Root Cause Analysis Software

Why 5-Whys and fishbone aren't enough

5-Whys produces a single linear chain that nearly always terminates at 'human error' or 'lack of training'. Fishbone diagrams are wider but still descriptive — they cluster contributing factors without ranking them or classifying organisational failure modes. Neither answers the question regulators ask: 'what in your management system enabled this to happen, and how do you know it won't happen again?'

Tripod Beta: the methodology RISKOPILOT runs

Tripod Beta, developed by Shell and the University of Leiden in the 1990s, treats every incident as the convergence of three layers: active failure (the unsafe act), preconditions (situational factors that enabled it) and latent failures (organisational weaknesses, classified under eleven GFTs: hardware, design, maintenance management, procedures, error-enforcing conditions, housekeeping, incompatible goals, communication, organisation, training, defences). It is the gold standard for high-hazard industries.

What RISKOPILOT generates

From a single incident narrative: a complete Tripod Beta tree, BowTie diagram with classified barriers, STEP chart, GFT organisational profile across all eleven failure types, prioritised SMART recommendations linked to the highest-impact GFTs, and a 12-section audit-ready PDF report. Total time: under five minutes for analysis, plus 24–72h optional expert review.

How RISKOPILOT delivers

1. 1

   Submit the incident narrative

   Paste or upload the witness statements, control-room logs and any prose describing what happened.

2. 2

   RISKOPILOT extracts the causation graph

   The engine identifies the Top Event and decomposes every contributing thread into agent–hazard–target trios.

3. 3

   Barriers are mapped and classified

   Each trio's preventive and recovery barriers are listed and marked intact, failed or missing.

4. 4

   Latent failures classified by GFT

   Every precondition is assigned to one of the eleven General Failure Types, exposing the organisational pattern.

5. 5

   Recommendations + traceable report

   SMART recommendations targeting the dominant GFTs, plus a 12-section PDF with full evidence traceability.