Book companion resource · Worksheet
Schedule Compliance Root-Cause Worksheet
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← Back to toolkit · Browse by chapterWhen schedule compliance slips, use this worksheet for the week's analysis. Traces the drop to a specific stage of the cycle — not just "operations keeps breaking the zone."
Companion to: Fix the System, Chapter 7. When to use: any week that schedule compliance drops below the target tier. Don't wait for monthly. Do it in the meeting the following Monday. Who fills it out: the planner + scheduler, with input from the maintenance supervisor.
Week in review
Week ending: _______________
Jobs scheduled for the week: _______ Jobs completed as scheduled: _______ Schedule compliance %: _______ Change from previous week: _______
Part 1 — Which jobs slipped?
List every job that was scheduled for the week but did not execute as scheduled. For each, note what actually happened.
| WO # | Asset | Scheduled day | What actually happened | Reason category (see below) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Reason categories
For each slipped job, tag ONE of the following:
- A — Crew displaced by break-in work (which broke the frozen zone)
- B — Kit was incomplete / parts not available at execution time
- C — Operator / asset access not available at scheduled time
- D — Job plan was incomplete or wrong (scope expanded mid-job, or couldn't complete in estimated hours)
- E — Crew attendance or skill-mix issue (staffing)
- F — Emergency break-in absorbed by reserve (legitimate, NOT a failure)
- G — Weather / external / utility outage
- H — Other (specify)
Part 2 — Count by category
Tally each reason category from Part 1.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| A — Frozen zone broken by non-emergency | _____ |
| B — Kit / parts failure | _____ |
| C — Operator / asset access failure | _____ |
| D — Job plan failure | _____ |
| E — Staffing | _____ |
| F — Legitimate emergency (reserve absorbed) | _____ |
| G — External (weather, utility, regulatory) | _____ |
| H — Other | _____ |
Part 3 — Root cause to cycle stage
Each failure category maps to a specific stage of the work management cycle. Your dominant failure category tells you which stage needs attention.
| Category | Maps to cycle stage | Chapter to revisit |
|---|---|---|
| A — Frozen zone broken | Schedule stage (this chapter). Frozen zone is leaking. | Ch7 — review Frozen-Zone Policy |
| B — Kit / parts failure | Plan stage. Kitting discipline failing. | Ch6 — review PM Kitting Checklist |
| C — Operator / asset access | Schedule stage. Weekly scheduling meeting not confirming coordination. | Ch7 — review Scheduling Meeting Agenda |
| D — Job plan failure | Plan stage. Job plan quality too low. | Ch6 — review Job Plan Template |
| E — Staffing | Execute stage (and HR). Not a scheduling failure per se — but recurring patterns suggest staffing model problem. | Ch8 — see wrench-time analysis |
| F — Legitimate emergency (reserve absorbed) | Cycle-wide — emergencies are inevitable. If F is your dominant category, you may need MORE reserved capacity. | Ch10 Emergencies |
| G — External | External. Note but don't systematize around it. | n/a |
| H — Other | Root-cause manually. | — |
Your dominant failure category: _____
Cycle stage to revisit: _____
Part 4 — Five-Whys for the dominant category
For the dominant category above, do a quick 5-Whys analysis.
What happened: _____________________________________________________________________
Why? (1) _____________________________________________________________________
Why? (2) _____________________________________________________________________
Why? (3) _____________________________________________________________________
Why? (4) _____________________________________________________________________
Why? (5) — the root cause: _____________________________________________________________________
Part 5 — One action for next week
Based on the root cause, name ONE specific action you will take in the next week to address it. Not three. One.
Action: _____________________________________________________________________
Who owns it: _____________________________________________________________________
How you'll know it worked: (next week's compliance tracking) _____________________________________________________________________
Tracking across weeks
If the same failure category dominates for three consecutive weeks, the issue is structural, not circumstantial. Escalate to the monthly review and consider whether an upstream installation is needed rather than a one-week action.
| Week | Compliance % | Dominant category | One action taken | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
From Fix the System by Ivan Getov. Companion to Chapter 7: Schedule. getov.xyz/toolkit/fix-the-system/ch07/schedule-compliance-rca. Free. No email required.