6 steps beyond the 5 Whys - AMMJ

The 5 Whys process
At a mine site in far north Queensland, a freight train sits idle on the
track. For some reason, the train cannot be loaded with its coal, and is
causing a costly stoppage at the mine facility. The mine operator needs
to know what’s stopping the normal loading procedure.
A starting point might be to run with the 5 Whys process, whereby you
start asking questions – typically, at least 5 – about what happened.
Why can’t the train be loaded?
Because the loading conveyor belt has stopped.
Why has the loading conveyor stopped?
Because the drive motor on the conveyor pulley has tripped out.
Why has the drive motor tripped out?
Because there was an overload on the drive motor.
Why was there an overload on the drive motor?
Because the main bearing had seized.
Why has the main bearing seized?
Because there was no lubrication in the bearing.
By asking 5 simple questions, the mine operator arrives at a tangible
solution: ensuring that bearings in the drive motor are adequately
lubricated. As this simple example demonstrates, the 5 Whys process
could potentially be sufficient as a simple form of root cause analysis,
with no further investigation needed.
Yet, while investigators could use the 5 Whys process as a starting point,
they may however soon see the need to take the investigation further.