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| Criterion |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Gemba Walk |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. | When there is uncertainty about the real course of a process, the method brings observation to the place where work happens. It combines perception, follow-up questions, and process knowledge so decisions rest on actual workflows instead of assumptions. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 30-120 min | 1-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-6 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Observation Notes, Improvement Ideas | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeSafetyIncident | LeanObservationProcessOperations | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |