System Improvements, Inc. | TapRooTå¨

What System Improvements, Inc. | TapRooTå¨ does

System Improvements, Inc., doing business as TapRooT®, is a privately-held, founder-owned firm headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee that has built a proprietary root cause analysis (RCA) methodology and surrounding ecosystem for incident investigation in safety-critical environments. The company was co-founded by Mark Paradies and has operated since 1988, with the Global TapRooT® Summit running annually since 1994. Its core offering is a structured 5-step (simple) and 7-step (major) investigation process anchored on the trademarked Root Cause Tree® Diagram — an expert-system diagram compiled from decades of expert input — combined with SnapCharT® evidence-organization tools, Corrective Action Helper® corrective action development, Equifactor® equipment troubleshooting tables (developed with Heinz Bloch), Safeguards Analysis, and a 12-step cognitive interviewing technique derived from Fisher and Geiselman. The cloud-hosted TapRooT® Software is delivered on Microsoft Azure with subscription licensing tied to total company headcount.

The business operates a diversified revenue model: instructor-led public and on-site training (2-Day, 3-Day Virtual, 5-Day Advanced, and Equifactor® courses) priced on a custom basis, cloud software subscriptions sized to company employee count, a 10-volume TapRooT® Reference Set sold via an online storefront ($795 for the full set), Train-the-Trainer materials licensing with co-taught certification, and the annual Global TapRooT® Summit. Public courses are delivered globally in English and Spanish across cities including Mumbai, Edmonton, Bogota, Monterrey, Nashville, Dallas, and virtually across multiple time zones; on-site training is delivered worldwide to enterprise customers in heavy industries. Annual training throughput exceeds 10,000 practitioners.

The customer base is intentionally broad, spanning 17+ named industry and persona verticals including Energy/Nuclear/Utilities, Healthcare/Patient Safety, Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense, Pharmaceuticals, Refining & Chemicals, Mining & Metals, Construction, Retail/eCommerce, Transportation, Oil & Gas, Food & Beverage, Process Safety, Quality, Equipment Reliability, Environmental, and Operational Excellence. Only one enterprise logo (Nine Energy Services) is publicly named in case studies, with documented results of a TRIR decline from 1.44 to 0.3 and Lost Time Injuries dropping from 11 to 0 over four years of TapRooT® adoption. The company maintains a 60+ member Advisory Board of users from industry-leading firms and offers money-back performance guarantees on both Summit attendance (10x ROI) and training outcomes.

Name

System Improvements, Inc. | TapRooTå¨

Legal name

System Improvements, Inc.

Website

https://taproot.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

System Improvements, Inc. (TapRooT®) is a privately-held, Knoxville-based firm providing a proprietary root cause analysis methodology, cloud-hosted software, instructor-led training, and reference materials to safety, quality, and equipment reliability professionals in heavy industries worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Incident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Quality Tools & Problem Solving (7 QC Tools, 8D, A3, Root Cause) (EDABAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reliability Engineering & Root Cause Analysis (RCFA) (EUAEAKAJ), Recall/Incident Risk Assessment & Root Cause Analysis (AFALAOAO), Post-Incident Investigation, Root Cause Analysis & Corrective Action Planning (EUAHALAJ)

Keywords

• Root cause analysis
• Incident investigation software
• Safety training services
• Equipment troubleshooting methodology
• Corrective action development

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Courses: Public and on-site instructor-led training courses delivered globally in multiple formats: 2-Day TapRooT® RCA Course, 5-Day Advanced RCA Team Leader Course, 3-Day Virtual courses, and 3-Day Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting courses. Offered in English and Spanish in cities worldwide.
2. Software Licensing: Cloud-hosted TapRooT® Software licenses sold to enterprises. Pricing is based on the company's total number of employees (company size). Includes all investigation tools, the Corrective Action Helper® Module, and management reporting tools.
3. Books and Reference Materials: Sale of the 10-volume TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Reference Set and individual books covering specific topics (investigation processes, equipment troubleshooting, patient safety, human error prevention, trending, evidence collection, etc.). Full set priced at $795; individual books also available.
4. Global TapRooT® Summit: Annual conference combining pre-summit courses, keynote sessions, best practice tracks, networking, and a Wednesday night reception. Registration fees and associated revenue from the annual event.
5. Training Materials Licensing: Licensing of 2-Day TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Training Materials to companies, enabling them to train internal employees. Accompanied by a Train-the-Trainer certification process (including co-teaching with System Improvements instructors) to certify internal instructors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

System Improvements, Inc. (TapRooT®) develops and sells a proprietary root cause analysis (RCA) methodology supported by a patented cloud-hosted software platform, instructor-led training courses, reference books, and an annual Summit. The offering helps organizations across safety-critical industries systematically investigate incidents, identify true root causes, and develop stronger corrective actions to prevent repeat failures.

Product overview

TapRooT® is a comprehensive root cause analysis system comprising the core TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis methodology with 5-step and 7-step investigation processes, the award-winning TapRooT® Software featuring SnapCharT® Diagram, Root Cause Tree® Diagram, and Corrective Action Helper® as built-in tools, Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting for equipment failures, instructor-led and virtual Training Courses, eLearning Pathways via Thinkific, a 10-Book Reference Set covering specialized topics, and the annual Global TapRooT® Summit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TapRooT®: Root cause analysis methodology, training, software, and consulting services
• Equifactor®
• SnapCharT®
• Root Cause Tree®
• Corrective Action Helper® Guide
• Global TapRooT® Summit

Products and services

• TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis System Systematic incident investigation and root cause analysis methodology combining structured tools (SnapCharT®, Root Cause Tree®, Corrective Action Helper®) used by safety, quality, reliability, and operational excellence professionals.
• TapRooT® Software Patented cloud-hosted incident investigation and root cause analysis software licensed by subscription to enterprises based on company headcount, providing built-in tools to find, report, and fix the causes of incidents.
• TapRooT® Training Courses Instructor-led public and on-site training courses (2-Day, 3-Day Virtual, 5-Day Advanced Team Leader) that certify practitioners in the TapRooT® RCA methodology, delivered at customer facilities and in cities worldwide plus virtual formats.
• Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting Proprietary equipment troubleshooting methodology and tables used by reliability engineers and maintenance teams to systematically diagnose equipment failures and stop repeat equipment failures, available with dedicated 3-Day training courses.
• eLearning Pathways Self-paced online learning pathways for TapRooT® methodologies hosted on the Thinkific platform, enabling practitioners to build RCA skills remotely.
• TapRooT® 10-Book Reference Set 10-volume reference book set covering the TapRooT® RCA methodology in depth, with individual books covering leadership, implementation, investigation processes, equipment troubleshooting, patient safety, human error, trending, and audits.
• Global TapRooT® Summit Annual multi-day conference combining pre-summit courses, keynote sessions, six best practice tracks, networking, and CEU credits for the TapRooT® user community, sold with a 10x ROI guarantee.
• Training Materials Licensing / Train-the-Trainer Certification Licensing package that enables organizations to train internal employees using TapRooT® materials, combined with a Train-the-Trainer certification program (including co-teaching with System Improvements instructors) to certify internal instructors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nine Energy Services reduced TRIR from 1.44 to 0.3 over 4 years and eliminated Lost Time Injuries (from 11 to 0) using TapRooT® RCA since 2018.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments18 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature9 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• VelocityEHS: VelocityEHS is a larger EHS software platform with incident management and corrective action modules that compete with TapRooT® Software in enterprises seeking integrated EHS suites rather than standalone RCA tools.
• ETQ (Hexagon EAM): ETQ Reliance is a quality management system with CAPA and root cause investigation capabilities, competing with TapRooT's Quality and CAPA-oriented offerings as part of a broader QMS suite.
• ProcessMAP: ProcessMAP is an EHS digital platform with incident management and investigation capabilities serving industrial clients, overlapping with TapRooT's enterprise safety and process safety customer base.
• Benchmark Digital Partners (Benchmark ESG): Benchmark ESG provides enterprise EHS software including incident management and root cause analysis workflows, positioning as a broader incumbent alternative to TapRooT's standalone methodology.
• Intelex: Intelex is an established EHS/quality platform offering incident management and corrective action capabilities; its integrated suite competes against TapRooT® in enterprises standardizing on a single EHS/QMS vendor.
• Cority: Cority provides enterprise EHS and quality management software including incident investigation workflows, serving as a broader incumbent alternative to TapRooT's standalone RCA methodology and software.

Emerging players

• ComplianceQuest: ComplianceQuest is a cloud-native QMS platform built on Salesforce with CAPA and root cause analysis features; it targets similar quality and compliance personas to TapRooT's Quality segment, but as a newer integrated suite player.
• KaiNexus: KaiNexus provides continuous improvement and root cause analysis software, overlapping TapRooT's operational excellence and quality use cases but with a CI-focused SaaS approach rather than a methodology-led training business.

Direct peers

• Sologic: Sologic provides root cause analysis training, software, and methodology directly competitive with TapRooT®; both target incident investigators across industrial and safety domains with a structured methodology plus training and SaaS delivery.
• ABS Group (Apollo RCA): ABS Group offers the Apollo Root Cause Analysis methodology alongside consulting and training services for industrial clients, directly overlapping TapRooT's RCA training and incident investigation offerings in safety and reliability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/taproot_rca
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4db2z4nFctC5SZ-JSRxZQw
• Facebookfacebook.com/system-improvements-taprootr-111475497672
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/system-improvements-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about System Improvements, Inc. | TapRooTå¨