Root Cause Analysis, sometimes called Fault Tree or Event Tree Analysis, is a process that can be used to identify the root causes of an incident/accident.
As with the primary aim of every incident investigation, the purpose is to provide a swift
and effective way to prevent incident/accident recurrence which can potentially
be extremely damaging to a business. It can also provide great support
focussing attention away from individual blame or equipment failure and
re-direct focus onto how the safety management system “allowed” these
deficiencies to exist.
If used well it can provide an extremely useful method of learning from incidents/accidents and ensuring employees and the business are better protected in the future.
Application of Root Cause Analysis
It is a systematic process that can form part of an
incident/accident investigation and which focuses on 3 main aspects:
- Immediate Causes
- Underlying Causes
- Root Causes
All 3 stages of the analysis are important to build up a picture.
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It is not suitable for all types of incidents.
Generally, the following aspects should be considered before applying Root Cause Analysis:-
- The nature of the incident and its
consequence or potential consequence
- How many people are at risk?
- What are the chances of recurrence?
- What is the future potential of any incident/accident?
Clearly
“simple” incidents where there are only a few cases, where the consequences
were low and there is little problem with recurrence, would not need a detailed analysis.
To download a template for free, click here
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