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Is / is not analysis template
Is / is not analysis is a way to specify a problem with facts. For each of what, where, when and extent it records where the problem is seen and the closest place it could be but is not, what is different about the is side and what changed there. The true cause has to explain both columns, so testing each possible cause against every is / is not pair rules out the causes the facts contradict. The method comes from Kepner-Tregoe problem analysis and is used in 8D and other root cause work. Page 1 of the PDF has ten questions under what, where, when and extent with columns for is, is not, distinctions and changes, a grid to test five possible causes against the ten pairs, and the most probable cause with how it will be verified. Page 2 has the method and a worked example. The Excel version flags a missing is or is not, counts the Y, O and N marks and the unmarked pairs for each cause, ranks the causes, names the most probable cause and tracks its verification, with example sheets.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use is / is not analysis
- A defect or failure that shows up on some parts, places or shifts and not others, with no obvious cause.
- In an 8D, to describe the problem with facts in D2 and to narrow the search for the root cause in D4.
- When the team has several theories and needs a fair way to rule some out with the facts.
- Before a fishbone session or alongside it, to test the possible causes it produces.
How to fill it in
- 1
Specify the problem
For each question, write the is, then the is not: the closest thing that could have the problem but does not. Use counts, dates and IDs.
- 2
Find the distinctions
Note what is true of the is side and not of the is not side. Write only facts about the is side.
- 3
List the changes
Note what changed in or around each distinction, and when. A change just before the problem was first seen is a strong lead.
- 4
Build possible causes
From the changes and distinctions, each written as a short statement of how it would make this defect.
- 5
Test each cause
Mark every cause against every pair: Y if it explains both the is and the is not, O only if you must assume something, N if it cannot. One N rules the cause out.
- 6
Verify before you act
The most probable cause has no N and the fewest O marks. Prove it: switch it on and off and watch the defect follow, or test it on the floor.
What the analysis asks
The 10 questions on the is / is not analysis template
Under what, where, when and extent. On the sheet each question gets an is, an is not, what is different about the is side and what changed there, and every possible cause is tested against all ten pairs.
What
The object and the defect
- 1Object: which part, product or machine has the problem?
- 2Defect: what exactly is wrong with it?
Where
Where it is seen, and where on the object
- 3Where seen: which line, machine, station, cavity or site?
- 4On the object: where on the part is the defect?
When
First seen, the pattern since, and the point in the life cycle
- 5First seen: which date, shift, lot or first part?
- 6Pattern: which shifts, times, runs or conditions since then?
- 7Life cycle: at which step is it made, and where is it found?
Extent
How many, how big, and the trend
- 8How many: how many units or lots, and at what rate?
- 9How big: how large is each defect?
- 10Trend: steady, growing, or coming and going?
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: short shots at the clip tab of cover 4471, molded in a 4-cavity mold, M12, on press 7 (illustrative, as on page 2 of the PDF and the Excel worked example).
- Is: cavity 3 only, night shift only, since 14 Sep. Is not: cavities 1, 2 and 4, the day and afternoon shifts, before 14 Sep, or cover 4472 on the same press.
- Extent: 216 of 4,320 cavity 3 parts on the six nights from 14 to 19 Sep (5.0%), steady at about 36 a night, each missing 1 to 3 mm of the tab.
- Changes: setup sheet rev C raised the mold heater zone that feeds cavity 3 from 40 to 60 °C on 1 Sep, and a new night setter started on 14 Sep, with an old rev B copy in the press binder.
- Four possible causes tested against the ten pairs: the rev B setup sheet explains all ten. Colder chilled water at night has no N but needs four assumptions. A new resin lot (3 N) and a blocked vent (2 N) cannot explain why the other shifts make no short shots.
Verified on 20 Sep: the night shift ran with the rev C settings and made 0 short shots in 720 cavity 3 parts, and a 50-shot trial at 40 °C made 3, all in cavity 3. Every rev B copy was removed and the sheet revision is now checked at each setup.
Common mistakes
An is not that is too far away
'Not on other products' says little. Pick the closest thing that could have the problem but does not: the next cavity, the other shift, the same part last month.
Writing causes in the is column
'Setter error on nights' is a theory. Write the facts: night shift only, since 14 Sep, cavity 3 only.
Skipping the changes
Distinctions show what is special about the is side; changes show what became different, and when. The cause usually comes from a change.
Acting on the most probable cause without verifying it
The test only shows the cause fits the facts. Switch it on and off, or test it on the floor, before you spend money on a fix.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite a systemic NCR becomes a CAPA project in Kaizen & Projects, with templates for 8D, 5-Why, Is/Is Not and full DMAIC, and the AI RCA Agent drafts the 5 Whys, 4M1D and fishbone.
In the lean glossary
Guides
- Is/Is Not Analysis: Problem Definition for Root Cause Analysis
- 8D Problem Solving: The Eight Disciplines Method for Manufacturing
- How to Perform an Effective Root Cause Analysis in Manufacturing
- Top Root Cause Analysis Tools for Manufacturing Problem Solving
- What is the 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis Method?
FAQ
Is / is not analysis template: common questions
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