System and method for casual inference in manufacturing process

A computer system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a storage device coupled to the processor and storing instructions which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
• receiving data associated with a processing system which includes a set of interconnected machines and an associated set of processes;
• generating, based on the data, a graph indicating flows of outputs between the machines as part of the processes;
• determining, based on a set of variables, one or more candidate clusters in the graph, wherein a candidate cluster is provided with one or more variables of interest;
• performing, based on the one or more variables of interest, root cause analysis on the one or more candidate clusters by:
• applying, based on the one or more variables of interest, an additive noise model to prune the one or more candidate clusters from the graph;
• and
• determining, based on the pruned graph, a candidate pathway likely to cause an issue in at least one process, thereby facilitating improved efficiency in the processing system.