# Root Cause Analysis Software

> Root cause analysis (RCA) software helps investigation teams move past surface symptoms to identify the systemic causes of failures. RISKOPILOT is RCA software built around the Shell Tripod Beta methodology — going beyond linear tools like 5-Whys and fishbone (Ishikawa) to classify every contributing factor under eleven General Failure Types.

**URL:** https://riskopilot.com/solutions/root-cause-analysis-software
**Last reviewed:** 2026-06-22
**Author:** RiskoPilot Editorial Team (HSESKILLS Ltd)
**License:** CC BY 4.0 — attribute to RiskoPilot

## 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:

1. **Active failure** — the unsafe act.
2. **Preconditions** — situational factors that enabled it.
3. **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
- A BowTie diagram with classified barriers
- A STEP chart (multi-actor timeline)
- A GFT organisational profile across all eleven failure types
- Prioritised SMART recommendations linked to the highest-impact GFTs
- A 12-section audit-ready PDF report

Total time: under five minutes for analysis, plus 24–72h optional expert review.

## How it works

1. **Submit the incident narrative**
2. **The engine extracts the causation graph** — Top Event + HET trios
3. **Barriers are mapped and classified**
4. **Latent failures classified by GFT**
5. **Recommendations + traceable report**

## FAQ

**Q: Why not just use 5-Whys?**
A: 5-Whys is fast but linear and tends to terminate at "human error". For incidents above minor severity, regulators and insurers expect a structured methodology like Tripod Beta or ICAM.

**Q: Does RISKOPILOT replace human investigators?**
A: No. It removes the manual drafting work so investigators spend their time on judgement, interviews and recommendation design.

**Q: Comparison with Apollo RCA, TapRooT, RealityCharting?**
A: Apollo and RealityCharting require trained facilitators to build cause-and-effect charts manually. TapRooT is a proprietary methodology. RISKOPILOT runs the methodology automatically from narrative input, uses the open Shell Tripod Beta framework, and generates the audit-ready report without separate templating.

**Q: Is the AI explainable?**
A: Yes. Every barrier classification, GFT assignment and recommendation links back to a specific sentence in the source narrative via the evidence matrix.

## Related

- [Tripod Beta methodology](https://riskopilot.com/methodology/tripod-beta)
- [GFT — General Failure Types](https://riskopilot.com/methodology/gft)
- [Tripod Beta vs 5 Whys](https://riskopilot.com/compare/tripod-beta-vs-5-whys)
- [RiskoPilot vs manual investigation](https://riskopilot.com/compare/riskopilot-vs-manual-investigation)