Process / pipelineReliability & risk

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a top-down, deductive reliability method that begins with an undesired top-level failure event and systematically traces backward through chains of contributing causes using Boolean logic gates (AND, OR). First formalized by Watson at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1961 and later standardized by Vesely, Goldberg, Roberts, and Haasl in the landmark 1981 NRC Fault Tree Handbook, FTA has become a cornerstone of quantitative risk assessment in nuclear, aerospace, and industrial safety engineering.

Open in MethodMindSoonVideoSoon

Read the full method

Members only

Sign in with a free account to read this section.

Sign in

Sources

  1. Vesely, W. E., Goldberg, F. F., Roberts, N. H., & Haasl, D. F. (1981). Fault Tree Handbook (NUREG-0492). U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. link

Related methods

Referenced by

ScholarGateFault Tree Analysis (Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/reliability/fault-tree-analysis