Free tool
5 Whys Root Cause Analysis
Run a structured 5 Whys analysis to find the root cause of an equipment failure.
Problem data
5 times “Why?”
Root cause and corrective action
Result: root cause analysis (5 Whys)
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You enter a problem description and up to five “Why?” answers. The tool builds a visual cause chain (problem → why 1 → … → root cause) and an action plan table: corrective action, owner and deadline. Empty “Why?” rows are left out of the chain. The result can be printed or saved as a PDF.
Illustrative example: problem “bearing failed” → why? “no lubrication” → why? “the maintenance plan had no such item” → root cause “the plan was not updated after the machine was modified”.
Frequently asked questions
How many “why” questions are needed?
Usually three to five – until you reach a cause that can be eliminated by changing the process.
What is the difference between a symptom and a root cause?
A symptom is what you see (the bearing failed); the root cause is why it happened and what to change so it does not recur.
Who should take part in the analysis?
The operator, the maintenance technician and the shift or maintenance manager – this gets the analysis to the real cause.
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