APPLYING FIVE WHYTECHNIQUE FOR ROOTCAUSE ANALYSIS

An Academic presentation by Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, Technical Operations, Tutors India Group  www.tutorsindia.comEmail: info@tutorsindia.com

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Introduction

The Origins of Five Whys

Applying the Five Whys

Form a Team

Define the Problem

Ask Why

Take Action

Conclusion

OUTLINE

Today's Discussion

Any organization or process or team can be confronted withunanticipated challenges.

Nonetheless, the challenges might just a symptom to anunderlying issue.

Prompt resolution of the challenge could prove to be the mostfeasible solution, but there is no guarantee that it mightsafeguard the organization or team or process from beingconfronted with recurring errors.

INTRODUCTION

Considering the scenario, it is important for the organization or the team in question toidentify the root cause and tackle it in an appropriate manner.

While there are several tools that can help an organization to conduct a root causeanalysis, the ‘Five Whys’ technique is considered as one of the most effective tools inthe repertoire of lean management.

Teams are known to come face-to-face with roadblocks during their day-to-day work.

Nonetheless, the use of five whys will enable the team to identify the root cause of anyproblem and thereby safeguard the process from such problems occurring in future,which might result in failure .

This blog aims to acclimatize you with the Five Whys technique for root cause analysisand inform you about how it can be effectively utilized to understand why a particularproblem keeps occurring within your process.

But first, it is important to trace the history of the Five Whys.

Sakichi Toyoda was the person who has been attributed withdeveloping the Five Whys.

The idea behind developing the Five Whys was to spot the rootcause to some problems that were being encountered at themanufacturing unit at Toyota.

Over the years, the Five Why technique has been widelyaccepted and adapted by social scientists as well as educatorsto facilitate them to develop problem definitions and pertinentinterventions .

THE ORIGINS OF FIVE WHYS

The application of Five whys is quite simple wherein it comprises of converting aproblem into a ‘why’ question.

Five answers are brainstormed by participants on the basis of their experience andknowledge.

Out of all the suggestions, the answer that is most feasible is chosen and convertedinto yet another ‘why’ question.

This cycle is repeated five times.

Participants are motivated to hypothesize and theorize on the problems in such amanner that it avoids assumptions that are unsubstantiated, sustaining relation to theirlived experiences.

Therefore, using the five whys technique requires careful facilitation on the part ofindividuals who are skilled in the practice of critical questioning and reflection and thosewho are well-versed in developing contexts which people are comfortable sharing

At the time of applying the five whys technique, you might want toreach the essence of the problem and then try to find a solution.

Sometimes, the five whys would reveal an unexpected source tothe problem.

More often than not, issues that are deemed as problems whichwould be technical nature would eventually reveal themselves to beprocess or human problems.

APPLYING THEFIVE WHYS

That makes it necessary to apply the five whys to find and eliminate the root causeto restrict the scope for the same problem from recurring .

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From the above example (Figure 1) the root cause for running through the red lightturned out to be a simple overlooking of a task which could be attributed to ahuman error.

But, this problem has scope to repeat itself if remedial steps are not initiated. Toconduct a root cause analysis using Five whys you need to:

Source: Serrat

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FIGURE 1: FIVE WHYS IN ACTION

Make a team comprising of an individual each from thedepartment that is being impacted by a recurrentproblem.

Or in case of an individual, seek the help of familymembers or friends to form a core team. In either case,all the individuals within the team should be aware of theproblem that is going to be investigated.

Team formation will allow you to arrive at an informeddecision

FORM A TEAM

At the outset, you should deliberate the problem with your teammembers and construct a clear problem statement.

It would be helpful in outlining the scope of the problem that will beinvestigated.

This is significant as exploring a problem with a wider scope might beprocess which is time-consuming and the boundaries too might beblurred.

Remaining focused throughout would help you to reach an effectivesolution

DEFINE THE PROBLEM

One person from the team should be empowered to be able to facilitate the entireprocedure.

The questions will be asked by the team leader and he or she wouldalso attempt toensure that the team remains focused throughout.

Care should be taken to ensure that the answers to each why is based on real data andactual facts rather than getting carried away by emotions

ASK WHY

Once the root cause has been identified by the team,they should then focus on initiating corrective measures.

Each member should participate in a discussion to seekand apply the most appropriate solution that willsafeguard the process from the same problem recurringagain.

Following a specific period of time, the team should meetagain to understand whether the solution they foundmade a positive impact.

In case it is not making a positive impact, it would benecessary to repeat the process.

TAKEACTIONTAKEACTION

The Five Whys has been proven to be a very robust andpotent organizational technique to identify root cause.

Using five whys can add agility to your team and alsopresents your organization with the grounds to promptlyrespond to problems as it might emerge, without theneed for any over-engineering or overinvesting.

CONCLUSION

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