[en] This paper presents a critical review of a recently proposed procedure for a quantitative common cause failure analysis (CCF). Limitations of the methodology, resulting from the quality of the data base, and the lack of guidance for event interpretation, are highlighted. It is suggested that a more detailed understanding of the characteristics of common cause failure mechanisms would be advantageous to understanding vulnerabilities to CCFs. It is recognized that progress in improving the estimates of common cause failure probabilities will, in the short term, be limited. Therefore a review process, based on the assessment of the adequacy of the defensive strategy in place at a plant is proposed as a supplement to the current approach based on a review of historical events, to identify, in a more complete fashion, potential CCF mechanisms