An investigation into root cause failure analysis (RCFA) practices in oil and gas industry

To remain profitable, it is important for oil and gas companies to reduce plant shutdown due to system or equipment failure. Effective root cause failure analysis is crucial to ensure that real causes of failure are identified, corrected and prevented from recurring. The effectiveness of RCFA depends on various factors such as expertise and organizational system which vary from one plant to another. This paper aimed to investigate current RCFA practices in oil and gas industry and propose areas for improvement. In this study, a comprehensive survey was conducted among RCFA investigators from various plants on important aspects of RCFA namely; investigation team, data collection, process knowledge, tool competency, report, recommendation and RCFA system in organization. From the survey, some good practices were highlighted especially in team formation and tool competency. Nevertheless, some areas need improvement such as RCFA database and sharing information. © 2006-2016 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN).