TABLE OF CONTENTS Cause and effect tree analysis (described in detail in Appendix B) is a good analysis technique for equipment-, machinery-, and software-oriented problems. Its structure works very well when dealing with the structured behavior of the equipment and software. However, cause and effect trees have one major drawback: they do not show the relative timing of events.
Timing is usually important when people are involved in incidents. It is also important in most safety and environmental incidents. Timelines are the simplest technique to specifically address the timing of events; In Appendix D, a more advanced version of a timeline, called a causal factor chart, will be examined. Unlike simple timelines, causal factor charts not only address the timing of events; they also incorporate some of the logic associated with cause and effect trees.
Timelines establish the relative timing of events and set the time frame of interest for the incident. On timelines, data are typically sorted according to the actors (i.e., people, equipment, and parameters) involved in the incident.
Like cause and effect tree analysis, timelines help investigators gather all of the data needed to identify causal factors (CFs) and items of note (IONs). Typically, timelines are constructed using the following process:
Identify the loss event
Identify the key actors (i.e., people, parameters, and equipment)
Develop the timeline of events for each actor
Identify the causal factors and items of note
Timelines are developed using many of the same steps associated with developing causal factor...
