Thank you to everyone who attended 2021 Advanced Pre-Summit Courses! We are confirming courses for 2022 and will update this page soon.

Advanced Pre-Summit Courses

2-Day – June 14-15, 2021
3-Day – June 13-15, 2021

In-Person ONLY Courses

• 2-Day TapRooT^® Root Cause Analysis Training

Virtual ONLY Courses

• 3-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Training (Sunday – Tuesday)
• 2-Day Risk Management – Best Practices & ROBT Risk & Opportunity Based Thinking Training 
• 2-Day TapRooT® Evidence Collection and Interviewing Techniques to Sharpen Investigation Skills Training
• 2-Day Best Practices in Mistake Proofing & Corrective Actions Writing Training

Courses Either In-Person OR Virtual

• 2-Day Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis Training
• 2-Day Stopping Human Error Course
• 2-Day Getting the Most from Your TapRooT® Software Course

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TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Training (In-person)

The 2-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Course focuses on the essential TapRooT® techniques needed to investigate a precursor incident. The 5-Step investigation process simplifies TapRooT® to make the investigation efficient yet effective. The training focuses on understanding what happened, identifying Causal Factors, analyzing the Causal Factors using the Root Cause Tree®, and developing effective fixes using the Corrective Action Helper® Module.

Attendees should bring safety incidents or quality issues from their facility for a team exercise. These may be either written reports or they may have knowledge of an incident with no written report. We divide into teams of 2-4 people and have each team analyze a different problem during the course.

Course materials we provide:

• TapRooT® Essentials Book
• Laminated TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®
• TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary
• Course Workbook
• Corrective Action Helper® Guide

Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-Day Subscription to TapRooT® VI, our dynamic online software that guides you through the TapRooT® process with ease and efficiency.

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3-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Training (Virtual) (Sunday – Tuesday)

We researched the best virtual platforms and techniques to make virtual courses more interactive and tested and revised the course in conjunction with major corporations to make this training better than any other virtual root cause analysis course.

The 3-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Course focuses on the essential TapRooT® Techniques needed to investigate precursor incidents. The 5-Step investigation process simplifies the TapRooT® System to make the investigation efficient yet effective. The training focuses on understanding what happened, identifying Causal Factors, analyzing the Causal Factors using the Root Cause Tree®, and developing effective fixes using the Corrective Action Helper® Guide.

Attendees should bring an incident from their facility for a team exercise. These may be either written reports or they may have knowledge of an incident with no written report. We divide into teams of 2-4 people and have each team analyze a different problem during the course.

Course Outline

Day One (9:00 am to 4:00 pm with a 1-hour lunch)

• Class Introductions and TapRooT® Introduction
• TapRooT® System Overview – What You’ll Be Learning
• SnapCharT^® Basics – Gathering Information
• LUNCH (1-hour)
• SnapCharT® Exercise – Practice
• Causal Factors – Identifying the Errors

Day Two (9:00 am to 4:00 pm with a 1-hour lunch)

• Root Cause Tree® – Eliminating Blame
• Root Cause Analysis Team Exercise
• Lunch (1-hour)
• Corrective Actions (The Corrective Action Helper®)
• Generic Causes

Day Three (9:00 am to 4:00 pm with a 1-hour lunch)

• Putting It All Together
• Reporting – The Management Presentation
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Lunch (1-Hour)
• Final Exercise – Putting to Work What You Have Learned
• Final Exercise Management Presentation

Learning Environment

The course will be given virtually using an online teaching platform. However, this will be a very interactive course. Each student must have their own computer, with a webcam on during the class, allowing them to see the instructor and interact with the class. There will be continuous opportunities for participation, with plenty of breaks to keep everyone engaged. Team exercises will be completed throughout the course and will utilize cloud-based TapRooT® Software.

Course Materials

1. TapRooT® Essentials Book
2. Laminated TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®
3. TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary
4. Course Workbook
5. Corrective Action Helper® Guide

Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-Day Subscription to TapRooT® Personal Software, our dynamic online software that guides you through the TapRooT® Process with ease and efficiency.

Post-Course Investigation Coaching

After the course is complete, the student can schedule an approximately 30-minute long review of their first application of the TapRooT® System to investigate an incident or to perform an audit.

A TapRooT® Expert (probably their instructor) will review the student’s SnapCharT®, Causal Factors, root causes (use of the Root Cause Tree®, and corrective actions (use of the Corrective Action Helper®). The student can ask questions and will receive advice to improve the future use of the TapRooT® System in investigations.

We have found that this review and coaching is very valuable and provides one more virtual face-to-face learning opportunity after the information from the course has been allowed to sink in and then be applied in a real-world situation.

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Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis (In-person or Virtual)

Do you need to efficiently and effectively find the root causes of equipment failures to improve your facility’s equipment reliability? Imagine the downtime prevented and money saved NOT having repeat equipment failures. If this sounds interesting (and worthwhile), then this completely revised course is for you.

The Equifactor® Techniques are based on the work of noted equipment reliability expert Heinz Bloch.

In two days, you will learn how to use Equifactor® to troubleshoot equipment issues and find out what is leading to failures. Then you will learn to use the TapRooT® System to organize the information you collect, identify the Causal Factors of the failure, and find the fixable root causes of the failure. Finally, you will learn to develop effective fixes to stop future equipment failures.

The tools you will learn include:

• Equifactor® Troubleshooting Tables – a systematic guide to troubleshooting common equipment problems.
• SnapCharT® Diagram – visualize and organize the information you collect to make what happened understandable.
• Root Cause Tree® Diagram and Dictionary – find the real, fixable root causes of human performance and equipment issues.
• Corrective Action Helper® Module – provides suggested corrective actions to help you develop effective fixes.
• Safeguard Analysis – helps define Causal Factors and develop effective corrective actions.
• Change Analysis – collect and understand information about problems caused by changes or differences in system, equipment, or people.

The tools can be used by maintenance personnel, equipment reliability specialists, maintenance managers, or investigators who don’t have an extensive understanding of equipment engineering.

In addition, the Equifactor® Techniques can be used to develop proactive equipment performance improvement initiatives and equipment troubleshooting procedures.

Course Outline

Day One

• Introductions
• Understanding What Happened – SnapCharT^® Basics
• SnapCharT^® Exercise
• Collecting Information
• Failure Modes and Failure Agents
• Equifactor® Troubleshooting Tables
• Human Errors
• Process Troubleshooting
• Example: Troubleshooting a Seawater Pump

Day Two

• TapRooT®/Equifactor® Software Introduction
• Identifying Causal Factors
• Introduction to the Root Cause Tree®
• Exercise: Walking Through the Root Cause Tree®
• Exercise: Teams Find Root Causes Using the Root Cause Tree®
• Change Analysis
• Change Analysis Exercise
• Final Exercise: Solving a Major Equipment Issue

The course materials include the book, Using Equifactor® Troubleshooting Tools and TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to Improve Equipment Reliability, a TapRooT® Root Cause Tree®, the Root Cause Tree® Dictionary, and the Corrective Action Helper® Guide, a $129 value. The book includes a complete set of Heinz Bloch’s troubleshooting tables.

Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-day subscription to TapRooT® VI Software, our dynamic cloud-based software that computerizes the Equifactor® and TapRooT® Techniques.

REGISTER FOR THIS COURSE AND THE GLOBAL TAPROOT® SUMMIT

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Risk Management – Best Practices & ROBT Risk & Opportunity Based Thinking (Virtual)

In all your HSEQ risk domains and management Systems – are you frustrated that the outcomes of your current risk assessments performed in your organization lack consistency, confidence, reliability, and accuracy?

Do you & your facilitators and participants of risk assessments have the knowledge & skills to use the most effective RA methods and tools?

For 2021 Pre-Summit training, we are pleased to be able to offer this year the highly successful Risk & Opportunity Management Course in a virtual small group real-time format. This course is a live participative learning experience with interactive engagement by discussion, group & individual exercises & quizzes taught by an experienced Risk Management expert. As such participant numbers are restricted to a maximum of 16.

With ZOOM breakout rooms of 4 participants each.

Risk & Opportunity Based Thinking ROBT & Risk & Opportunity Assessments R&OA are strongly promoted by the latest versions of ISO 31000 / ISO 45001 / ANSI Z10 / ISO 14001 / ISO 9001 / ANSI Z590.3 as definitely needed in each and every R&O-informed decision-making process.

ROBT and R&OA need to be applied in all aspects of your business without being confused and undermined by subjective beliefs, biases and risk perceptions.

The course has been continually improved. It still covers the core Best Practices that have made facilitation and participation in R&O assessments as accurate and reliable as possible. Improvements include:

• updates to Standards ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31000:2018 – RM Guidelines and IEC/ISO 31010:2019 Risk Assessment Techniques
• an interactive WORD template that takes the user through the R&OA process and when completed serves as a diligent entry to your R&O Register or R&O Dashboard;
• new emphasis on Risk & Opportunity Conversations ROC Talk as part of important Communication & Consultation processes needed in better HSEQ management.
• neuroscience-based explanations of the variability of an individual’s R&O perceptions and risk-taking; and
• each participant receives free use [ with attribution] all files of course handouts, copies of all slides, useful reference materials, and sample PPTX / PDF files accumulated and developed by the presenter over the last 30+ years of HSEQ Risk Management consultancy & training.

The presenter is Australian Jim Whiting, an international risk management expert, and long-time TapRooT® Instructor, who demonstrates that a SnapCharT® can be used for graphical representation of a R&O Scenario Maps. The course is facilitated in a participative workshop format.

Jim brings his risk management and root cause analysis experience and best practices from around the world (Australia, North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe) to this course. If you are interested in advancing the quality of your risk assessments in ALL risk domains, but particularly HSEQ, then attend and profit from this course.

Course Outline

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Getting the Most from Your TapRooT® Software (Virtual or In-Person)

To get the most from your TapRooT® VI Software you need to learn how to:

• Create your own Custom Tabs, fields, and pick lists.
• Design and build your own reports.
• Select Global preferences for your company, including Language options.
• Select SnapCharT® preferences for yourself.
• Use Optional investigation techniques.

Because the TapRooT® Software is constantly updated and this course brings you the latest information about the software, you could say this course is new every year!

Angie Comer, Software Project Manager, and Dan Verlinde, Vice President of Information Technology and Software Development will teach an in-depth look at the TapRooT® VI Software. Whether you are a System Administrator or a TapRooT® User, you will learn all the capabilities built into this amazing software. Don’t get just 10-20% of your software investment. Learn the full power of your TapRooT® Software!

Course Guarantee: Attend this course then use the knowledge that you’ve gained when you return to your facility. If you aren’t satisfied that the course helps you perform your job better and that the course will save you much more than the cost of the course fee, just return the books, course materials, and/or software and we will refund your entire course fee. It’s that simple. How can we offer such an iron-clad, risk-free guarantee? We know this course is so good that you won’t want to send your materials back! Please bring your laptop to this course (with wireless capabilities, if possible).

Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-Day Subscription to TapRooT® VI, our dynamic online software that guides you through the TapRooT® process with ease and efficiency.

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TapRooT® Evidence Collection and Interviewing Techniques to Sharpen Investigation Skills (Virtual)

If you don’t have reliable information supporting the facts on your SnapCharT®, you may miss root causes. This course helps investigators perform better interviews and collect more accurate evidence.

Barb Carr, Instructor

Learn the answer to these questions and advanced techniques to gather evidence and perform cognitive interviews. These advanced techniques will improve your investigations by avoiding many common problems that plague investigators.

There is so much to remember during evidence collection … and so much to lose if you are not prepared.

• Ever have trouble completing a sequence of events on a SnapCharT® because you lacked pieces of information?
• How can you remember what to collect?
• What is an effective structure for conducting an investigation interview?
• How do you help witnesses to an incident remember important facts with better accuracy during an investigative interview?
• What is the best way to handle the challenges of preservation and contamination of evidence?

Course Agenda

Day 1

Intro & Skills Inventory

Preplanning & Evidence Collection

Scene Management

Evidence Collection & the TapRooT® Investigation Processes

Prepare for an Initial Site Visit: the Planning SnapCharT®

TapRooT® Root Cause Tree & Dictionary for Evidence Collection

Day 2

Critical Human Action Profile

Active Listening Skills

Emotional Intelligence

Decoding Nonverbal Behavior

Effective Interviewing for Incident Investigations

Course materials include the book, TapRoot® Evidence Collection and Interviewing Techniques to Sharpen Investigation Skills and the Book 4 Set: TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Major Investigations

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Stopping Human Error (In-person and Virtual)

• Do you want to achieve excellent human performance?
• Would you like to understand the methods you can apply to effectively stop major accidents and incidents by “stopping” human error?
• Do you need to understand what are the most effective human performance improvement techniques and which ones are counterproductive (yes, some techniques really don’t work)?

If any of the above questions received a “Yes!” for an answer, you should attend this course.

Mark Paradies, human factors expert and Board Certified Ergonomist (certificate #85) and Alex Paradies, experienced TapRooT® Instructor and Lean Transformation leader, will help you understand:

• The causes of human error
• Human factors design best practices
• Methods to find error likely situations
• CHAP
• Human Performance improvement Technology
• Designing your human performance improvement program.

Here is the course outline…

Course Outline

Day 1 (8:00am to 5:00pm)

• Foundations of Improving Human Performance
• Resilience and Safeguards
• Using TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis for Reactive Problem Analysis
• Using TapRooT® Human Performance Best Practices Proactively
  • Human Engineering
  • Procedures
  • Training
  • Communications
  • Management System
  • Work Direction
  • Quality Control
• Stopping Normalization of Deviation
• Pre-Job Hazard Analysis
• Pre-Job Briefs
• Personal Safety Assessment

Day 2 (8:00am to 5:00pm)

• Applying Critical Human Action Profile Proactively
• Human Performance Improvement Technology
  • Procedure Use/Adherence
  • Place Keeping
  • Independent Verification
  • Three-Way Communication
  • Pre-Job Brief
  • Personal Safety Assessment
  • Observation and Coaching
  • Post-Job Brief
  • Concurrent Verification
  • Questioning Attitude
  • Stop-Think-Act-Review
  • Time Out
  • Attention to Detail
  • Management of Change
  • Error Traps and Precursors
  • Validate Assumptions
  • Do Not Disturb Sign
  • Conservative Decision Making
• Admiral Rickover and “Facing the Facts”
• Which Tools Will Work Best for You?
• Sample Plan/Suggested Plan
• Customizing Your Plan
• Present Your Plan, Benchmarking, and Feedback

You will leave this course with a clear understanding of methods to improve human performance and a plan to apply those methods at your company to achieve great gains in safety, quality, or operational and maintenance performance (all of which depend on human performance).

Participants will also receive the new book, Stopping Human Error, a $99.95 value, as part of the course materials. in addition, participants will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-day subscription to TapRooT® VI Software, our dynamic cloud-based software that computerizes the Equifactor® and TapRooT® Techniques.

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Best Practices in Mistake Proofing & Corrective Action Writing (Virtual)

Kevin McManus, Chief Excellence Officer for Great Systems!, experienced TapRooT® Instructor, and member of the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Award Judge’s Panel can help you learn how to mistake-proof performance and write more effective corrective actions. Kevin has taught more than 400 TapRooT® Courses as an international contract trainer. During his almost forty years in the business world, Kevin has served as an Industrial Engineer, Training Manager, Production Manager, Plant Manager, and Director of Quality. He holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and an MBA.

Why attend this course? Ask these questions:

• How effective are the safeguards and countermeasures you use to minimize errors and risk potential each day?
• How often do the corrective actions you put in place fail to keep problems from coming back, again and again?
• Would you like to learn techniques for measuring and improving Safeguard and barrier effectiveness?

If you are looking to reduce the potential for daily process errors, and in turn, risk potential, this workshop is for you. If you have attended the TapRooT® 2-Day or 5-Day course, the workshop concepts and tools will help you write more effective corrective actions to address the root causes that you have identified. The workshop content and exercises will also help you leverage the power of those ‘Needs Improvement’ (NI) root causes that you might have selected.

This workshop also explores the common types of work processes and tool design flaws that contribute to human error, including fixes that fail. From a reactive improvement perspective, it gives you a coach and a practice field for learning to write more effective and sustainable corrective and preventive actions. If you want to proactively reduce the potential for errors and failures, this workshop gives you many best practices and assessment tools that can be used to improve safeguard effectiveness and ‘mistake-proof’ your workplace.

All two-day course participants will receive a 180-page, full-color, course workbook and a copy of the facilitator’s book, “Error Proof – How to Stop Daily Goofs for Good.”

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

• Use best practice approaches for mistake-proofing job tasks of any type
• Proactively identify and analyze error and risk potential in a systematic manner
• Better utilize the 32 TapRooT® NI root causes through benchmarking and best practice exploration
• Assess the relative strength of different corrective action and safeguard options
• Write effective corrective and preventive actions that add value, reduce risk potential, and can be sustained over time
• Capture and use process-level error rates as leading indicators of potential risk levels and corrective action effectiveness

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