Root Cause Analysis Solver Engine (informally RCASE) is a proprietary

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

developed from research originally at the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. RCASE development commenced in 2003 to provide an automated version of

root cause analysis In science and engineering, root cause analysis (RCA) is a method of problem solving used for identifying the root causes of faults or problems. It is widely used in IT operations, manufacturing, telecommunications, industrial process control, ...

, the method of problem solving that tries to identify the root causes of faults or problems. RCASE is now owned by the spin-out company Warwick Analytics where it is being applied to automated predictive analytics software.

Algorithm

The algorithm has been built from the ground up to be particularly suitable for the following situations: * 'dirty' data * incomplete data * big data * small datasets * complex problems for example multi-modal failure or with more than one solution RCASE is considered to be an innovator in the field of

Predictive analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from data mining, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or otherwise unknown events. In busin ...

and falls within the category of ''

classification algorithms Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood. Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to: Business, organizat ...

''. Because it was built to handle the data types above, it has been proven to have many advantages over other types of classification algorithms and

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

algorithms such as

decision trees A decision tree is a decision support tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility. It is one way to display an algorithm that only contains cond ...

neural networks A neural network is a network or circuit of biological neurons, or, in a modern sense, an artificial neural network, composed of artificial neurons or nodes. Thus, a neural network is either a biological neural network, made up of biological ...

and regression techniques. It does not require

hypotheses A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...

. It has since been commercialised and made available for operating systems such as

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

Teradata Teradata Corporation is an American software company that provides cloud database and analytics-related software, products, and services. The company was formed in 1979 in Brentwood, California, as a collaboration between researchers at Caltech a ...

and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

. RCASE originated from manufacturing and is widely used in applications such as Six Sigma, quality control and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

product design Product design as a verb is to create a new Product (business), product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is ...

and warranty issues. However it is also used in other industries such as

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain mana ...

financial services Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companie ...

and utilities where root cause analysis is required.

Notable applications

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

, the home of Six Sigma, used the research technology behind RCASE to support their quality processes. It was used to eliminate ''No Fault Found'' quality issues for a particular mobile phone model.

Mechanism & architecture

RCASE is non-statistical and thus does not require any

. If the key parameters causing the issue or fault in a process are not present in a

dataset A data set (or dataset) is a collection of data. In the case of tabular data, a data set corresponds to one or more database tables, where every column of a table represents a particular variable, and each row corresponds to a given record of the d ...

, it will still narrow the search space and advise where the root cause may lie. This is a different approach to statistical theories which try to find a

best fit Curve fitting is the process of constructing a curve, or mathematical function, that has the best fit to a series of data points, possibly subject to constraints. Curve fitting can involve either interpolation, where an exact fit to the data is ...

. RCASE is based on optimised combinatorial theory and runs on either a grid cluster or a

high performance High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in-memory database An in-memory database (IMDB, or main memory database system (MMDB) or memory resident database) is a database management system that primarily relies on main memory for computer data storage. It is contrasted with database management systems that e ...

. The software will interface with all MES and ERP systems. The result is a security system monitoring and preventing defective products from being produced. The output from the analysis will be markers that identify either an exact root cause of failure or a parametric region pointing high probability of failure (i.e. data-driven guidance on where to look next to gather data and resolve the root cause exactly). The software can be installed on Linux or Microsoft operating systems and deployed as

On-Premises On- premises software (abbreviated to on-prem, and incorrectly referred to as on-premise) is installed and runs on computers on the premises of the person or organization using the software, rather than at a remote facility such as a server farm ...

Software-as-a-Service Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software. SaaS is cons ...

(“SaaS” or “cloud”).

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Warwick Analytics
Statistical classification Analytics Business intelligence software

Algorithm

Notable applications

Mechanism & architecture

See also

References

External links