A High Reliability Organization (HRO) is one in which, despite the fact that it deals with hazardous, high consequence operations, it does so successfully. A key attribute of being an HRO is to learn from the organization�s mistakes. Causal Factors Analysis (CFA) is a key tool to learn systematically from events that occur when HRO efforts fall short.

The U.S. Department of Energy has made available two publications on HRO and CFA that together can aid in organizational learning and operational improvement. The HRO process they describe focuses on identifying the totality of factors that can lead to the avoidance of catastrophic events.