Title: Five whys: a possible path to failure

Authors: Matthew Barsalou; Beata Starzyńska; Maria Konrad

Addresses: QPLUS, Level 22, West Tower, Bahrain Financial Harbour, P.O. Box 20705, Manama, Bahrain ' Poznan University of Technology, Pl. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 5, 60-965 Poznań, Poland ' Spawmet Zbigniew Kaczmarek, Kamienna 22, 63-400 Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland

Abstract: This paper investigates the use of five whys in industry. Literature was first reviewed and categorised as describing five whys as a simplified method for asking why without an empirical aspect, empirical when the author or authors clearly indicated that actual investigation was needed, and ambiguous when it is not clear how five whys should be used. A survey was then sent to organisations to assess how five whys is actually used in industry. Authors need to be much clearer when describing five whys. Over half of the literature assessed indicated that the five whys are a simplified brainstorming tool, 30.0% of authors were not clear on how five whys should be used, and only 16.7% clearly indicated that investigation and empirical methods are required when using five whys. The results of the survey were more not much more positive, with 41.8% of respondents using five whys as a purely brainstorming tool. Five whys can be applied when investigating problems such as safety incidents and quality failures; however, it is essential to answer each why with an investigation and not just brainstorming.

Keywords: five whys; problem solving; failure investigation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2024.139599

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2024 Vol.15 No.1, pp.19 - 32

Received: 06 Nov 2022
Accepted: 17 Aug 2023
Published online: 04 Jul 2024 *

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