there has been an increase in customer complaints regarding delivery times within a transportation company, this may be studied further using root cause analysis. This strategy may uncover communication gaps between dispatch workers and drivers as the source of the problem, prompting them to create improved communication systems/training, hence reducing the likelihood of future occurrences.