Fault Tree Analysis in Projects
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==Methodology== | ==Methodology== | ||
| − | FTA is based on the analysis of a top event. This is an event that is believed to be of great importance to the project or an event which has not been given enough attention. A top event needs to be defined as a failure, as it is an event that is to be avoided. Examples of such events can be the delayal of the project if time is considered a constraint. Other projects may be funded by a tight budget where it is crucial to stay within the budget's limits, therefore a top event could be failure to meet the expected budget. Only one top event can be chosen for each fault tree, however it is often recommended to develop several fault trees[citation] each with their different top events if the project is of a large scale or if several top events are of great importance, such as the safety in a powerplant. | + | FTA is based on the analysis of a top event. This is an event that is believed to be of great importance to the project or an event which has not been given enough attention. A top event needs to be defined as a failure, as it is an undesired event that is to be avoided. Examples of such events can be the delayal of the project if time is considered a constraint. Other projects may be funded by a tight budget where it is crucial to stay within the budget's limits, therefore a top event could be failure to meet the expected budget. Only one top event can be chosen for each fault tree, however it is often recommended to develop several fault trees[citation] each with their different top events if the project is of a large scale or if several top events are of great importance, such as the safety in a powerplant. |
Once a top event has been chosen, the causal factors for said event needs to be identified. | Once a top event has been chosen, the causal factors for said event needs to be identified. | ||
Revision as of 16:14, 15 September 2016
Fault tree analysis (FTA) is defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a "technique for identifying and analysing factors that can contribute to a specified undesired event".[citation]
FTA has its wide range of application in many fields of engineering such as systems engineering, reliability engineering, and safety engineering. It also serves as an applicable tool for identifying the causes of undesired events in projects.[citation] Undesired events in projects can for instance be exceeding the budget, time delays, lack of team synergy, or any other events that have a negative effect on the project. This is referred to as the top event.
The purpose of FTA is to give both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the factors that can trigger the undesired top event. A qualitative analysis shows via a graphical representation of a tree the top event that is to be analysed, along with the pathway of all the intermediate and basic events that leads up to the top event. A quantitative analysis shows the probability of a top event being triggered by the input probabilities of the basic events that leads up to the undesired event. The quantitative analysis is calculated through Boolean algebra.[citation]
Contents |
History
Methodology
FTA is based on the analysis of a top event. This is an event that is believed to be of great importance to the project or an event which has not been given enough attention. A top event needs to be defined as a failure, as it is an undesired event that is to be avoided. Examples of such events can be the delayal of the project if time is considered a constraint. Other projects may be funded by a tight budget where it is crucial to stay within the budget's limits, therefore a top event could be failure to meet the expected budget. Only one top event can be chosen for each fault tree, however it is often recommended to develop several fault trees[citation] each with their different top events if the project is of a large scale or if several top events are of great importance, such as the safety in a powerplant.
Once a top event has been chosen, the causal factors for said event needs to be identified.
