Lessons Learned
Definition
Knowledge gained from experience — both positive (what worked) and negative (what went wrong) — that is documented, disseminated, and applied to improve future performance. Lessons learned capture the gap between expected and actual outcomes, the root cause of that gap, and the specific action required to prevent recurrence (for negative lessons) or replicate success (for positive lessons).
Context
Lessons learned close the feedback loop in the FRACAS cycle and the MOC process. They transform individual experiences into organizational knowledge. Effective lessons learned programs require structured capture, searchable storage, and active dissemination to relevant personnel. In Reliatic, lessons learned link to reliability events, RCA investigations, and governance events.
Examples
- Lesson learned: CUI was found on equipment previously assessed as low susceptibility because the original assessment did not account for a steam tracing dead leg. The RBI assessment procedure was updated to include steam tracing as a CUI susceptibility factor.
Applicable Standards
- ISO 31000:2018
- 29 CFR 1910.119
- ISO 55001:2014
Related Terms
A searchable repository of lessons learned from across an organization, indexed by equipment type, damage mechanism, failure mode, process area, and other relevant categories. The lessons library makes organizational knowledge accessible and discoverable, enabling personnel to benefit from experiences they were not directly involved in.
Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System(FRACAS)A closed-loop process for systematically reporting failures, analyzing their root causes, implementing corrective actions, and verifying that those actions effectively prevent recurrence. FRACAS captures failure data, triggers investigation based on severity, tracks corrective action implementation, and feeds lessons learned back into the design, maintenance, and operating procedures.
Root Cause Analysis(RCA)A systematic investigation methodology used to identify the fundamental underlying cause(s) of a failure, incident, or undesired outcome. RCA goes beyond the immediate or proximate cause to uncover the latent organizational, procedural, or design factors that created the conditions for the event. Common RCA techniques include 5-Why analysis, fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams, fault tree analysis, and barrier analysis.
Corrective ActionAn action taken to eliminate the root cause of a detected nonconformity, failure, or undesirable situation to prevent its recurrence. Corrective actions address why something went wrong, not just the immediate symptoms. They are distinguished from immediate actions (containment) and preventive actions (proactive measures for potential future problems).
Where this appears in Reliatic
This concept is used in the Governance module.