5 Whys TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 5 Whys

What is 5 Whys? This is a simple but powerful problem solving tool that helps determine the root cause of a problem.

We do not always continue to work to find the underlying root cause. How Does 5 Whys Help? Many times we tend to stop looking after finding only the immediate cause of a problem. We do not always continue to work to find the underlying root cause.

A Typical Problem Review the next problem statement and keep asking questions to get to the lowest level of the problem. This will illustrate how easy it is to miss the cause of a problem and show how it will recur if the root cause is not eliminated.

You Arrived Late For Work 1. Why were you late for work? My car would not start.

You Arrived Late For Work 2. Why wouldn’t your car start? The starter motor wouldn’t turn the engine over.

You Arrived Late For Work 3. Why wouldn’t the starter motor turn the engine over? The battery was too weak.

You Arrived Late For Work 4. Why was the battery too weak? The alternator wasn’t producing enough current to keep it charged.

You Arrived Late For Work 5. Why wasn’t the the alternator producing enough current? The alternator drive belt was slipping. This was corrected by tightening the belt.

So We Can See… In the example, if root cause analysis had stopped at ‘why’ number 3 after the car was running and the person had driven to work, the same problem could have occurred next morning.