Component failures can create catastrophic consequences. In the unfortunate event that one does occur, ALS’s experts can lead to the root of the problem and stop any failure from becoming a repeat occurrence.
Failure Analysis and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) are similar but not identical terms that describe techniques used in investigating an event or accident, and determining the reasons why the event occurred.
While the equipment and analysis techniques used are often similar, the distinct difference of these two analysis techniques lies in their definition. RCA involves determining the root cause of an incident through some formal analysis process. Failure analysis differs in its scope, only looking at the physical root causes of a failure at a component level. Failure analysis does not look at the “how” of a failure and as such can be considered a subsection within RCA.
Adopted proactively, the analysis helps clients learn from past incidents, predict future trends and implement solutions to avoid repeat occurrence.
The benefit of adopting failure analysis and RCA surrounds the ability to implement root cause solutions. With repeat occurrences avoided, additional benefits include:
- A reduction to the asset’s downtime and maintenance demands.
- A reduction in maintenance and replacement costs.
- An optimised production output.
The ALS Approach
Through our team of engineers, metallurgists, materials engineers, scientists and technicians, ALS proudly boasts decades of experience in failure investigation and RCA. ALS’s principal engineers and scientists are highly accredited with recognised qualification such as RPEQ, CPEng, CMatP, MIEAust and FIEAus.
Our broad team brings significant capacity to our clients in investigating incidents and failures, and has a deep understanding of root cause determination techniques. As part of this, ALS can provide large scale resourcing when required to turn around incident determinations in real time. ALS have mobilised multidisciplinary teams to complete critical interpretations on behalf of our clients.
In the unfortunate event that a failure occurs, ALS can effectively investigate and provide expert opinions that can be relied upon.