Before you can begin conducting an RCA Analysis, you need to establish the criteria that standardizes when a Root Cause Analysis should be performed. For example, the manager of the plant where the cooling water pump exists might specify criteria as:
If any pump fails one or more times per week for more than two successive weeks, regardless of the cost for repairs, an RCA study should be conducted.
-or-
If any pump fails catastrophically (e.g., causes they system to shut off), an RCA Analysis should be conducted.
Now, assume that in January 2012, the bearing temperature alarm on the outboard bearing of a cooling water pump sounded. By the time the operator arrived, the motor temperature had increased and caused the system to shut off, resulting in loss of production. According to the criteria that was developed, these conditions dictate that an RCA Analysis should be performed. The first step is to order the analysis.