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| Criterion | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis | ![]() Operations Root Cause Analysis | ![]() Operations Barrier Analysis | ![]() Operations Fault Tree Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 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 critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-4 h | 2-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-6 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Fault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control Actions |
Tags1 shared | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeSafetyIncident | RiskRoot causeSafety |



