We at Kelvin TOP-SET are always seeking to improve and expand the suite of courses on offer to the world. Two recent additions are our Root Cause Analysis (RCA) course and our Refresher course. To remove any misunderstanding, the former is what we call ‘Pure RCA’ as developed exclusively by Kelvin TOP-SET over the past ten years. This is not to be confused with the entire process of Investigation: Root Cause Analysis is an investigator’s ‘tool’, albeit a powerful one, which enhances considerably the output of any investigation.
The Refresher course is designed for those who have already completed a 3-day Senior Investigator course, ideally within the last four years. There is no compulsion to renew qualifications, but a number of companies have approached us asking for course updates, and the opportunity for investigators to refresh their knowledge, particularly if they had not had many opportunities to ‘practise’ their problem-solving skills. In an ideal world, we would hope that there would be no opportunities to practise this skill, but we live in the real world, sadly. And don’t forget, the system can also be used to analyse success – “What did we do right?”, rather than, “What did we do wrong?”
We ran one of our Refresher courses exclusively for a major company in London in early May, and it was well received. Participants are taken through the stages of the Investigation, as outlined in the Action Card, and then taken beyond, to look at deeper and wider issues, such as the apportioning of ‘blame’, or better perhaps, the balance between culpability, responsibility and accountability, at all levels within any organisation. We also look at the thorny problem of recommendations, how and when to make them, and how to be sure they are implemented.
In the pipe-line just now, is the development of our second e-learning course to supplement and augment our current offering on Root Cause Analysis. This new e-learning course is on the whole process of Investigation from beginning to end, and is already attracting considerable interest from a variety of companies.