System design Component Operations and Distress damage or and specification manufacturer's storage responsibility maintenance failed components responsibility responsibility responsibility responsibility Welding error Unsatisfactory soil data Poor alignment Improper surface Liquid ingestion Imbalance Improper fit Inadequate liquid Inadequat drain bearing contact General poor Design error Inadequate testing Assembly after Parts in wrong Parts omitted Misalignment r bolt ping stress Foreign material left in ng material of construction maintenance Schedule too long Requirements for Effective RCA. Performing an effective RCa requires an interdisciplinary approach in order to ensure that the results are correct and proper corrective actions are identified. In fact, most failures involve factors that spread across many disciplines such as metallurgy, mechanical engineering, hydraulics, electrical engineering, quality control operations, maintenance, human factors, and others. The analysis team on a complex failure will ideally represent a spectrum of expertise to ensure a very broad perspective The best analysis team leader must be a good communicator, have a broad background, be able to integrate factors, and be able to select the best expertise for the project. On less complex failures it is often beneficial to have an individual with a diverse background participate in addition to the specialists, once again to ensure a broader perspective. For example, a metallurgist may be more likely to report a metallurgical deficiency in a product that contributed to the failure,a fabricator is more likely to point to fabrication-related contributors, and a designer is more likely to identify design deficiencies. All of these may be important considerations, but one, all, or none may be a primary root cause. Problems related to people, procedures, environmental concerns, and other issues can also be treated effectively by conducting problem-solving processes and RCAs(although the main focus of this article and this volume is on materials failure analysIs)System design and specification responsibility Component manufacturer's responsibility Shipping and storage responsibility Installation responsibility Operations and maintenance responsibility Distress damage or failed components Unsatisfactory soil data Liquid ingestion Inadequate liquid drain Design error tight Poor alignment Imbalance Inadequate bearing contact Inadequate testing Welding error Improper surface finish Improper fit General poor workmanship Assembly after maintenance Mechanical damage Parts in wrong Parts omitted Misalignment Improper bolting Imbalance Piping stress Foreign material left in Wrong material of construction Preventive maintenance Postponed Schedule too long Requirements for Effective RCA. Performing an effective RCA requires an interdisciplinary approach in order to ensure that the results are correct and proper corrective actions are identified. In fact, most failures involve factors that spread across many disciplines such as metallurgy, mechanical engineering, hydraulics, electrical engineering, quality control, operations, maintenance, human factors, and others. The analysis team on a complex failure will ideally represent a spectrum of expertise to ensure a very broad perspective. The best analysis team leader must be a good communicator, have a broad background, be able to integrate factors, and be able to select the best expertise for the project. On less complex failures it is often beneficial to have an individual with a diverse background participate in addition to the specialists, once again to ensure a broader perspective. For example, a metallurgist may be more likely to report a metallurgical deficiency in a product that contributed to the failure, a fabricator is more likely to point to fabrication-related contributors, and a designer is more likely to identify design deficiencies. All of these may be important considerations, but one, all, or none may be a primary root cause. Problems related to people, procedures, environmental concerns, and other issues can also be treated effectively by conducting problem-solving processes and RCAs (although the main focus of this article and this Volume is on materials failure analysis)