A hotspot is a recurring problem, by focusing on the top ranking hotspot with corrective and preventive action they can be reduced or eliminated allowing you to move to addressing the next ranking issue. These might be the top issues of customer complaints or top construction defects for example. The only way to know where your problems lie is to establish metrics to monitor your key processes. When you have a problem don’t just put a band aid on it, it will come back! Yes correct the problem then and there as best you can, but you need to instantly think about how to prevent it happening again. The NAHB Research Center has created a Hotspot Implementation Guide with a set of tools that are very useful. You will find the guide at this link:
http://www.toolbase.org/Best-Practices/Quality-Management/hotspot-implementation