Root Cause Analysis through UNITXPRO for the Oil and Gas Industry

“Offshore oil and gas businesses face an average annual financial impact of $49 million due to unplanned downtime. For the worst performers, this impact can exceed $88 million.” 

The oil and gas sector is a multibillion-dollar industry, producing over four billion metric tons of crude oil annually—a figure that continues to rise. This industry is central to the global economy and faces immense complexity, strict tolerances, and increasing scrutiny from clients, regulators, and the media. 

In this environment, downtime is measured in minutes. Equipment must operate flawlessly, yet failures do occur. When they do, it is vital to: 

• Investigate the root causes of failures or production-impacting problems. 

• Document failure reasons, the people and processes involved, and corrective actions taken. 

• Implement preventive maintenance to avoid repeat failures. 

• Maintain a comprehensive incident history to identify patterns and predict risks. 

The Maintenance Challenge in Oil & Gas 

“Less than 24% of oil and gas businesses adopt predictive maintenance based on data and analytics, while over 75% rely on reactive or time-based maintenance approaches.” 

Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) identifies the underlying technical causes behind equipment failures—whether due to design, operation, or process issues. Traditionally, RCFA has been conducted manually with paper-based documentation, which is: 

• Slow and labour-intensive. 

• Prone to data loss or damage. 

• Lacking visibility into ongoing investigations. 

How UNITXPRO Transforms RCFA 

Designed specifically for the oil and gas industry, UNITXPRO simplifies and strengthens the RCFA process by: 

• Customizing workflows to align with industry-specific RCFA protocols. 

• Integrating seamlessly with CAPA, ISO, LEAN, or Six Sigma improvement systems. 

• Using evidence-based analysis to uncover true systemic and non-systemic failure causes. 

• Delivering clear insights to focus resources on process or equipment improvements. 

“Operators using a predictive, data-driven approach to maintenance experience 36% less unplanned downtime than those with a reactive approach. This results in, on average, $17 million drop to the bottom line annually” 

Key Benefits of UNITXPRO for Oil & Gas Operations 

• Ensures accurate RCFA execution by employees, following industry best practices. 

• Eliminates guesswork and subjective decision-making with a repeatable, scalable, data-driven process. 

• Centralizes data collection and visualization for asset condition and performance monitoring. 

• Boosts Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) to enhance production and product quality. 

• Increases employee accountability and transparency. 

• Reduces unplanned downtime by 36%, saving millions annually and optimizing maintenance cycles. 

• Supports strategic allocation of resources for cost-efficient asset management. 

• Provides real-time dashboards and analytics giving top management consolidated visibility into all RCFA activities across units. 

• Ensures compliance with QHSE regulations and industry standards. 

• Generates automated reports for improved transparency and audit readiness. 

Real Impact 

“Operators using predictive, data-driven maintenance report 36% less unplanned downtime and save an average of $17 million annually.” 

With UNITXPRO, oil and gas companies gain a powerful tool to monitor, evaluate, and manage the RCFA status of every operational asset in real time. This capability is essential for maintaining operational excellence, reducing risks, minimizing downtime, and boosting overall production efficiency in one of the world’s most demanding industries.