What is the aim of root-cause analysis during incident investigations?

• A. To assign blame to individuals
• B. To identify systemic causes and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence
• C. To document incident for archives only
• D. To determine penalties for staff

Answer: (B)

The aim of root-cause analysis in incident investigations is to uncover underlying systemic factors that allowed an incident to occur and to identify corrective actions that prevent recurrence. This approach looks beyond who did what and focuses on processes, systems, and conditions—such as procedures, training, equipment design, workload, communication, or supervision—so changes can address the problem at its source. By targeting root causes, organizations improve safety and reduce the likelihood of similar incidents happening again. What’s not the goal is to assign blame to individuals, simply document for archives, or impose penalties, as those outcomes do not drive lasting safety improvements.