root cause analysis

Reading Time: 12 minutes

“Failure Mode and Effect Analysis” (FMEA) and “Root Cause Analysis” (RCA) are becoming commonplace terms in work environments and in the literature. This article will demonstrate that these terms, while seemingly generic references to regulatory compliance, actually elicit various interpretations from individuals. Therefore, applications of FMEAs and RCAs will be equally disjointed, along with the inconsistency of the analysis results.

Reading Time: 7 minutes

In this blog, I discuss the RCA definition I used as a career analyst/investigator and explain why it makes sense to me. You decide if it makes sense in your facility. RCA is so ill-defined that no matter what people use to solve problems at their facilities (i.e.- troubleshooting, brainstorming, problem-solving or scribbling on a bar napkin)…they will call it

Reading Time: 5 minutes

There are various ways for us to improve our root cause analysis and take our reliability to the next level. Reliability professionals could do RCAs on a napkin, using kraft paper and post it notes, or utilizing fancy software. In the end, the analysis is only as good as the analyst! I have seen some pretty bad ‘RCA’s documented in

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Most of us have all worked at places with some degree of an ‘RCA’ effort. They likely all defined and practiced ‘RCA’ differently, but nonetheless they had something called RCA. What made one facility better at it than another?  Why was one facility’s RCA more effective than another?

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Chapter 1: Is All RCA the Same? An RCA myth shared by many managers is that RCA methods are all the same, when in fact they are NOT. The range of what constitutes an effective RCA method is vast. Some RCA techniques have minimal emphasis on establishing all the ways a problem can occur.  Others provide a more comprehensive set

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Safety is often directly correlated with system or component reliability. Is that really the case? Find out what the experts and their data really says.

Reading Time: 10 minutes

If managers knew what the overall power of a well supported Root Cause Analysis (RCA) effort meant for their bottom-line, they would be breaking down doors to implement the process. Unfortunately, this is often not the case, so this paper is an attempt to educate such individuals about the characteristics of an effective RCA methodology. The paper focuses on the

Reading Time: 11 minutes

Understanding the reasons behind a company’s struggles isn’t always about not knowing how to fix them. Often, the true origins of these problems are hidden, and that’s why conducting a root cause analysis is so important for good leadership within an organization. When I give speeches around the world, I often poll my audiences about how they define ‘RCA’. The

Reading Time: 8 minutes

What does it take to be a good Reliability Engineer? Learn how to better utilize RCA thinking, develop Reliability habits, and how to build a business case with your management team. To increase your impact, you need to start thinking like an owner. Read on to learn The Secrets of Successful Reliability Engineers.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

What is RCA? Separating the Tools from the Methodologies By Bob Latino, CEO, Reliability Center, Inc. Abstract: If we have heard it once, we have heard it a million times – “let’s do an RCA on that failure”. The problem here is that phrase will mean something different to everyone who says it. What is an RCA? That is a question even the notable

Reading Time: 3 minutes

This article is directed at those ‘first responders’ who arrive immediately at the failure scene. These are the people who have to ensure the area is safe, preserve the scene for investigators and contribute to a plan to expedite a quick, safe return to production norms. Many do not understand how valuable failed parts are to the metallurgical/forensic investigators. Broken

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author’s Note: I want to reiterate that this Series about reading the basic fracture surfaces, is for novices who often first come into contact with such failed components. This Series is about the basics (101), and is intended to give readers an appreciation for the value of such ‘broken’ parts to an effective investigation/RCA. While this information will be rudimentary