Cause Mapping - Root Cause Analysis

Cause Mapping - Root Cause Analysis Using evidence-based cause-and-effect analysis, ThinkReliability helps individuals and organizations

An Air Canada regional jet recently collided with a fire and rescue truck on runway 4 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.In...
03/24/2026

An Air Canada regional jet recently collided with a fire and rescue truck on runway 4 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Initial reports show that 41 people were taken to the hospital and the 2 pilots have sadly passed.

A brief description is shown in the Cause Map™ diagram below. We will have a more detailed update when additional information is released and verified.

We appreciated the opportunity to spend time at the NAES Safe Conference this year.Between Mark Galley’s presentation an...
02/06/2026

We appreciated the opportunity to spend time at the NAES Safe Conference this year.

Between Mark Galley’s presentation and the conversations at our booth, there were many thoughtful discussions around investigations that drive real change. Many attendees shared their experience using our visual diagrams to document multiple perspectives and encourage productive conversation.

We enjoyed hearing the results from teams applying Cause Mapping® lessons to their investigations.

Big thank you to NAES for hosting a well‑run event and for the continued partnership. We appreciate the opportunity to engage with teams across many sites who are committed to building safe and reliable processes.

Last week, we asked what type of control a seat belt is. These results might look like they reflect a heated debate but ...
12/17/2025

Last week, we asked what type of control a seat belt is.
These results might look like they reflect a heated debate but the comments tell a different story.

People weren’t really disagreeing. They were describing different attributes of the same control:
- Wearing the seat belt
- The engineering design of the seat belt,
- The reminder to “always wear your seat belt.”

The takeaway isn’t which category is “right.” It’s that categorizing controls can get in the way of accurately describing how they work.

We'd love to hear your experience with using the Hierarchy of Controls to evaluate solutions in your investigations. Where has it helped? Where has it led you astray? We'll kick it off with some of our experience in the comments.

Only 500 meters. About the length of two Titanics placed nose to nose.That's all that separates the wreckage of the Tita...
10/09/2025

Only 500 meters. About the length of two Titanics placed nose to nose.

That's all that separates the wreckage of the Titanic and the Titan submersible.

It's no coincidence they ended their journeys so close to each other—the Titan was built to explore the Titanic but became part of the same story.

In our latest blog, we trace the cause-and-effect connections linking the two wrecks—and the lessons both still teach about risk, overconfidence, and learning from failure.

Read the full story in the comments.

10/06/2025

Human error. Equipment failure.

They’re common labels in investigations—but do they really explain what happened?

In his latest article on the ThinkReliability blog, Aaron Cross explains how these labels can limit an investigation—and how asking "How?" questions helps you dig deeper and find real answers.

Link in the comments.

09/26/2025

Some say it makes their spreadsheets cleaner.
Others say it’s the fastest way to break formatting and cause frustration.

We’re talking about Excel’s Merge & Center feature.
Love it or hate it, most people have an opinion.

How do you feel about it?

09/23/2025

🛑 A Hand Injury Every 32 Seconds
In the time it takes to read this, someone has likely suffered from this common issue.

How do we prevent this from happening?

It's easy to blame a single factor: a tool, a slip, or human error.

But to significantly reduce the risk of recurring incidents, we need to look at the system of causes. Understanding how these causes interact is hugely beneficial for preventing them from happening again.

09/19/2025

Everyone has a go-to chart in Excel.
Some are tried-and-true classics, while others fit specific types of data

- Column/Bar – Best for quick comparisons
- Line – Perfect for trends over time
- Pie – Still popular for showing proportions
- Combo (Column + Line) – Handy for dashboards and reports
- Scatter – Essential in technical/engineering work

Which one do you find yourself using the most?
Let us know in the comments!

Ever wrapped up an investigation only to realize… We didn’t capture the full story?It happens more often than you think....
09/18/2025

Ever wrapped up an investigation only to realize… We didn’t capture the full story?
It happens more often than you think. But it doesn’t have to.

We visualize the causes of an incident so you can move past “the cause” to the system of causes underneath.

Sometimes a quick, simple investigation is enough.
But when simplicity hides great solutions, expanding your analysis makes all the difference.

Explore how a Titanic-sized incident went from one “cause” to over 100, and what that means for solving everyday problems.

09/16/2025

Stop judging a 5-Why on its size.
Accuracy, not length, is what makes your analysis valuable.

A Cause Map™ diagram doesn’t need to be huge. What matters is whether it accurately shows how the causes created the impact.

As shown in this video, when a map is accurate, it seamlessly expands and connects with others to create a more thorough and complete explanation.

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