Which of the following qualitative techniques involves a disciplined analysis of the event sequences that could transform a potential hazard into an accident?

Failure Mode and Effects Criticality Analysis (FMECA) extends FMEA by adding a criticality ranking to failure modes and effects, but it does not analyze the event sequences that transform a hazard into an accident.

HAZOP uses structured guide words to examine deviations in process parameters and their consequences, but it is not specifically defined as an analysis of event sequences leading from hazard to accident.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) identifies how individual components can fail and what effects those failures produce, but it does not trace the event sequences that escalate a hazard into an accident.

Preliminary Risk Analysis (PRA) is an early-stage qualitative safety technique specifically used to identify hazardous conditions and systematically analyze the sequences of events that could escalate a hazard into an accident. It produces a prioritized list of hazards along with the causal chains connecting hazardous states to adverse outcomes. This focus on hazard-to-accident event sequences is the defining characteristic that matches the question's description.