RCA – Root Cause Analysis of Failures

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a process of conducting systematic analysis to identify fundamental or underlying causes of an incident, failure, or problem.

The root cause is the main problem that sets in motion the entire cause-and-effect reaction, ultimately leading to the problem(s). Root cause analysis of a problem is an effective way to adequately eliminate the problem, rather than simply treating its symptoms.

The root cause analysis process consists of sequential formalized steps:

1. problem identification;
2. data collection;
3. determining causes of the problem;
4. determining measures to eliminate the problem;
5. preparing an action plan;
6. monitoring implementation of measures;
7. problem closure.

Identification of factors contributing to system failures, or causes that trigger them, will allow developing an action plan to eliminate problems, and developing a culture of continuous improvement will help avoid recurring failures in the future.

Fig.1 – sequence of root cause analysis (RCA) steps

Experts at RBI Concept LLC possess all necessary competencies and tools for implementing a root cause analysis (RCA) system in client assets.

The RCA implementation process consists of the following steps:

1. Demonstrating the advantages of using the root cause analysis (RCA) system to the company's technical leadership.

2. Preparing enterprise standards (regulations, instructions) for RCA.

3. Training the client company's employees.

4. Conducting RCA analysis at one of the client's assets with trained client specialists.

5. Participating in preparing an RCA implementation plan for the client company's assets.

Implementation of the above measures will allow determining the degrees of influence of root causes on the company's business, where systematic and significant causes are eliminated first.

Substantial reduction in operational costs is expected, along with support for the volume and quality of products produced.

At the client's request, after implementing the RCA system, RBI Concept engineers will continue to provide technical and expert support within the framework of the existing contract.

What's Important

An important element of asset integrity management is the availability of specialized software for automating the RCA analysis system: data collection, record keeping, problem cause determination.

Currently, our company is completing the development of specialized software for data collection and logging of the root cause analysis (RCA) process.

By the end of this year, RBI Concept company will be able to offer potential clients special RCA software that will implement the multi-year experience of equipment reliability engineers.

No less important aspect of RCA application is trained equipment reliability engineers.

The speed of searching for root causes of equipment failures and implementation of measures to eliminate these failure causes largely depends on them.

RBI Concept LLC is focused on the final result in the RCA process and pays increased attention to the key aspect in this process - training reliability engineers.

Additional Services within RCA Framework

1. Independent audit of the client's reliability system;

2. Development, implementation and support of RCA software;

3. Regular training of client engineers in RCA methods.