Root Cause Analysis and Event Investigation
When something goes wrong, or keeps going wrong, you need a structured and independent understanding of what happened and what to do next. Fox Consulting facilitates and leads fact-based investigations for consequential events, recurring issues, near misses, and compliance problems.
Talk through an investigationKarina Fox
Director of Performance Excellence and Strategic Growth
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Executive MBA, BlueDragon Causal Analysis Practitioner, DOE Certified Accident Investigator
Karina leads Fox Consulting's root cause analysis and investigation service line. Her background spans continuous improvement, DOE and NNSA environments, event investigation, issues management, and corrective action program support. She holds BlueDragon causal analysis practitioner certification, DOE Certified Accident Investigator qualification, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and an Executive MBA. She has facilitated investigations, assessed organizational and human factors, engaged senior leadership, and worked in environments with active regulatory and enforcement interfaces.
What we do
Event Investigation and Facilitation
We facilitate or lead the investigation process: gathering evidence, conducting interviews, building an event and decision timeline, and maintaining the integrity of the fact base throughout.
Causal Analysis
We distinguish direct, contributing, and systemic causes using structured methods appropriate to the event and client context. The goal is a defensible causal story, not a predetermined conclusion.
Organizational and Human Factors Evaluation
We assess work conditions, organizational contributors, and human performance factors. The context in which decisions were made, not just the decisions themselves.
Corrective Action Development
We develop practical corrective actions with accountable owners and effectiveness criteria. Fixes that cannot be implemented in the real organization are not fixes.
Extent of Condition and Effectiveness Review
We help clients assess whether a problem is isolated or systemic, and whether corrective actions are actually working after implementation.
Issues Management and Corrective Action Program Support
Program health checks, process improvement, and support for organizations building or improving their corrective action program and issues management function.
Training and Facilitated Learning
We transfer investigation and causal analysis capability to your team through training, facilitated exercises, and coaching so your organization builds its own competence over time.
Our Approach
We start with evidence and the work as it was actually done. We listen to the people closest to it. We reconstruct decisions and conditions, test causal claims, and engage leadership without letting rank replace evidence. The result is actionable findings and fixes, not a blame report.
Evidence first
The investigation follows the facts, not a hypothesis. We build the timeline before we draw conclusions.
Closest to the work
The people who did the work understand it best. Interviews are structured, not leading.
Organizational context
Events happen in systems. We evaluate the conditions that shaped decisions, not just the decisions.
Actionable output
Findings are written for the organization that has to act on them: specific, implementable, and owned.
Beyond Radiological Incidents
Root cause analysis applies wherever a regulated organization needs an independent, structured understanding of what happened. We work across occupational safety, environmental and quality events, process and program failures, and any regulated operation where leadership needs a defensible answer.
Talk Through an Investigation
If you are facing a consequential event, a recurring problem, or a compliance issue that needs an independent look, start with a conversation. We will tell you honestly whether and how we can help.
Get in touch