Taking the gun away is an immediate action

Taking the gun away is an immediate action to prevent anything else from happening right then. (You wouldn’t leave the gun with the kid until you had come up with a long range fix!) Repairing the window fixed the physical effect. Event: Daughter’s window found broken. Direct Cause: Gun discharged through window. Effect: Broken window. Specific CA: Take gun away from kid. (Result: Prevents an immediate recurrence. ) Action against effect: Repair window. (Result: House secure again. ) Event: Oak floor in bedroom damaged. Direct Cause: Water soaking into floor Effect: Floor boards warped. Specific CA: Drain mattress and mop floor. (Result: Stops further damage. ) Action against effect: Repair floor. (Result: Can use bedroom again. ) Draining the mattress and mopping the floor stops any more water from soaking into the floor. It doesn’t prevent another waterbed from having the same problem. Repairing the floor still only fixes the physical effect. Event: Car exhaust loud. Replacing the muffler changes the cause and the effect. Keeping the muffler from breaking off again will be preventive action (long term). Direct Cause: Muffler knocked loose. Effect: Loud noises. Specific CA: Replace muffler. (Result: No more loud noises. ) Handout Mod 4, Five events

Getting the kids out of the attic changes the direct cause. If the kids have already fled the scene of the crime, then there is no specific CA. Repairing the ceiling fixes the physical effect. Event: Hole in ceiling. Direct Cause: Kid slipped off rafter. Specific CA: Get kids out of attic. (If they’ve already run, there is no specific CA. ) In this example there is no specific CA. To keep the kid studying would require a fix against the root cause and therefore is preventive CA. The kid gets his date as a reward, but it doesn’t change the effect. There is nothing that can be done to change the grade on that test. Effect: Hole. Action against effect: Repair ceiling. (Result: house in one piece again. ) Event: Kid gets A on test. Direct Cause: Kid knew material. Specific CA: None Effect: Good grade on test. Action against effect: None.