Decision making is one of the must fundamental tasks of any business (see Decision Making under Management Effectiveness). Daily decisions made by operational personnel determine how well (or sometimes if) a plant continues to operate. Stratos, LLC consultants have worked with engineers, inspectors, and inside and outside operators to help install a fact-based, logically rigorous decision-making process that can greatly improve the quality of these daily decisions.

By using some key concepts drawn from causal analysis such as data quality, causal relationships, and problem definition, a more rigorous yet still flexible decision making discipline can be established in operating units. Stratos consultants work with clients to adapt these concepts into customized tools that relate directly to daily decisions.

Stratos worked with management and operators of a large pipeline company to develop a custom process for startup and shutdown decisions. Over the period of a year, this process was credited for a significant reduction in shutdown related incidents.