A unified framework elucidates the equivalence and complementarity of root cause analysis techniques and their results' completeness

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216275%3A25310%2F25%3A39923186" target="_blank" >RIV/00216275:25310/25:39923186 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2025.111312" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2025.111312</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2025.111312" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.ress.2025.111312</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

A unified framework elucidates the equivalence and complementarity of root cause analysis techniques and their results' completeness

Original language description

Determining the causes of an undesirable event is essential for preventing the recurrence of similar events in the future. Countless methods/techniques based on several approaches have been developed to determine the underlying/root causes. Generally, root cause analysis (RCA) steps are described as WHAT - HOW - WHY. To explain the meaning of HOW and WHY, this article constructs a unified framework, resulting in the novel identification of the underlying/root cause set. Adoption of this framework provides cause analysis practitioners with several advantages. It highlights the connection between cause identification and safety control understanding, answering old objections to RCA. It makes RCA results&apos; width and depth more apparent, thus improving the evaluation of the completeness of results. It improves the understanding of individual techniques/ methods functioning and their suitability for specific situations. Adopting a unified framework results in a general flowchart called the Integrated Procedure for Incident Cause Analysis (IPICA) version 3.0. The procedure is divided into two stages and represents a guide for combining methods/techniques. The unified framework makes it possible to decide under what conditions the methods/techniques we use to identify underlying causes are complementary to each other and whether they provide equivalent results. When we distinguish primary and secondary RCAs, the advantages of a unified framework relate to every primary RCA and indirectly to any computerized secondary RCA. The unified framework can potentially be used to develop computerized cause determination further. An example of an old oil industry incident illustrates the article&apos;s argumentation.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

21100 - Other engineering and technologies

Project

—

Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Reliability Engineering and System Safety

ISSN

0951-8320

e-ISSN

1879-0836

Volume of the periodical

264

Issue of the periodical within the volume

December 2025

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

19

Pages from-to

111312

UT code for WoS article

001509666400001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105007461308