LIVE TRAINING
2-day instructor-led workshops with 7 case studies and real-time feedback.
Tuition
$1500
BD1 is for everyone who faces workplace challenges such as costly human errors and recurring organizational problems, especially supervisors and managers that require strong problem-solving skills.
A study of over 332,860 executives consider problem-solving to be the most important skill for middle managers. This course strengthens your critical thinking and problem solving skills, and is a terrific resume-builder.
With this BD1 training from BlueDragon, you will learn the revolutionary Rapid Apparent Cause Evaluation (RACE) approach that can solve most problems in 2-hours.
100% Online
We have an online version that takes you through 20 hours of training over a 2-week period, to accommodate your busy schedules.
Beginner-friendly
No experience with root cause analysis? No problem. We’ll equip you with the the tools you need to become a certified BlueDragon Analyst.
High ROI
The problem solving and critical thinking skills you learn here will boost your career and save your organization time and money.
Ready to start your journey?
Check the cohort dates on the schedule below. Reserve your spot now!
Rob has done for cause analysis what Motorla did for Six Sigma, clearly and concisely bundled proven RCA tools into an effective method encompassing critical thinking, visual information, and succinct communication of a problem and its deepest seated causes.
Sandia National Laboratory
The biggest difference is it gives us a really systematic approach to conduct the causal analysis. A lot of people say, “Where do I start?” By going out and building the barriers and building the lines of inquiry from there, it made it easier for the team to stay on point and build a comprehensive causal analysis.
Deputy Director of Management Assurance System Office, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
“The strengths of the BD201E workshop were that the instructor was top-notch, the sharing of stories and experiences, and the teaming. The Breakout sessions were a great experience and challenged us to perform. Breakout sessions also helped to network with other causal analysts. My overall impression of BD HCA is that it was awesome! It was a great use of 4 days of training, and I would highly recommend this course and methodology/flow.”
Sandia National Laboratory
“Brought the critical thinking and causal analysis methods, logic and approach up to date since we have used older tools for so long and were getting limited results. Very excited to begin applying this method and replacing the older Think Reliability one. Mr. De La Espriella is a great teacher, and I hope to continue learning and growing this method as time goes on. Everyone at my work site should take this class, including our federal oversight. I loved the class and will recommend it to all the causal analysts at Sandia National Lab.”
Sandia National Laboratory
“The BlueDragon Root Cause Analysis process has positive momentum with “pull” from all levels of management. The use of causal analysis and increase in corrective action plan quality are beginning to show positive results in the consistency and discipline in the CA
approach.”
Contractor Assurance Manager at SRNS
“The BlueDragon Root Cause Analysis course is very well structured and professionally laid out much like an MBA course. First, the concepts are presented and then fun and entertaining team exercises drive home the concepts by challenging the participants with interesting real-world case studies “
MBA, PMP
“A great course! Should be folded into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy and commercial industries. The BlueDragon approach was fantastic! BlueDragon techniques are a great way to efficiently improve operations and safety. They will help you complete your mission and lower costs.”
Retired, Oak Ridge National Lab
“My team and I started using BlueDragon in 2019. BlueDragon is a method for conducting root cause analysis and complex problem solving in a disciplined, efficient and accurate manner. I have not utilized a methodology that better identifies the causes of problems and makes sure the causes fit the effects like BlueDragon does. My Team consistently received excellent reviews on BlueDragon causal evaluation reports from our higher headquarters. I recommend BlueDragon as the industry standard, in not only root cause analysis but problem-solving in general. “
Los Alamos National Laboratory (2023)
Meet your Instructor
Rob De La Espriella, BD3
Rob is one of the leading experts in causal analysis, with over 30 years of experience in leading and facilitating root cause analyses, event investigations and assessments at commercial nuclear power plants, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the DOE, the US Department of Defense (DOD), and Engineering firms.
Rob became a root cause subject matter expert and practitioner in 1989, as a member of the Florida Power & Light team that won the Deming Prize1, the first company in the world outside Japan to win the award. He has completed formal training in problem-solving methods including Kepner Tregoe, Management Oversight Risk Tree (MORT), TapRoot, Dr. Corcoran’s Phoenix Method, Human Performance Evaluation System (HPES), Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean/Six Sigma, and he is a certified Kaizen Team Leader.
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Since 1990, Rob has led of facilitated hundreds of root cause evaluations, audits, assessments and complex problem solving efforts. In 1995, Rob received several awards from the NRC for leading root causes and bringing Total Quality Management Concepts to NRC Region I. In 2003 and 2005, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) listed Rob’s Nuclear Assurance organization as one of the strongest in the US, and Rob attributes that recognition, in large part, to teaching root cause and problem-solving skills to his staff and promoting a problem-solving culture. The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) also sought Rob’s expertise for improvement projects in South Africa and Slovenia.
In 2010, Rob began teaching his modern causal analysis approach at DOE sites. He later gave his method the trademark name of BlueDragon Hyper-Integrated Causal Analysis (HCA). Rob has used HCA to solve some of the most complex, human-centric issues (including near fatalities) at DOE and DOD sites.
Every summer since 2015, Rob has been invited as a guest lecturer by Princeton University’s Keller Center for Entrepreneurship. Rob has been teaching critical thinking skills to the Design Thinking Teams that are working on solving wicked problems for clients in New York and New Jersey.
BlueDragon Case Studies
CONSTRUCTION COST OVERRUNS:
The Department of Energy (DOE) contracted BlueDragon to investigate a capital asset project that exceeded its budget by more than $200 million.
The BlueDragon team identified the root causes of the cost overruns and schedule delays, and identified $148 million in cost overruns that the DOE used to take the contractor to court.
The DOE originally estimated it would take 50 personnel approximately four to five months to complete the investigation. A team of six BlueDragon-trained personnel completed the investigation in six weeks on a part-time basis.
The BlueDragon universal system is the most modern system in place today, replacing the antiquated methodologies using antiquated tools and techniques. BlueDragon empowers organizations to reach new heights of performance, protection, and preparedness.
Leaders across safety-sensitive industries rely on BlueDragon investigations to improve productivity, quality, compliance, and profitability. Government agencies have used BlueDragon to solve complex problems and inform effective policies.
3 Easy Steps to Get Started
Step 1
Registration
Register yourself or your team for the BlueDragon Analyst Course online.
Step 2
Pay Tuition
Tuition for instructor-led workshops are due 10 working days prior to the start of the workshop.
Step 3
Attend the Workshop
Attend the Live Workshop at the scheduled time and date. You’ll be given important details, such as schedule and location, via email as soon as you have completed payment.
BECOME A BD1 BLUEDRAGON APPARENT CAUSE ANALYST
Register Now
BlueDragon Policies
Cancellation Policy
Tuition for workshops are due 10 working days prior to the start of the workshop. Participants may lose their slot in the class if payment is not received by then.
If payment is received and a student must cancel for any reason, the following cancellation policy applies:
Cancellations at least 10 working days prior to the workshop receive a full refund.
Cancellations less than 10 working days prior to the workshop will receive a refund minus a 15% cancellation fee.
Thank you for your understanding and please contact us for any questions.
Tuition Policy
Tuition for online courses through the LMS is due at any time prior to gaining access to the LMS.
Tuition for instructor-led workshops are due 10 working days prior to the start of the workshop.
Alternate Method of Payment:
Checks can be made out to:
DLE Technical Services, LLC
4634 SW Long Bay Drive
Palm City, FL 34990
Terms of Sale
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR ORDER FOR PURCHASE. BY ACCESSING AND USING THIS WEBSITE SERVICE, OR SUBMITTING AN ORDER FOR PURCHASE, YOU AGREE TO BE LEGALLY BOUND BY THE TERMS OF SALE SET FORTH HEREIN. THESE TERMS OF SALE FORM PART OF YOUR ORDER AND PURCHASE.
INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
These Terms of Sale describe the terms and conditions for the sale of products by DLE Technical Services, LLC and its subsidiaries and affiliates (hereinafter, collectively, the “Company”).
These Terms of Sale, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by the Company, apply to every sale by the Company and are included in each acceptance by the Company of any customer’s offer to purchase. If a customer offers to purchase products from the Company with its own purchase order or similar form, any terms proposed therein which add to, vary from, or conflict with these Terms are objected to by the Company and expressly rejected, and shall not be a part of the contract of sale unless the proposed terms are accepted and approved in a written document referring specifically to such terms and signed by an authorized Company representative.
PRICING AND PAYMENT
All pricing is subject to central office approval of the Company. All products will be invoiced at the price in effect on the date of purchase, determined by the Company’s current price pages. The Company reserves the right to cancel or remove price adjustments or exceptions which may have previously been made to meet a competitive offer, when in its judgment it becomes necessary or prudent to do so or the competitive situation no longer exists. All pricing is subject to change without notice. Purchases made on or after the date of a price change will be invoiced at the new price.
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ORDER ENTRY AND CREDIT
Orders may be placed through use of the Company’s electronic ordering system available at www.dle-services.com, or by telephone or by visiting the Company’s Customer Service Center. An order is accepted when acknowledged in writing (including by electronic confirmation, fax or email) or when delivered, whichever occurs first. All orders to be placed on credit are subject to the review and approval of the Company’s Credit Department.
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The Company reserves the right to reject any order if at any time the Company deems the financial responsibility or condition of the customer placing any order to be unsatisfactory.
PRODUCT AVAILABILITY
The Company’s products fall into two categories:
1. Standard Products
2. Non-Standard Products
Standard Products are (A) “On Hand” or (B) “Special Order.” Standard Products are listed in the price pages and product literature. Availability of “Special Order” Products varies from plant to plant. Consult your Company Sales Representative or Customer Account Specialist for lead time, quantities, availability, and pricing.
A Non-Standard Product is any item that varies from the specification set forth in our product literature or price bulletin. Requests for Non-Standard Products must be made through the Company Sales Representative or Customer Service Center to obtain necessary approval, which will be subject to the following conditions:
1. Any change in the Non-Standard Product request automatically cancels the request and a new request must be submitted.
2. Orders for Non-Standard Products must be entered within 30 days after approval. Delivery must be completed within 30 days after date of manufacture.
3. The order is non-cancelable.
4. As a condition of manufacturing a non-standard product, The Company reserves the right to ship, and the customer must agree to accept, an over-run or under-run not to exceed 5% of the final order.
REVISIONS/CANCELLATIONS
The Customer Service Center must handle revisions or cancellations of standard product orders. Notification must be received prior to any actual loading, otherwise, the customer will be held responsible for payment.
TAXES
All taxes and excises of any nature levied by any governmental authority upon the sale, use or transportation of products covered by these Terms shall be paid and borne by the customer.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
If written or other materials are included with Products, then, unless otherwise stated in end-user license agreements that may accompany the products, the Company or original licensors grant you and your staff a limited, non-exclusive, terminable, non-transferable license to access and use such materials subject to these Terms of Sale solely in connection with the original unmodified version of the specific units of Products that you purchase.
QUALITY CLAIMS
After delivery and acceptance of the product, if any product quality complaint exists:
1. The customer must immediately notify the Company Sales Representative. The customer must safeguard the product prior to its inspection by The Company.
2. Product claimed to be defective, off quality, or substandard must not be used or sold by the customer.
3. If needed, the Company Sales Representative will arrange for an on-site inspection, obtain the facts, and discuss the results with the customer.
LIMITED WARRANTY AND REMEDIES
Products manufactured and sold by the Company are warranted by the Company to its immediate purchaser to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of thirty (30) days after the time of shipment. THIS EXPRESS WARRANTY IS THE ONLY WARRANTY APPLICABLE TO SUCH PRODUCTS, AND IS IN LIEU OF AND EXCLUDES ALL OTHER EXPRESS ORAL OR WRITTEN WARRANTIES AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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The Company will not be liable for any incidental, indirect or consequential losses, damages, or expenses. The customer’s exclusive remedy for any type of claim or action for defective products will be limited to the replacement of the products (in the form originally shipped) or, at the Company’s option, to a payment or credit not greater than the original purchase price of the products.
The Company will not be liable for products claimed to be defective where the defect resulted from causes not within the Company’s control, or which arose or occurred after shipment, including but not limited to accidents, misuse, mishandling, improper installation, contamination or adulteration by other materials or goods, or abnormal conditions of temperature, moisture, dirt, or corrosive matter.
Any claim that products sold by the Company were defective or otherwise did not conform to the contract of sale is waived unless the customer submits it in writing to the Company within thirty (30) days from the date the customer discovered or should have discovered the defect or non-conformance. No legal action or proceeding complaining of goods sold by the Company may be brought by the customer more than one year after the date the customer discovered or should have discovered the defect or problem of which it complains.
CHANGES TO TERMS OF SALE
THE COMPANY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THESE TERMS OF SALE FROM TIME TO TIME. SUCH CHANGES WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE WHEN THE COMPANY POSTS THE REVISED TERMS OF SERVICE AS PART OF THIS WEBSITE. THE MOST CURRENT VERSION OF THE TERMS OF SALE CAN BE REVIEWED BY CLICKING ON THE “TERMS OF SALE” HYPERTEXT LINK LOCATED IN THE HOME PAGE FOR THE WEBSITE. CUSTOMERS SHOULD CHECK THE TERMS OF SALE FROM TIME TO TIME, AS THEY ARE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF SALE SO POSTED FROM AND AFTER THE TIME THE CHANGES ARE POSTED. ANY REVISED TERMS OF SALE SHALL SUPERSEDE ALL PREVIOUS VERSIONS.
MISCELLANEOUS
These Terms of Sale do not create a distribution relationship or contract, exclusive or otherwise, nor will such a relationship or contract be inferred from any course of dealing between the Company and any of its customers who purchase products under these Terms of Sale. The Company and any customer who purchases products from it are each free without penalty to cease doing business with the other at any time, for any reason whatsoever and without notice, unless otherwise provided in a separate, written contract signed by an officer of the Company and of the particular customer.
The Company shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any kind or for any consequences thereof resulting from delay or inability to deliver caused by strikes, lockouts, fire, theft, shortage, inability to obtain materials or shipping space, breakdowns, delays or carriers, manufacturers, or suppliers, acts of God, governmental statutes, proclamations or regulations, riot, civil commotion, war, malicious mischief, receipt of necessary information from Licensor, or by any cause beyond your reasonable control.
This Agreement shall be construed and enforced under the laws of the State of Florida, USA without reference to the choice of law principles thereof. The customer hereby consents to and submits to the jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in the State of Florida. The customer waives any defenses based upon lack of personal jurisdiction or venue, or inconvenient forum.
If any provision herein is unenforceable, then such provision shall be of no effect on any other provision hereof.
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Section headings are provided for convenience only, and shall not be used to construe the meaning of any section hereof.
BD1 BlueDragon Analyst Certification
Frequently Asked Questions
Course Highlights
Learn the fundamentals of critical thinking, systems thinking and problem solving.
Using the BlueDragon IPS methodology, you will be able to conduct Rapid Investigations to solve every-day problems.
This hybrid online training course is designed for personnel that need to solve basic problems or conduct quick investigations into human-centric issues.
The course is a hybrid of 15 hrs. self-paced learning through our BlueDragon LMS, and 4 to 5 hrs. of instructor-led training to practice your new skills in a case study.
Participants are introduced to the fundamentals of critical thinking, systems thinking and cause and effect analysis.
Participants learn the construct of the BlueDragon IPS Framework and how to gather, organize and analyze information on the BlueDragon chart. They will also learn to conduct Rapid Investigations, which can be completed in 1 to 4 hours.
You’ll build practical and essential skills such as:
- Critical Thinking
- Systems Thinking
- Cause & Effect Analysis
- BlueDragon Framework
- BlueDragon Rapid Investigations
Who Should Attend
This certification is relevant across all industries.
- Lean Six Sigma practitioners, Green Belts, Yellow Belts
- Management of all levels
- Engineers in all industries
- Scientists in all industries
- Operators in all industries
- Regulators from all industries
- Project and program managers in all industries
- Accident/Event Investigators in all industries
- Industrial Safety Managers in all industries
- Methodologists helping others applying HCA in all industries
- Federal, state and local auditors and investigators
- Inspector General investigators in all branches
- Construction Safety and Management
- Performance Improvement Department personnel
- Contractor Assurance personnel
- Corrective Action Program Managers
- Occurrence Reporting personnel
- Safeguards & Security personnel
- Quality & Oversight Dept. personnel
- Environmental Health & Safety personnel
- Facility/Operations Managers
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission Inspectors
- Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) Inspectors
- World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Inspectors
- National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Inspectors
BlueDragon Apparent Cause Analyst
Course Outline
Weeks 1 – 2
Online Learning (Self-paced)
Complete Lessons 1 to 12 on your own (approximately 15 hours)
WEEK 3
Live Case Study (Instructor-led)
Live Session #1, a 4 to 5-hour instructor-led case study using a virtual white board.
All case studies start at 12pm EST unless otherwise noted.
See cohort schedule for dates.
Objectives
Terminal Objective
After completion of the BlueDragon Analyst certification course, students will have developed an understanding of the fundamentals of critical thinking and complex problem solving, they will have developed an understanding of the BlueDragon Integrated Problem-solving (IPS) methodology, and they will be able to complete an IPS Rapid Investigation.
Curriculum
Enabling Objectives
Given a course of instruction, prospective BlueDragon Apparent Cause Analysts will be able to understand:
Requirements for Certification
After completion of the BD1 training course and live case study, prospective BD1 candidates must complete the following before being certified by BlueDragon IPS:
Rapid Investigations
Complete 6 Rapid Investigations within a 6-month period *
* Or substitute 2 additional Comprehensive Investigations
Comprehensive Investigations
Complete 3 Comprehensive Investigations within a 12-month period
– Attach the grading sheet for the charts (available on our Reference Library to former students)
– Attach the grading sheet for the final reports
Documentation
Turn in the required BD2 Certification documentation form.
Final Exam
Register and pay to take the BD2 Final Exam (75% to pass).
Technical Requirements
LMS Live Sessions
Online workshops are conducted through our BlueDragon Learning Management System (LMS), which requires access to the internet. There are no programs or software to download and our corporate clients will be provided with their own branded portal to access the LMS.
BD2 includes three instructor-led case studies. The case studies will be conducted online using Zoom. In addition, we will be using a virtual whiteboard that allows the team to collaborate simultaneously on the chart. These two platforms have made it possible to deliver virtual classes with the same or better results than live workshops.
- The use of virtual whiteboards has made it easier to conduct assessments, investigations and root cause analysis when we cannot conduct meetings in person.
For the instructor-led case study, participants are required to have a webcam and microphone and be able to access Zoom/WebEx through the internet.
Internet download speeds greater than 20 Mbps are highly recommended.
Equip Your Managers to Solve Problems Better
Give your leadership team the tools and perspective to support stronger problem-solving across your organization.
Build Problem-Solving Capability at Scale
Equip your organization with a unified methodology, training, and support for continuous improvement.