Guideline for regulatory agencies in evaluating contents of root cause analysis by operators

'Guideline for Regulatory Agencies in Evaluating Contents of Root Cause Analysis by Operators' was enacted as the policy for a new inspection system in Japan. The objective is to indicate the viewpoint to verify the appropriateness of the corrective and preventive actions implemented by operators based on root cause analysis and its analysis results. This guideline leads to taking four points into special consideration for adequate application. They are encouragement of further activities of operators, flexible interpretation of the intention, versatility of analysis methods and concepts, and consideration of no blame culture. Moreover, a viewpoint for regulatory agencies indicates with special emphasis that neutrality of the analyzing party, objectivity of analysis results, and logicality of the analysis method used are ensured. This guide-line shall be continuously reviewed through integration of lessons learned from active use in the future. (author)