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The international energy agency states that the world’s primary energy needs are expected to grow to 55 per cent until 2030. Therefore, oil and gas industry as the main energy source will be more crucial where building or advancing new capacities is required. Because the reports highlight the delay as a recurring problem, thereby, more in-depth investigation to find out the main contributing causes is needed.

Root cause analysis (RCA) was applied to identify, rank, analysis and categorize the main sources of this problem.

Based on RCA procedure; Pareto analysis showed that 84.7 per cent of the delay is because: the radar chart indicated no difference in perception of the participants regarding the importance of the root causes, correlation analysis suggested strong relationship among the participants and the cause-and-effect diagram emphasized more on operational, human and equipment categories, which in total account for 51.86 per cent of the delay.

The risk planners of large-scale projects can consider these root causes as the main items to analysis, monitor and control, as they are vitally important for project success.

In implementing Six Sigma and/or Lean Six Sigma, a practitioner often faces a dilemma of how to select the subset of root causes from a superset of all possible potential causes, popularly known as root cause analysis (RCA). Generally one resorts to the cause and effect diagram for this purpose. However, the practice adopted for identification of root causes is in many situations quite arbitrary and lacks a systematic, structured approach based on the rigorous data driven statistical analysis. This paper aims at developing a methodology for validation of potential causes to root causes to aid practitioners.

Discussion has been made on various methods for identification and validation of potential causes to root causes with the help of a few real life examples for effective Lean Six Sigma implementation.

The cause and effect diagram is the frequently adopted method for identifying potential causes out of a host of methods available for such identification. The method of validation depends on the practitioners’ knowledge on the relationship between cause and effect and controllability of the causes.

The roadmap thus evolved for the validation of root causes will be of great value to the practitioners as it is expected to help them understand the ground reality in an unambiguous manner resulting in a superior strategy for cause validation and corrective actions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine out‐of‐stock (OOS) challenges in the independent grocery sector with a special emphasis on in‐store root causes. The analysis aims to assess the extent and root causes for OOS in the independently controlled retail sector and provide a comparison of these results with the centrally controlled chain sector in Denmark. The paper also seeks to examine the practices and challenges of store ordering and store replenishment processes in the independent sector and identify practical implications for store management and other members of the grocery channels.

The research design includes two studies. Study‐I surveys and compares the extent and root causes of OOS of 42 stores from eight chains in the two sectors. Study‐II identifies, based on qualitative interviews with 17 store managers/owners of independent stores, specific insights on store operations.

The quantitative study shows that the OOS rates in the independent sector are significantly higher than in the centrally organized sector. Furthermore, the independent grocery sector faces OOS challenges in more categories than the centrally controlled sector. The study also reveals a very large variation in the performance of independent stores. Contrary to the centrally controlled chain store sector, the major root cause for OOS in the independent sector is found in the store ordering process. The qualitative study shows that the main discriminating issues between stores with a low and a high OOS rate are: store management emphasis and commitment to OOS issues; the resulting priority and managerial guidance in store ordering and store replenishment tasks; the stability of staff and the proper planning for replenishment peaks; the store size and resulting space conditions; and the use of appropriate decision heuristics and use of inventory in store ordering.

The findings have practical implications for store management as it reveals practices to pursue and to avoid. Also, it is argued that the findings have implications for the other members of the grocery channels.

Empirically, this paper explores two issues not being dealt with in depth in previous research, i.e. the OOS challenge in the independent sector and the emphasis on store operations.

Argues that root cause analysis as it is often used is grounded on tools which are weak and confusing. Illustrates this discussion on root cause analysis with examples. Reviews policy and risk in the light of the discussion. Counsels avoidance of the “mythological absolute” of root cause analysis.

While researchers have assumed that it is not possible to determine the key reactants that cause positive emotional reactions, we argue that experiences, such as watching an entertaining television show or working in a pleasant climate, produce their positive effects through one or more “root causes” of positive emotion. This study identified a classification of root causes derived from reports of individual positive moments submitted by office workers throughout their workday. Through identifying root causes, such as Fulfilled Expectations, Positive Self-Image, Humor, and Relief, we provide the first data-driven attempt to develop a taxonomy of root causes of positive affect at work.

The study aims to overview the different types of internal-led cyber fraud that have gained mainstream attention in recent major-value fraud events involving prominent Indian banks. The authors attempted to identify and classify cyber frauds and its drivers and correlate them for optimal mitigation planning.

The methodology opted for the identification and classification is through a detailed literature review and focus group discussion with risk and vigilance officers and cyber cell experts. The authors assessed the future of cyber fraud in the Indian banking business through the machine learning–based k-nearest neighbor (K-NN) approach and prioritized and predicted the future of cyber fraud. The predicted future revealing dominance of a few specific cyber frauds will help to get an appropriate fraud prevention model, using an associated parties centric (victim and offender) root-cause approach. The study uses correlation analysis and maps frauds with their respective drivers to determine the resource specific effective mitigation plan.

Finally, the paper concludes with a conceptual framework for preventing internal-led cyber fraud within the scope of the study. A cyber fraud mitigation ecosystem will be helpful for policymakers and fraud investigation officers to create a more robust environment for banks through timely and quick detection of cyber frauds and prevention of them.

Additionally, the study supports the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India's launched cyber security initiates and schemes which ensure protection for the banking ecosystem i.e. RBI direct scheme, integrated ombudsman scheme, cyber swachhta kendra (botnet cleaning and malware analysis centre), National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) and Security Monitoring Centre (SMC).

Structured and effective internal-led plans for cyber fraud mitigation proposed in this study will conserve banks, employees, regulatory authorities, customers and economic resources, save bank authorities’ and policymakers’ time and money, and conserve resources. Additionally, this will enhance the reputation of the Indian banking industry and extend its lifespan.

The innovative insider-led cyber fraud mitigation approach quickly identifies cyber fraud, prioritizes it, identifies its prominent root causes, map frauds with respective root causes and then suggests strategies to ensure a cost-effective and time-saving bank ecosystem.

This paper attempts to develop a hybrid cause and effect diagram (CED) and interpretative structural model (ISM) for root cause analysis in quality management. The proposed model overcomes the weakness of the CED in reliably articulating hierarchical cause–effect Relationships.

A focus group discussion (FGD) among quality experts in the case company to establish relationships between the determined causes.

The hybridization of the CED and ISM allowed the causes to be ordered more clearly to determine potential root causes as well as presenting these causes more comprehensively.

The paper has been one of the very few attempts to improve the CED approach. As such, this paper employs the ability of the ISM to order concepts in a hierarchical structure, which is useful in determining root causes.

The application of lean and quality improvement methods is very common in process improvement projects at organisational levels. The purpose of this research is to assess the adoption of Lean Six Sigma™ approaches for addressing a complex process-related issue in the coal industry.

The sticky coal problem was investigated from the perspective of process-related issues. Issues were addressed using a blended Lean value stream of supply chain interfaces and waste minimisation through the Six Sigma™ DMAIC problem-solving approach, taking into consideration cross-organisational processes.

It was found that the tendency to “solve the problem” at the receiving location without communication to the upstream was, and is still, a common practice that led to the main problem of downstream issues. The application of DMAIC Six Sigma™ helped to address the broader problem. The overall operations were improved significantly, showing the reduction of sticky coal/wagon hang-up in the downstream coal handling terminal.

The Lean Six Sigma approaches were adopted using DMAIC across cross-organisational supply chain processes. However, blending Lean and Six Sigma methods needs to be empirically tested across other sectors.

The proposed methodology, using a framework of Lean Six Sigma approaches, could be used to guide practitioners in addressing similar complex and recurring issues in the manufacturing sector.

This research introduces a novel approach to process analysis, selection and contextualised improvement using a combination of Lean Six Sigma™ tools, techniques and methodologies sustained within a supply chain with certified ISO 9001 quality management systems.

This paper aims to report on themes of root cause of injury emerging from a qualitative study of investigations into serious workplace injuries undertaken by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development, Occupational Health and Safety Division.

The study used systems‐based safety management as a theoretical lens and a qualitative grounded theory approach to inductively identify patterns and themes in the root cause of injury. Investigations were purposefully selected and analyzed through document review supplemented by interviews.

A number of themes of root cause of injury emerge from the data reflecting a lack of commitment to safety within the organization and a lack of positive safety leadership by management. Workplace culture is identified as a reflection of beliefs and assumptions of managers which impacts safety behaviour. A trend toward identifying the victim as a cause is also addressed.

Data are limited to investigations of serious injuries reported to the enforcement agency, thus focusing on negative experiences. The identification of root cause of injury may not always be the focus of the investigation, and the nature of acute serious injury limits the industry sectors represented. A need for further investigation across other industry sectors and inclusion of chronic injury is indicated.

These themes represent a cross sectoral perspective and can be used to guide development of prevention and intervention programs, corporate priorities and public policy.

The paper reports on a study of patterns in the root cause of workplace injuries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine potential determinants of management’s agreement with internal auditor recommendations of an interim assurance engagement.

The experiment involved a 2 × 2 × 2 design with internal auditor gender, mode of communication and root cause variables randomly assigned to 228 experienced managers.

When the internal auditor includes a root cause for an identified deficiency in an internal audit report, management perceptions of the quality of that report improve. The gender of the internal auditor who communicates the audit finding with management does not significantly impact management’s perceptions. Additionally, communicating the internal audit report via e-mail instead of videoconference results in improved managerial perceptions of the quality of the internal auditor. While improvements in perceptions of internal auditor quality lead to greater agreement with internal auditor recommendations, improvements in perceptions of report quality lead to greater implementation of internal-auditor-recommended remediation strategies.

The operationalization of the manipulated variables of interest (communication mode, gender and root cause) may limit the generalizability of the study’s results.

The paper includes managerial implications for internal auditors’ choice of communication mode and inclusion of a root cause in interim internal audit reports.

This study provides evidence on the factors that could improve management’s perceptions of internal auditors’ work. The findings can help organizations, such as the Institute of Internal Auditors, to better understand how to address the needs of those who communicate with internal auditors.