Production Supervisor how-to

How to Run a 5 Whys Problem Solving Session

Asking why repeatedly gets past symptoms to causes.

Updated By the Career Education Institute Curriculum Team
Quick answer

Asking why repeatedly gets past symptoms to causes. In short: define; gather; ask, then complete the remaining steps below.

Step by step

  1. Define the problem clearly with data.

  2. Gather people who know the process.

  3. Ask why the problem happened and record the answer.

  4. Keep asking why for each answer, usually about five times.

  5. Confirm the root cause with evidence.

  6. Assign corrective actions and follow up.

Safety reminders for production supervisors

  • Lead by example with PPE and safe practices
  • Investigate incidents and near-misses promptly
  • Enforce lockout/tagout and machine guarding
  • Make it safe for workers to report hazards

OEE · KPI · Downtime · Scrap rate · Changeover · SMED: see the full production supervisor glossary.

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