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| Criterion |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Root Cause 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. | For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tags1 shared | Root causeSafetyIncident | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | Root causeQualityOperations | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |