Root Cause Analysis References: Do you have the latest books?

Root Cause Analysis Reference Set – 10 Volumes

Did you know the latest, greatest references for advanced root cause analysis?

In 2020, we completed the last two books in the 10-book TapRooT® Book set.

This article will provide a history of the TapRooT® reference books, an overview of each book, a link for more information about each book, and the reason why you should get the complete reference set if you are still using the old, historical references.

Times They Are A-Changin’

I was talking to a TapRooT® User recently, and he told me I had trained him way back in 1997. He explained with pride that he still had and used the TapRooT® Manual that came with the course (shown below).

I thought, “That’s great,” but I asked:

“Of course, you have the updated books
that we have published over the years, right?”

He answered, “No,” and asked:

“What are the updated books?”

I answered that in 2000, we published our first hardback book – TapRooT® The System for Root Cause Analysis, Problem Investigation, and Proactive Improvement – that had a great deal of new information plus a new Root Cause Tree® Diagram, an improved Root Cause Tree® Dictionary, and the first Corrective Action Helper® Guide. I called it “the green book.” A picture of my personal beat-up copy with almost 20 years of wear is shown below.

But that root cause analysis reference is now outdated.

I went on to explain that the green book was the state of the art until 2008, when we published our second hardback book titled TapRooT® – Changing the Way the World Solves Problems. We included even more information in that book and, once again, updated the tree, dictionary, and Corrective Action Helper® Guide. I called that root cause analysis reference “the black book.” Once again, my personal copy is shown below. (Damaged, but not quite as worn.)

I told him that I thought that might be the last TapRooT® Book that I ever wrote because it was so complete. But, by 2014, we had continued researching how to make investigations and root cause analysis even better. The new information we had learned had to be documented in a new root cause analysis reference. Therefore, we started working on the next set of books that made the black book outdated. It took us six years to complete the set.

New SET of Books

You read that right. A new SET of reference books that took six years to finish.

We decided that putting all the information in one book was just too much. Nobody would start to read a book that long in one sitting.

We concluded that we should approach the project more like a root cause analysis reference set. Everything that a TapRooT® User would need to know in one complete root cause analysis reference set of books.

We intentionally kept each book short to make it readable.

I told him that I KNEW that he needed the complete 10-book root cause analysis reference set.

Why would he need this new root cause analysis reference set of books? Because the new information in those books would help anyone:

• Save lives
• Prevent injuries
• Improve quality
• Stop repeat equipment failures
• Save companies money
• Reduce the common practice of blaming people for mistakes beyond their control
• Stop needless deaths in hospitals (improve patient safety)
• Improve the trending of incidents and measurement of improvements
• Help people understand how to use root cause analysis proactively
• Share new ways to quickly use TapRooT® to investigate low-to-medium risk incidents and thereby stop major accidents
• Provide a better understanding of the theory and research behind TapRoot® Root Cause Analysis
• Provide the information needed to implement an excellent TapRooT® Performance Improvement Program

Also, if he ordered the complete 10-book root cause analysis reference set, he could save money (see the ordering information at the end of this article).

NOW, if any of those topics listed above seem like something YOU need to know about, then you, too, need the 10-book root cause analysis reference set (shown below) to revolutionize your improvement efforts.

Read on for more information about the content in each book and to find out how to order them individually or how to save by ordering the complete set.

Overview of Books 1-10 – The Root Cause Analysis Reference Set

Here are the titles and authors of the ten new books in the set.

1. TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Leadership Lessons – Mark Paradies & Linda Unger
2. TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Implementation – Mark Paradies & Linda Unger
3. Using the Essential TapRooT® Techniques to Investigate Low-to-Medium Risk Incidents – Mark Paradies & Linda Unger
4. TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Major Investigations – Mark Paradies & Linda Unger
5. Using Equifactor® Troubleshooting Tools and TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to Improve Equipment Reliability – Ken Reed & Mark Paradies
6. TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Audits and Proactive Performance Improvement – Mark Paradies, Linda Unger, & David Janney
7. TapRooT® Evidence Collection and Interviewing Techniques to Sharpen Investigation Skills – Barb Carr & Mark Paradies
8. Performance Measures and Trending for Safety, Quality, and Business Management – Mark Paradies
9. Improving Patient Safety with TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis – Ken Turnbull & Mark Paradies
10. Stopping Human Error – Mark Paradies

For more information about the authors, CLICK HERE.

The following are quick overviews of each book in the 10-book root cause analysis reference set…

Book 1

Until Book 1: TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Leadership Lessons was written, we really didn’t have a book that explained the concepts of TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to management. Now, we have produced a book that is just 70 pages long – perfect for management reading. (Think of it as a bedtime story for management.) When management asks what they need to know about TapRooT®, Book 1 is the place to start their enlightenment.

Of course, we would like leaders to learn much more about root cause analysis for their leadership tool kit, but Book 1 is a great start. It helps managers understand the philosophy and design of TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis and how it helps them improve safety, quality, productivity, and environmental compliance.

To order just Book 1, use this link: ORDER BOOK 1.

Book 2

Book 2: TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Implementation is for management and those in charge of any improvement program. It explains how TapRooT® can be used to improve an already existing improvement program or how it can be used to develop a completely new program.

Making this a separate book (89 pages long) helps the right people get the right information to make their improvement program much more effective. The ideas aren’t buried in a longer book. You get just what you need for implementation.

What’s in the book?

• The “Just Do It!” method of implementation.
• How to add TapRooT® Root Cause analysis to an existing 6 Sigma, Lean, 8-D, Process Safety, Behavior-Based Safety, or another improvement initiative.
• Building a best-in-class improvement program.
• A checklist to evaluate your improvement program and re-check it each year.

If you are serious about improvement and in charge of a program to make improvement happen … you need this book. Order just Book 2 by clicking HERE.

Books 3 & 4

Above is the Investigation book set. It includes:

• Using the Essential TapRooT® Techniques to Investigate Low-to-Medium Risk Incidents
• Using TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Major Investigations
• TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®
• TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary
• TapRooT® Corrective Action Helper® Guide

These are the books that cover using TapRooT® RCA to find the root causes of everything from small/minor incidents to major accidents.

How are they an improvement over the older 2008 TapRooT® Book? Well … we took everything we have learned in the last eight years and used it to improve our documentation. And the first thing we learned is … LESS IS MORE. That’s why we broke the books up into separate topics. You can just read what is applicable to what you are doing. But how specifically is the investigation set improved over the old book?

• Book 3, The Essentials Book, is an easy read (only 100 pages long). It guides you through a new EASY-TO-USE 5-Step Process that makes TapRooT® easy to use for simple investigations. This is something that users have been requesting for over a decade. Well, we finally figured out how to do it. And it works great to make TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis FAST and SIMPLE.
• The Major Investigations Book explains the whole TapRooT® System and includes the traditional 7-Step Investigation Process. The book includes improved TapRooT® Techniques with detailed examples of each technique. It provides the information you need to tackle major investigations.
• The set includes the latest Root Cause Tree® and Dictionary that make the system even better with improved definitions in the Dictionary and a new category (language) in the Communication Basic Cause Category.
• The set includes the updated Corrective Action Helper® Guide with even more references.
• The set also references the latest TapRooT® Software (Version VI).

The ideas we have for FAST/SIMPLE low-to-medium risk investigations make it worth buying the new set.

For more info about Book 3, CLICK HERE.

For more about Book 4, CLICK HERE.

To buy this set ONLY, CLICK HERE.

Book 5

If you are interested in equipment troubleshooting and the root causes of equipment failures, this is the book for you.

Book 5: Using Equifactor® Trouble Shooting and TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to Improve Equipment Reliability, explains how to use TapRooT® and Equifactor® to solve equipment problems and improve equipment reliability. The new book explains the techniques and includes paper versions of Heinz Bloch’s equipment troubleshooting tables (also included in the TapRooT® VI Software). Thus, Book 5 is a handy reference. When Book 5 is sold separately, it comes with the Root Cause Tree® Diagram, the Root Cause Tree® Dictionary, and the Corrective Action Helper® Guide (as shown above).

For more information about Book 5, CLICK HERE.

To order Book 5 ONLY, CLICK HERE.

Book 6

Book 6: TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Audits and Proactive Performance Improvement explains how to build TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis into your audit and proactive improvement programs. It’s only 57 pages long and is a great complement to Books 3 and 4.

It describes the 7-Step Process for using TapRooT® for an audit. The book also explains how to build TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis into your other proactive improvement efforts.

When you order the book HERE, you will also get the latest:

• TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®
• TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary
• TapRooT® Corrective Action Helper® Guide

What’s new in Book 6? It has the latest information about using TapRooT® to audit performance. It can be used for safety or quality audits. And it’s a very fast read.

For more information about Book 6, CLICK HERE.

Book 7

Book 7: TapRooT® Evidence Collection and Interviewing Techniques to Sharpen Investigation Skills is all about evidence and information collection. We’ve never had a book specifically about this topic before. In the past, you had to find some of the information buried in the old 2008 TapRooT® Book. Now we provide even more information in these 101 pages.

But this book is more than just a rehash of information about interviewing and evidence collection. It has advanced concepts and best practices. In addition to information about planning your evidence collection, emergency response and scene management, and the TapRooT® investigation process, it includes:

• The 3 Ps and an R of evidence collection. (People, Paper, Physical, and Recordings)
• The TapRooT® 12-Step Interview Process (Cognitive Interviewing)
• Decoding non-verbal behavior
• Building your investigation kit
• An initial observation form
• An interview preparation form
• An evidence log
• How to use Change Analysis and CHAP as part of an interview/evidence collection process

That’s a lot to pack into 101 pages!

For more information about this book, CLICK HERE.

To ONLY buy this book, CLICK HERE.

Book 8

Book 8: TapRooT® Performance Measures and Trending for Safety, Quality, and Business Management explains the state-of-the-art in performance measurement and trending.

If you have ever wondered how you can prove that you have improved or if a “negative” trend is actually significant, this is the book for you.

In addition, the book explains what management should know about trends. This information can keep them from being misled by false trends. The book explains how to use trends to manage performance.

The math involved isn’t complicated, but it is beyond some of the common “trending” graphs that you may be familiar with.

For more information about this book, CLICK HERE.

If you don’t have this trending book but need to keep up with the latest in trending, order it by itself by CLICKING HERE.

Book 9

Book 9: Improve Patient Safety with TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis was written specifically for patient safety professionals and people investigating Hospital Sentinel Events.

The book contains healthcare examples and a special Root Cause Tree® Dictionary written with healthcare-specific terminology.

Want to learn more about this book set? CLICK HERE.

To order this book by itself, click on the link below…

https://store.taproot.com/taproot-patient-safety-book-set

Book 10

Book 10: Stopping Human Error is probably the most unique book in the entire set. I’ve wanted to write this book for years, but I had to finish the other books first.

Why do I say it is unique? Read the book’s Foreword by CLICKING HERE.

If you:

• think that stopping human error is impossible,
• want to stop human error from causing major accidents, incidents, or quality problems at your facility,
• want to stop human error from causing medical mistakes,
• have a human performance improvement program and you would like to improve it,

… you need to read this book.

In other words, anyone who deals with people and is interested in improving human performance needs to read this book.

For more information about the Stopping Human Error book, CLICK HERE.

To order this book by itself, CLICK HERE.

Save Money When You Buy the Complete Root Cause Analysis Reference Set

If you are convinced that this 10-book root cause analysis reference set will help you excel at your work, here’s the kicker …

You can buy all ten books – the whole root cause analysis reference set – at once and SAVE!

When purchased separately, this set would cost $1019.50. When you buy the complete 10-book root cause analysis reference set, you pay ONLY $795. That’s a savings of $224.50 (over 22%)!

Fill your bookshelf with the knowledge you need to improve performance at your facility. Order the complete 10-book root cause analysis reference set TODAY! How? CLICK HERE!