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| Criterion |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected. | For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | 2-6 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | RiskRoot causeSafety | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
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