---
title: Operational Problem Solving Blog | Mat-thys Fourie (2)
description: "Washington, DC, United States | Founder & Chairman of Thinking Dimensions Global <br>
Mr. Fourie is a thought leader on how IT professionals apply Incident Investigation techniques on a repeatable and sustainable basis within their organizations. His strength lies in customizing and embedding the various techniques within existing CSI, Incident and Problem Management practices. </br> (2)"
---

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# Blog - Operational Problem Solving

## Mat-thys Fourie

![](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/file-661914944-jpg/img/Mat-thys_Fourie.jpg?width=35&name=Mat-thys_Fourie.jpg)

Washington, DC, United States | Founder & Chairman of Thinking Dimensions Global   
 Mr. Fourie is a thought leader on how IT professionals apply Incident Investigation techniques on a repeatable and sustainable basis within their organizations. His strength lies in customizing and embedding the various techniques within existing CSI, Incident and Problem Management practices.

## Recent Posts

## [How To Leverage Your Maintenance Department for Significant Cost Savings](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/how-to-leverage-your-maintenance-department-for-significant-cost-savings)

 By [Mat-thys Fourie](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/author/mat-thys-fourie) on Sep 16, 2014 5:06:00 PM

[![](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/hs-fs/hub/358589/file-1639638216.jpg) ](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/how-to-leverage-your-maintenance-department-for-significant-cost-savings)

Maintenance departments are normally associated with high costs, long wait times and recurring operational issues. This image could be eradicated within a very short time by understanding the difference between “technical cause” and “[root cause](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/services/industrial-problem-solving/problem-solving-decision-making/rootcause-works).” The emphasis is always on fixing the issue so that we can have production running again. 

Let’s look at the diagram below. Any deviation from standard is something that a maintenance technician is trained to diagnose and fix in a very short space of time. The technician’s focus is about finding the technical cause and not so much about finding the root issue.

Topics: [Root Cause Analysis](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/topic/root-cause-analysis) 

[Continue Reading](https://www.thinkingdimensions.com/blog/industrial-problem-solving/how-to-leverage-your-maintenance-department-for-significant-cost-savings)

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