Root Cause Analysis & The 5 Whys: Version: 3/26/2011

Root Cause
Analysis &
The 5 Whys
Version: 3/26/2011
© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.
All rights reserved.
www.Velaction.com
Copyright and Licensing
This training material is not free. Please do not distribute it

except as permitted in the terms of the license you
purchased. These licensing and restrictions apply even if
you received this presentation as part of a promotional
offer.
A summary of this license is included at the end of this presentation.
Some material contained within this presentation falls under a free-use

license. More information about these images is available at the end of
this presentation.

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Objectives
Understand what root cause

analysis is
Learn why root cause analysis is
important
Learn how to use the 5 Whys to
find the root cause of a problem

What Do You Do For a
One-Time Problem?
Monday

Common Symptoms Treated
Home
• Topping off a car burning oil
Shop Floor
• Adding inventory because of
frequent shortages
Office
• Dealing with interruptions
with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign

But What If the Problem
Recurs?
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Symptoms
What is Root Cause Analysis?
Root cause analysis is the process of

finding the underlying problem that is
causing the symptoms.
Fixing the root cause will permanently

remove the symptom.
SG-1
Cause and Effect Principle
Not always an
immediate link.
A Cause
B
IMPORTANT:
Not all C
A Cause
effects are
Effect
bad!
(Symptom)

Why Do Root Cause Analysis?
Company
• Saves money
• Satisfies customers
• Frees up resources
Employees
• Less frustration
• Focus on more exciting work
• Higher job satisfaction

Steps to Root Cause Analysis
1. Identify problems or trends.
2. Prioritize the symptoms.
3. Choose (and USE!) a tool.
4. Identify the process causing the

problem.
SG-2
5. Prove your theory.

Important: Root Cause
Analysis Doesn’t Include
Resolution
Why wouldn’t you resolve
a problem?
• Other priorities (too many
roots!)
• Benefits are bigger than costs
(skateboarding example)
• Customers define problems
differently than you
• Currently too expensive to
resolve

Identify Problems and Trends
3
Hard to find root cause
6
from a single occurrence 5
21
Proper infrastructure helps 7
• Daily management/metrics 22
3
Patterns 14
• Can be unreliable 101
(without statistics) 22
6343
SG-2
Prioritize Your Symptoms
Before you can fix a problem…
…you have to choose which

symptom to investigate.

SG-2
Choose Your Tool
Basic
• 5 Whys Animals in Petsville, WA (Sep 2006)
250 100%
90%
200 80%
Cumulative Percent
Number of animals
70%
150 60%
50%
100 40%
30%
50 20%
10%
0 0%
• Run Charts Cats Dogs Birds Rabbits
Types of animals
Snakes Frogs
Inter- • Pareto Charts

mediate • Cause and Effect
Advanced
• Statistics (ANOVA)

Identify the Process Step
Documented, stable processes are easiest
to identify.
• Once you know the
source of the problem,
you can fix it.
Unstable processes = intermittent effects.

• Much harder to isolate
• Fixes may not be permanent

SG-3 Prove Your Theory
If you get the root cause

analysis right, you can
predict the future.
Warning:
Correlation does
not equal
causation.

The 5 Whys
What do you do when you

come across a problem?
SG-3

The 5 Whys
Be careful when
you use the
5 Whys!
Use the 5 Whys primarily for

simple, low risk problems.

The 5 Whys
Coolant
Coolantisisleaking
leaking Why?
from
fromthe
themachine.
machine.
AAseal
sealwas
wasdamaged.
damaged.
If you just replaced the seal now,

what would happen?

The 5 Whys
Coolant
Coolantisisleaking
leaking Why?
from
fromthe
themachine.
machine.
AAseal
sealwas
wasdamaged.
damaged.
Why?
Metal
Metalshavings
shavingsgot
got Why?
into
intothe
thecoolant.
coolant.
A screen on the coolant
A screen on the coolant Why?
pump was broken.
pump was broken.
Screen is located where it
Root Cause Screen is located where it
gets hit by falling parts.

The 5 Whys
You have to deal
with the screen if
you want to
prevent this
problem from ever 5 is just a
happening again. guideline!
Screen is located where it

Root Cause Screen is located where it

Benefits of the 5
Whys
Introduces people to problem solving
methods
Prevents ‘band-aid’ solutions
Ease
• Easy to teach
• Easy to use
SG-4
Drawbacks of the 5
Whys
Not repeatable
• Not data driven
• Intentional and unintentional bias
• Limited to personal experience
Limited application
• Doesn’t work well with multiple causes
• Doesn’t work well for complicated problems
SG-4
The 5 Whys Worksheet

Questions?
Contact Information
Presentation author: Jeff Hajek
Phone: 1.800.670.5805
Email: Info@Velaction.com

Copyright and Licensing Information
All material contained within this presentation is protected by copyright law. All
rights are reserved except as noted below:
Corporate License Terms:
1. This material is licensed only. No ownership of content is transferred.

2. The purchaser may only use this training material within a single corporate reporting entity. This
includes, but is not limited to, reporting divisions or subsidiaries of larger organizations. A good rule of
thumb is that one license is required for each president in the organization.
3. This training material may be modified to suit the needs of the purchaser. The original training
material or its derivative works may not, however, be sold or otherwise distributed outside the
purchasing company.
4. This license may not be transferred.
5. This presentation is intended for use by a single organization to train its own employees, or people
with whom they regularly do business, such as members of its supply chain or other vendors.
a) It is not intended for third-party training, such as, but not limited to, training conducted by
consultants or corporate trainers.
b) The material in this presentation or its derivative works may not be sold by any party except
Velaction, LLC.
c) No compensation may be received for the use of the material for training purposes or for any
other reasons.
6. If any part of this license is not enforceable, the other provisions remain intact.
7. The terms of this license apply even if the presentation was part of a promotional offer.

Sources
• Crossed Adhesive bandage by Jeff Hajek

• Flowchart by Jeff Hajek

Special Licensing Information
Some of this content used in the presentation was acquired from

Wikimedia Commons, and falls under the terms of their licenses. This
content may be reused in accordance with the licenses under which they
were posted to http://commons.wikimedia.org/.
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Root Cause

This training material is not free. Please do not distribute it

A summary of this license is included at the end of this presentation.

Some material contained within this presentation falls under a free-use

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Want to make Click the icon to the left to

Click the icon to learn about

View this page as a slideshow

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Understand what root cause

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Root cause analysis is the process of

Fixing the root cause will permanently

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

1. Identify problems or trends.

2. Prioritize the symptoms.

3. Choose (and USE!) a tool.

4. Identify the process causing the

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Before you can fix a problem…

…you have to choose which

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Inter- • Pareto Charts

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Unstable processes = intermittent effects.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

If you get the root cause

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

What do you do when you

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Use the 5 Whys primarily for

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

If you just replaced the seal now,

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Screen is located where it

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Prevents ‘band-aid’ solutions

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Corporate License Terms:

1. This material is licensed only. No ownership of content is transferred.

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

• Crossed Adhesive bandage by Jeff Hajek

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

Some of this content used in the presentation was acquired from

Tree Roots.JPG Tree roots http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki Edwin Klein Public Domain

Manufactured Piles of material http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki Riverview Homes Creative Commons

© 2010 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC.

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