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Five Ways to More Effectively Facilitate Root Cause Analysis

Five Ways to More Effectively Facilitate Root Cause Analysis

This article discusses five ways to facilitate root cause analysis (RCA) more effectively through conducting pre-session exchanges, asking powerful questions, using exercises that engage, anticipating disruption, and controlling the tempo. Root cause analysis requires systems thinking because most failures involve a is a collection of interrelated or interacting parts, including physical equipment, humans, and interactions.


Facilitation is defined as a structured session(s) in which the meeting leader (the facilitator) guides the participants through a series of predefined steps to arrive at a result that is created, understood, and accepted by all participants.” The fundamentals of good facilitation as provided in the definition are always essential, including having a structure that includes predefined steps and arriving at results that are created, understood and accepted by all participants.

Facilitating Root Cause Analysis

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Subcontractor Risk is a Major Reason for Project Failures

Subcontractor Risk is a Major Reason for Project Failures

Guest Post by John Ayers (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Studies show that the majority of companies today outsource up to 60-70% of their work scope to subcontractors to stay competitive. As a result, subcontractors are a major source of risk to a project.

How to minimize the subcontractor risk on a project is addressed in this paper. The approach to do this is based on my 30 years of project and project risk management experience and knowledge.

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How to Calculate Replacement Asset Value for Assets and Equipment Purchased in Foreign Currency

How to Calculate Replacement Asset Value for Assets and Equipment Purchased in Foreign Currency

When calculating the replacement asset value fo items brought overseas, factor the effect of the difference in exchange rate into the calculation.

Ahmed asks:

How can we calculate replacement asset value (RAV) of a plant? We have 100’s of equipment in our three plants and we cannot contact 100’s of Vendors to tell us today’s equipment value. We have only the Capitalization Cost or installed historic value of assets.

The oldest plant was installed 6 yrs back (Aug 2015) for a total plant or asset value in our accounting record of 10 MMPKR. When the plant was installed 1 USD = 100 PKR and now after 6 yrs the exchange rate is 1 USD = 172 PKR. We took the capitalization cost of 10 MMPKR and calculated replacement asset value at today’s worth as 10 * 172/100 MMPKR.

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Credible Reliability Test Planning

Credible Reliability Test Planning

How to allocate subsystems’ MTBF requirements with testing? Name-withheld-to-protect-the- guilty proposed “Top-Down” reduction in subsystem MTBF requirements; the more subsystems (in series) that you test, the lower the subsystem required MTBF! “The correct formula is

1/MTBF(subsystem requirement) = 1/MTBF(system requirement) –
((# of subsystems in series – # of subsystems tested)/MTBF(subsystem).”

This “Top-Down…” method is uncited and not found in Internet search. 

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Understanding the Binomial Distribution

Understanding the Binomial Distribution

Coauthored with Mark Fiedeldey

The binomial distribution is a discrete distribution useful for estimating the probability of success or failure when these are the only two possible outcomes. Thus, the prefix, “Bi”. Understanding the binomial distribution — how it’s used and under what conditions – is therefore a valuable analytical tool for reliability engineers.

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The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Maintenance: The Whitehead Torpedo

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Maintenance: The Whitehead Torpedo

British engineer Robert Whitehead began his career producing textile weaving machinery in France. In 1856 he moved to the Adriatic coast to manufacture marine steam engines. He met Giovanni Luppis, an Austro-Hungarian navy officer, who had been developing a self-propelled coastal defense weapon that could be floated into an enemy fleet. Together, they failed to develop a practical weapon. Whitehead remained fixed on the idea of a submerged, self-propelled weapon. Working on his own for two years, Whitehead developed the modern torpedo. He sold his first units to the Austro-Hugarian Navy in 1867.

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Total Filth Ahead In Act II of Communicating with FINESSE

Total Filth Ahead In Act II of Communicating with FINESSE

In a recent article, I shared that every written or verbal communication needs a structure. Aristotle believed that every poem or theatrical performance should follow a three-act structure. The three-act structure stands the test of time in all forms of writing and performing arts. It is also a straightforward and extremely efficient structure. More importantly, it works subtly but effectively with our human thinking processes.

The three-act structure is alive and well in the series “Communicating with FINESSE” on Accendo Reliability. Act One – the Opening – frames what is to come in Act II and lays the foundation of Systems Thinking needed for effective communications. Check out the building story of Act One in these articles: The One Thing Your Approach to Communication & Facilitation is Missing, Effective Communication Is The #1 Thing That Changes Your Life, and Do You Know These Dirty Secrets of Effective Communication? 

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Process Instruments For Difficult And Corrosive Environments

Process Instruments For Difficult And Corrosive Environments

There is always a degree of uncertainty in selecting instrumentation for difficult or corrosive environments. Material selection for chemical compatibility involves a strained decision between cost and equipment reliability and longevity. The other major uncertainty is whether the instrument is appropriate for the application – will it repeatedly give truly representative readings all it’s operating life? This article presents a list of instrumentation successfully used in a range of difficult and chemically demanding environments.

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Surfside – Inspecting to failure!

Surfside – Inspecting to failure!

Like Surfside, are you “inspecting to failure”?

In June 2021, we learned about the partial collapse of a condominium in Surfside Florida, with devastating results – only a few survivors, and many fatalities.  The building had actually been inspected in 2018 by a qualified engineer, and parts of it were deemed to be “structurally unsound”. In plain English, that means the building’s structure was no longer in good condition and possibly dangerous. It was unsafe to use. The report was submitted to a local authority who raised no red flags, and the building owners chose to do nothing about it. Roughly 3 years later – disaster. It’s a sad example of “inspecting to failure”.

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Goldilocks Management: Getting Things ‘Just Right’

Goldilocks Management: Getting Things ‘Just Right’

Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

I was once taught that good project management and mitigating the risk of failure was a combination of Fayol’s three pillars of planning, organising and controlling glued together by effective communication and enclosed in a bubble of morale.  I was later to learn that that if one overindulges or ignores any one pillar, or fails to communicate effectively rather than just efficiently, the oftentimes thin bubble of morale may rupture.  The unfortunate result is the loss of management coherence and the real possibility of project failure.

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Certification and Competencies

Certification and Competencies

Competency is defined as the capability to apply or use the set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform a task or work safely and consistently to a required standard. Simply stated, Competency is a critical skill set needed to do a job successfully. On the other hand, Certifications are designated credentials earned by an individual or organization to verify their legitimacy and competence to perform a job or produce something in a stated environment.

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