The five whys-Lean Kaizen Consultancy & Training for Process Improvement and Quality Improvement

The Five Whys

Article about the Five Whys by Graham Ross of Lean Kaizen

I want to take you through a simple but powerful technique called the 5 Whys.

It is a great way of getting to the route cause of problems.

The Five Whys - What is it?

The five whys technique originated at Toyota as a means of getting to the route cause of a problem.

The five whys is so called because the technique involves you asking "why ?" five times.

Obviously you can ask why more or less than 5 times ..it's not set in stone.

The general idea is that you keep drilling down by asking why till you get to the true cause of the issue
that you are investigating.

It seems to me though that Toyota do not have a monopoly on this idea.

My 6 year old daughter Allison who has no formal Management Training seems to be pretty
good at this technique already.

"It's time to go to bed"

"Why ?"

"Because you've got school in the morning"

"Why ?"

"So that you can learn stuff ?"

Why ?

"If you don't learn how to read and write then it will make life
more difficult when you get a bit older."

Why ? ......

Toyota and Allison differ in their use of this technique.

In Allison's case the use of why ? ,can delay the start of any activity that she doesn't want to do, by at
least 20 minutes and drive her parents bananas as an added bonus.....
You should never get annoyed at an inquisitive mind ... even if the owner is running rings round you just
because she can...

Anyway I digress, let's carry on with Toyota's version of the 5 Whys.

Let me illustrate what I mean by taking you through the root cause of a problem associated with
this latest article.

It didn't go out 4 days ago when it was supposed to.

Why ?

The author, myself, had what my wife, who is a District Nurse would call man flu (or a tiny cold,
according to her diagnosis)

The latest article was written and ready to go out on time but in my sorry state I didn't like the copy and
thought it was on a subject that was a bit too dry and boring... so I decided to re-write it on a totally
different subject hence leading to the delay.

Why ?

Why did I have the cold ? The previous week I had been caught in a major opening of the heavens and
not only was I drenched but my black smart work shoes also caved in to the elements allowing large
volumes of water to circulate around my toes.

Why ?

The shoes although aesthetically pleasing were coming to the end of their working life . I ,like many others
am very hard on shoes.

Why ?

On closer examination there was a hole in the leather sole.

Why ?

Lack of proper maintenance - they should have been re-soled before this unfortunate
situation occurred.

Solution - Got a new pair of black work shoes

Obviously I'm having a bit of fun with you , but in all seriousness using this technique can help you uncover
the real causes of a problem - not just the symptoms.

So next time you come up against a difficult problem ask why five times.

What can I say..

Hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Graham Ross

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