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| Criterion |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Operations Fault Tree Analysis |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | 2-6 h | 2-6 h | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 3-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | RiskRoot causeSafety | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeSafetyIncident |