Fault Tree Analysis
Fault tree analysis (FTA) is a top down, deductive failure analysis in which an undesired state of a system is analyzed using boolean logic to combine a series of lower-level events. This analysis method is mainly used in the field of safety engineering and Reliability engineering to determine the probability of a safety accident or a particular system level (functional) failure.
In Aerospace the more general term "system Failure Condition" is used for the "undesired state" / Top event of the fault tree. These conditions are classified by the severity of their effects. The most severe conditions require the most extensive fault tree analysis. These "system Failure Conditions" and their classification are often previously determined in the functional Hazard analysis.
FTA can be used to:
- understand the logic leading to the top event / undesired state.
- show compliance with the (input) system safety / reliability requirements.
- prioritize the contributors leading to the top event - Creating the Critical Equipment/Parts/Events lists for different importance measures.
- monitor and control the safety performance of the complex system (e.g. Is it still safe to fly an Aircraft if fuel valve x is not "working"? For how long is it allowed to fly with this valve stuck closed?).
- minimize and optimize resources.
- assist in designing a system. The FTA can be used as a design tool that helps to create (output / lower level) requirements.
- function as a diagnostic tool to identify and correct causes of the top event. It can help with the creation of diagnostic manuals / processes.
Read more about Fault Tree Analysis: History, Methodology, Graphic Symbols, Basic Mathematical Foundation, Analysis, Comparison With Other Analytical Methods
Famous quotes containing the words fault, tree and/or analysis:
“Quarrels would never last long, if the fault were on but one side.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)
“A tree is beautiful, but what’s more, it has a right to life; like water, the sun and the stars, it is essential. Life on earth is inconceivable without trees. Forests create climate, climate influences peoples’ character, and so on and so forth. There can be neither civilization nor happiness if forests crash down under the axe, if the climate is harsh and severe, if people are also harsh and severe.... What a terrible future!”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Whatever else American thinkers do, they psychologize, often brilliantly. The trouble is that psychology only takes us so far. The new interest in families has its merits, but it will have done us all a disservice if it turns us away from public issues to private matters. A vision of things that has no room for the inner life is bankrupt, but a psychology without social analysis or politics is both powerless and very lonely.”
—Joseph Featherstone (20th century)