8. Conclusion

The heuristic methods we have just described for defining the criticality of equipment in the absence of experience feedback based on expert judgement, use principles that are more or less based on scientific approaches. Most of these techniques call on a panel of experts led by a moderator. The role of this facilitator is vital, as it is usually an experienced person who will define the questionnaire and manage the modes of communication between the various partners present at the meeting or contacted by other means. It's worth noting that most consensus-building techniques use an iterative procedure, in which the facilitator uses a variety of questions to try and reach a consensus on the problems to be solved. Feedback from the use of these methods, in particular the Delphi, Régnier, Pieu or Ishikawa methods, shows that there will never be a perfect consensus, and that there is always...