Root Cause Analysis in Process-Based Industries

A delay in identification of the real cause for process problems in process-based industries means a loss of production material and revenue, and sometimes even loss of company reputation and market share. It is the intention of this book to save costly learning from experience and to provide a structured guide to team-leaders, engineers and anyone dealing with cause analysis on the way to Problem Solving. The book starts with few pages of introduction followed by the Problem Classification XE "Problem Classification" Chapter that aims to familiarize the reader with potential sources and type of problems that may appear in the processing industry. The Root Cause Analysis methodology with its basic supporting tools appears in three chapters: Problem Characterization, Model Building XE "Model Building," and Model Validation. The described methodology explains the importance and the ways to properly characterize the problem. It provides tools and techniques for the development of potential models by hierarchical thinking, and it explains the model validation process that is required to establish a solid and useful model. The Data Collection Chapter discusses the approach for extracting the most relevant information and knowledge from various data sources. A few more useful tools are discussed in the chapters: Team Tools and Methods, and Event Documentation. The book is directed at Root Cause Analysis in the processing industry; however anyone who deals with Root Cause Analysis in any discipline will also find significant parts of this book useful.