Root Cause Analysis for Technical and General Applications

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Apply structured root cause analysis methods to investigate technical and operational failures
• Identify underlying systemic, human, and organizational contributors to failures and incidents
• Lead or participate effectively in multidisciplinary RCA teams
• Perform hazard identification and risk assessment to support informed decision‑making
• Develop practical, risk‑mitigating actions to prevent recurrence and improve system reliability

Description

When a system fails, resolving the immediate issue is rarely enough. In professional practice, you are expected to determine why the failure occurred, assess the associated risks, and implement corrective actions that prevent recurrence—all while balancing safety, cost, and operational constraints. Without a structured approach, investigations can stop at symptoms rather than addressing root causes.

This course provides a practical, methodical foundation in root cause analysis (RCA) as applied to engineering systems and broader organizational contexts. You will explore widely used RCA frameworks and tools that support evidence‑based failure investigation, hazard identification, and risk assessment across technical and non‑technical domains.

Through guided workshops and real‑world case studies, you will gain hands‑on experience applying RCA methods, working collaboratively in teams, and translating analytical findings into actionable risk‑mitigation strategies. The emphasis is on techniques you can apply immediately to improve reliability, safety, and decision‑making in your professional environment.

Who Should Attend

This course is designed for:

• Engineers and engineering technologists involved in design, operations, maintenance, or reliability
• Maintenance engineers, technicians, operators, and technical specialists responsible for troubleshooting and repair
• Professionals involved in failure investigation, safety analysis, or risk management
• Non‑technical professionals seeking practical RCA skills for problem solving and continuous improvement
• Early‑career through senior practitioners looking to strengthen applied investigative skills

Day I

• Importance of RCA analysis
• RCA analysis in various application domains
• Why do equipment or systems fail? Overview of world accidents
• Common failure modes and causes: technical, human, etc.
• Post-accident investigation: gathering data and evidence
• Methodologies in RCA: Fault Tree method, Fishbone Ishikawa method
• Methods on the shop floor: 5 Whys, Event and Causal factor, Pareto method
• Workshop: Case studies and applications of RCA

Day II

• Hazard identification and importance of diagnostics
• Risk assessment methodology: risk matrix
• Efficient risk mitigation techniques: ALARP
• Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA)
• RCA used in troubleshooting industrial problems
• Reliability engineering and failures: Cost-benefit analysis
• Workshop: Case studies and applications
• Summary and Conclusions