Physical, Human, and Latent Causes Defined

When leading an LCA, the Principal Investigator might be working with people that do not know the definitions of Physical, Human, and Latent Causes. The following definitions are to be adhered-to when doing a Latent Cause Analysis. It is suggested to enlarge this slide and hang it on the wall of your meeting room for everyone to see.

The most misunderstood of these definitions are the Human Causes. Human Causes, as defined by Failsafe, are those actions or inactions that occur at the interface between the human being and the physical system. People talking with one another, or thinking inappropriate things, or writing the wrong procedures, or providing inadequate training are NOT Human Causes. These kinds of issues will be discovered and dealt-with when probing for Latent Causes.

Download Definitions Page (414 KB PPT)

Go Page Materials

• Main

• Definitions

• Guiding Beliefs

• Basic Principles

• ROOTS Flowchart

• Elements of the ROOTS Process

• Detailed Checklist to Conduct an Analysis

• Accountability Contract 

• The Five Items

• Example of an Actual Go-Box

• Interview Guidelines

• Stakeholder Preparation Slides

• Stakeholder Meeting Agenda Slides

• Golden Rule of a Latent Cause Analysis

• Situation-Filter-Outcome (SFO) Model

• Physical, Human, and Latent Causes Defined

• Schematic of Physical, Human, and Latent Causes

• LCA Worksheet Template

• LCA Report Template

• Mother-Source-Scoring Sheets

• Failsafe's Recommended Practice

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