Definition
A repeat failure is the recurrence of the same failure mode on the same asset following a previous repair, indicating that the earlier corrective action addressed a symptom rather than the actual root cause. It is a specific recurring-problem pattern, distinct from a bad actor, which is an asset with a poor overall record that may or may not involve any single repeat failure.
Key facts
- Requires the same failure mode to recur on the same specific asset after a prior repair, not just a similar failure on a different asset.
- A strong signal that the previous root cause analysis was incomplete or the corrective action addressed only the symptom.
- Tracking repeat failures specifically (rather than all failures generally) helps validate whether past RCA work was actually effective.
- Distinct from a bad actor, which is an asset with a poor overall record, whether from one repeat failure or from several unrelated issues.
What does Repeat failure reveal about failures?
A repeat failure indicates that a previous repair did not resolve the actual root cause of a problem, since the same failure mode has returned on the same asset: a specific, trackable pattern used to flag where earlier corrective work needs to be revisited with a deeper root cause analysis.
How do teams use Repeat failure in failure analysis?
A repeat failure is a specific recurring problem pattern tied to one failure mode on one asset. A bad actor is the asset itself, identified by an overall poor record across possibly several different, unrelated failure modes: an asset can be a bad actor without any single repeat failure, and a repeat failure can occur on an asset that is not otherwise a bad actor.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When is a failure considered a recurring failure?
When the same failure mode occurs again on the same asset after a previous repair: a strong signal that the earlier corrective action addressed only the symptom rather than the actual root cause.
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