This approach works when searching for risk-raisers or hazards or problems or needs or opportunities for improvement, during predictive analyses or analyses of current operations or past incidents. For convenience, the term "problem" is used for all these terms.

The general approach for finding candidate opportunities for improving future performance (problems, hazards or needs) is to use the Matrix displays to examine one linked event pair or set at a time, until all EBs on the Matrix displays have been studied. The Overlap View allows analysts to study the interactions among overlapping events for possible problems attributable to such overlaps.

For each event pair, set or link, ask yourself questions to determine if the event or relationship may be a problem or constraint in the future, and whether it might need to be changed. With ETBA, start at the beginning of the process. For other techniques, start anywhere, preferably at the end of the process and work backwards, but examine every pair or set on your worksheet.

Energy produces work. Work is required to produces changes during a process. One useful strategy for finding problems is to trace the energies that did the work during the process. The thinking behind this strategy is that energies are controlled during processes by barriers which direct energy flows to where they will do the desired work. When barriers do not achieve this, undesired work may follow. Thus the approach is to look for what energy did in the EB pairs or sets and links. This illustrates the thinking.

Start the ETBA with any energy inputs into the process described on the Matrix, and mentally trace the energy through the process, either as it flows through the process or to where it is converted into work, or into another form of energy. Don't overlook people as energy sources that do work in some cases: physical actions require energy inputs by people. Examining the "barriers" that direct people energies can often be illuminating. The reference below provides a comprehensive list of energies that might be helpful.

Next, identify the barriers or controls that keep the energy flowing where it is desired, and consider where or how it might circumvent, overcome or "breach" each barrier, or where it did so in mishaps.

For more information about this analysis method, click here.

For incident investigations, ask a series of questions to identify undesired actions or relationships compared to expectations:

"Can this event or relationship indicate a need for a change, and if so, why?"

The answer to each question may suggest a problem event or relationship,

• MAGNITUDE: the strength of the influence on the next event, and why did it have that influence;
  
  
• ORIGIN: should that relationship have occurred at all and why did it occur;
  
  
• TIMING: how fast or when it happens or how long it lasts, and why did the timing occur;
  
  
• EFFECTS: who or what it affects and how or when, and why those effects occurred; and
  
  
• LOCATION: where it starts or happens in relation to exposures at risk, and why it occurs there.
  
  

When adding a Diamond, you can record a problem in the Diamond panel, restating it in terms of what needs to get done to eliminate or control it. The wording of your problem statement has the effect of establishing the objective for any subsequent action.