Were they available, accurate, and easy to follow?
The TapRoot system is built on three core documents:
Did leadership provide the necessary policy enforcement and standards?
Once a year, have your investigation team review five past reports. Open the dictionary PDF together. Discuss: “Did we code this correctly according to the 2025 edition?” This prevents drift. taproot root cause tree dictionary pdf
They pinpoint the specific mistake: "Technician turned Valve A instead of Valve B."
Start at the top categories and follow the paths that apply to the causal factor.
The investigator draws a visual timeline of the events leading up to the valve mistake. Were they available, accurate, and easy to follow
What's in the dictionary
A companion tool that suggests proven fixes for specific dictionary root causes.
Follow the tree to the lowest level (the root cause) based strictly on the dictionary's criteria. Open the dictionary PDF together
Root Cause Tree® Dictionary - Improving Root Cause Analysis
The TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® and its accompanying Dictionary are powerful assets for any organization dedicated to continuous improvement and operational safety. While the physical charts offer an excellent bird's-eye view during team brainstorming sessions, the digital PDF dictionary serves as the ultimate objective source of truth. By strictly adhering to the definitions and questions laid out in the dictionary, investigators can confidently design corrective actions that permanently eliminate repeating failures.
Provides a common language for investigators to ensure consistent results across different incidents.
Procedural Violation – Inadvertent Definition: The individual unintentionally deviated from a required procedure because of poor procedure design, misleading cues, or momentary lapse. Not Clean version: “Operator violated procedure.” (Why? It implies intent without evidence.) Clean version: “Operator took a shortcut because the procedure’s verification step was ambiguous and located on page 27 instead of adjacent to the control.”
: It forces the investigator to rely on evidence rather than personal opinions or assumptions. How the Root Cause Tree® and Dictionary Work Together