Root Cause Failure Analysis: Unknown knowns
Understanding Failure: From Root Causes to the Unconscious Dimension of Engineering Judgment In a fragile and increasingly complex world, engineers must understand not only how systems perform, but how and why they fail. Failures may arise from structural deficiencies, material degradation, design errors, operational lapses, or a combination of these factors. Regardless of type, category, or discipline, every failure demands a systematic and disciplined investigation aimed at identifying its true root causes. Failure Cause Characterization In principle, failure triggers can be categorized into three fundamental domains, collectively referred to as Failure Cause Characterization (Márquez, 2007): Human causes Errors of omission or commission originating from human action or inaction, which ultimately manifest as physical failures. Physical causes The direct technical reasons an asset failed—why components broke, systems malfunctioned, or performance limits were exceeded. L...