Dear All,

I am in the process of writing my next newsletter and would therefore much appreciate your remarks, comments and feedback. the following :

Where does RCA/RCFA fit into the RCM Strategy ?

I would post my remarks later and include in my acknowledgement those who will respond to this thread.

My warm regards,

Let me rephrase my question, which comes first RCFA/RCA or RCM ?

Hope you share your thoughts ?

My Warm Regards,

I think that RCFA/RCA should be done in conjunction with RCM. If you are performing RCM you should be identifying areas that would benefit from an RCFA based on the failure data/life characteristics. As the RCFA is performed the results can be put back into the RCM if needed for incorporation into the maintenance strategy.

Hello Rolly,

I agree with Robbie that RCA is used in conjunction with RCM.
I tend to use RCA following an RCM session when failure modes have been identified that cannot be prevented or inspected for and the risk exposure is high.
I also use RCA on equipment failure investigations that have not been through any RCM process at all.

Cheers - Gary

Rolly, you rephrased to " Which comes first, RCA or RCM?" At what stage is this? Before plant construction or after failure Incident?

Dear All,

Just would like to add that failure mode and Root Cause are two different things. If we speak about failure mode, this refers to probable cause or the first level of the RCFA initiative. RCFA termed failure mode as hypothesis.

Josh - after failure incident, the plant is now operational, It is unlikely to use Root Cause when the plant is not yet operational.

My Warm Regards,

Unless, one already has RCM, then RCA should be first. Of course, for those that have RCM analysis in place, perhaps they want to review your analysis for updating purposes.

Dear All,

I would like to acknowledge those who have contributed on this thread, this is to share my newsletter I wrote on : Where does RCFA fit in the RCM Strategy ?

http://www.rsareliability.com/newsletteroctober2007issue.htm

My Warm Regards,

Terrence,

Many thanks for posting my newsletter on your web : To all, here's the link :
http://www.reliabilityweb.com/art08/deep_root_cause.htm

Where do we end our probe on Root Cause Analysis ?
http://www.rsareliability.com/newsletterjanuary2008issue.htm

For sharing purposes.

My Warm Regards,