Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA)
Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) is a method of problem solving intended to discover the root cause of equipment failures.
Identifying and addressing root causes, rather than treating symptoms, leads to long-term elimination/mitigation of chronic failures and extension of machine life between overhauls.
Tango’s Root Cause Failure Analysis package aids the user in following the general process for performing and documenting root cause failure analysis and corrective actions.
The purpose of Tango’s RCFA Information Management System is to:
1) Initiate an RCFA on components exceeding limits
2) Capture RCFA information in systematic manner
3) Track RCFA progress
4) Identify Root Causes and corrective actions
5) Track completion of corrective actions
6) Track reapplication of RCFA to similar equipment
Note: To add or edit RCFA entries, users must have "System Administrator" rights or "Root Cause Editor Role". To add or edit Asset Components, users must also have "System Administrator" rights or "Edit Location" rights.
OVERVIEW OF RCFA
Root Cause Failure Analysis cases are initiated at the asset component level. In the Tango Web Services screen, the location tree can be expanded to show existing asset components and Root Cause Entry cases. The steps to create a new asset component and RCFA case are covered in this manual.
The three key functions in RCFA are:
1) RCFA Initiation - Using the location tree for creating, viewing or editing asset components and RCFA cases.
2) RCFA Entry - Using the Root Cause Entry interface for entering or editing RCFA case information.
3) RCFA Results - Using the Root Cause Entry Status interface for a summary of RCFA activity, a quick status of open RCFA cases and editing or viewing open RCFA cases.
RCFA Initiation
RCFA Entry
"RCFA" cases are initiated at the asset component level in the database location tree. To open the RCFA interface:
1) Right click on the asset component location in the tree.
2) In the menu box, click "
Add Root Cause Entry".
The "Root Cause Entry" interface will appear in the right side of the Tango Web Services window.
1) The "Owner" field automatically populates with the name of the user logged into the database.
2) The "Occurred & Repaired date fields automatically populate with the current date.
3) Input the root cause case information and select "
Save" when the process is complete.
Note: If you do not Save, the work will be lost.
Basic Information
The Basic Information section of the
Root Cause Entry interface defines the owner of the case, the severity and frequency of the event, when the event occurred, when it was repaired and the downtime associated with the event. The information in this interface can be added now and updated/edited at a later date, if necessary.
Problem Summary and Problem Description
The "Problem Summary" is a short sentence describing the problem that occurred. It will appear in the asset tree as a description of the Root Cause Entry. The "Problem Description" is a complete, detailed description of the problem.
After completing the entry to this point, the user may close the entry and return to edit/add information as needed.
Personnel Involved
Multiple persons may have roles (e.g. technical support) in the RCFA case and should be included in the documentation. To add additional personnel:
1) Click "
Add"
2) In the "Select Personnel" interface, click the drop-down arrow in the "
Personnel" field and "
Role" field.
3) Select the appropriate personnel and their associated role from the lists.
4) Click "
Add Personnel" when the process is completed or the information
will not be saved.
5) Delete personnel by clicking the "
X" icon to the right of the person to be removed.
Faults
Faults describe the problem that occurred during a standardized library of issues. Add a fault and then add any associated corrective actions as necessary.
To add a fault:
1) Click "
Add"
2) In the "
Fault Search" interface, click in the "
Search Faults" field and type the search criteria. click "
Search".
3) If the search yields acceptable results, click "
Add". (
Multiple faults can be added before leaving the "Fault Search" interface.) Click "
X" to close the "Fault Search" interface and return to the "RCFA Entry" screen.
4) Click the drop-down arrow to select the appropriate "Problem Level" from the drop-down menu.
5) Add any pertinent "Comments" in the "Comment" field.
6) Only "Problem Levels" defined as "Root Cause" allow corrective actions to be added.
To add a Corrective Action to a fault defined as a "Root Cause":
1) Click the "
+" icon in the "Actions" column.
2) In the "Corrective Action" interface, enter the "Corrective Action" in the text box. "Corrective Action" is a "free" field allowing the user to describe the actions taken in their own words.
3) Click the drop-down arrow by "Assigned To" and select the person to whom the corrective action is assigned.
4) Click in the text box to select the "Completion Due" date and select the target due date for the "Corrective Action".
5) Enter the Work Order in the text box .
6) Click "
Add Corrective Action" when the process is complete.
Legend:
- Edit Corrective Action
- Delete Corrective Action
- Add Correction Action Comments
- Complete Corrective Action
Linked Documents
Supporting documents such as diagrams, screen shots, condition data shots, work orders, etc. can be added to an RCFA case.
To add a file:
1) Click "
Add File".
2) In the "
Upload Linked Document" interface for adding a file, click the "
Browse" button to bring up Window Explorer.
3) Click to select the target file and click to "
Open" to add the file.
4) Click the drop-down arrow beside "
Folder" to select the folder destination in the database. In most all cases, the folder will be TF7 (the default).
5) Click the drop-down arrow beside "
Type" to specify the type of document being added.
6) Click in the text box by the "
Description" field to add a description of the "
Linked Document".
7) Click "
Upload" when the process is complete.
To add a ULR:
1) Click "
Add URL".
2) In the "
Upload Linked Document" interface for adding a file, type or paste the URL in the text box.
3) Click the drop-down arrow beside "
Type" to specify the type of document being added.
4) Click in the text box by the "
Description"Description field to add a description of the link.
5) Click "
Upload" when the process is complete.
Process Complete
ADD A NEW ASSET COMPONENT
If an asset component does not exist in the database, it can be added to the tree in Tango Web Services.
To insert an asset component:
1) Right click on the asset location in the tree.
2) In the menu box, click "
Insert Asset Component".
3) The "
Asset Component Editor" interface will appear on the right side of the Tango Web Services window. This interface allows you to build the asset component information. Input the root cause case information and select "
Save" when the process is complete.
4) "
Equipment Type" is a required field and the type must be selected from the drop-down list. click the drop-down arrow to select the equipment type.
Note: Contact 24 / 7 Systems to have new equipment types added.
5) Equipment is typically installed as "Anonymous" if the organization does not perform equipment tracking.
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), Alias Values and Linked Documents are not required fields and can be completed at the user's discretion.
6) After saving the information added to the Asset Component Editor (click "
Save"), verify the new asset component is in the location tree on the left side of the screen. click the [+] next to the asset location name to expand.
EDITING AN RCFA
If an RCFA case exists in the database, it can be reviewed or edited through the Root Cause Entry Status interface.
To review or edit an RCFA case:
1) Log into the database through Tango Web Services.
2) In the Tango Web Services tool bar, click the
icon to open the "
Root Cause Entry Status" screen.
The "
Root Cause Entry Status" screen displays a quick summary of open cases and recent activity for the week and month.
Rows can be sorted by clicking the column header. An arrow will appear beside or below the column header. Click the arrow to sort the rows. The arrow pointed up is sorted
ascending. The arrow pointed down indicates the column is sorted
descending. The "
sort" functionality exists with all column headers that are BLUE.
In the example below, under the "
Severity" column header, the rows are sorted from most severe to least severe.
The second example shows the rows sorted from least severe to most severe.
Click the
icon under the "
Actions" column to view or edit data for an open case.
The "
Root Cause Entry" interface allows users with the appropriate permissions to review or edit the information in an RCFA case. With the appropriate permission (discussed in the section "User Permissions Required" section), a user can edit, check-off or close RCFA cases from this screen. If any changes are made, be sure to select "
Save" before exiting the interface.
CHECKOFF AND CLOSE AN RCFA
Once the equipment is operational and all corrective measures have been complete, the RCFA can be "
Checked Off" and "
Closed".
1) Click the "
Check Off" button to open the "
Root Cause Check Off Entry" screen.
2) Click in the "
Checkoff Comment" window to add any pertinent comments.
3) Click "
Checkoff Comment" to save and return to the "Root Cause Entry Screen".
a) If for any reason you need to change the status of or edit the Root Cause Entry comments, click the "
Undo" button.
b) You will be asked to confirm that you want to "
undo" the root cause entry checkoff. If "
OK" is chosen, the screen will return to the original configuration, see above.
4) The RCFA can be closed by clicking the "
Close" button. The status of the RCFA is shown in the last row of the RCFA form.
5) When you click "
Save", the "
Root Cause Entry Status" window opens. The status of all open "
Root Cause Entries" is can be seen hee. Each individual entry can be viewed by clicking the "
View this Root Cause Entry" icon.
E-Mail
An e-mail will be sent to "
assigned personnel" for specified actions in RCFAs. Assigned personnel are setup in the User Configuration interface.
E-Mails to be sent from Tango:
1) RCFA action item defined
2) RCFA action item completed
3) RCFA case closed
4) RCFA action item list
USER PERMISSIONS REQUIRED FOR RCFA
To create or edit an RCFA case, users must have either System Administrator rights or be assigned the Root Cause Entry Editor role. Any user having at least View rights in the database can open and view, but not edit or create, an RCFA.
1) The System Administrator right is assigned in the User set-up interface.
2) The Root Cause Entry Editor roleis assigned in the User set-up interface under Roles.
See the Tango Database Administration manual for detailed instruction on using DB Admin.
Click the following Hyperlink:
DatabaseAdministration