root cause failure analysis

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Chronic Failures = Hidden Treasures When we look at the widely used and misunderstood tool of Root Cause Analysis (RCA), we should reflect its interpretation in our own environments. Think about it: when is RCA typically requested and applied in our environment? Based on my experience, it is typically requested and applied when…

Reading Time: 4 minutes

I recently presented a webinar for SMRP and Empowering Pumps, on the title above. There were several questions, post-presentation, that I felt were worthy of expanding on in the form of a blog. Question #2  How do you manage a situation where people just decide not to use simple tools like RCFA, just comfortable doing things same way? Even when you keep

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: 9 minutes

How Failed Parts Work Into an RCA Author’s Note: I want to reiterate that this Series about reading the basic fracture surfaces, is for novices who often 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.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Abstract: No matter where we work, we will experience failures or ‘undesirable outcomes’ of some kind. As long as we work with other humans, this will indeed be the case. These failures may surface in the form of production delays, injuries, customer complaints, missed deadlines, lost profits, legal claims and the like. In order to prevent the recurrence of any such undesirable outcome,