What is Why Why Analysis?

Countermeasure: Lubricant sump to be cleaned more frequently.
Corrective Action: Impeller to be changed, coolant sump to be cleaned.
Preventive Action: The lubricant sump should be cleaned once a month (currently it is a bi-monthly task).
Horizontal Deployment: Apply the revised Preventive Maintenance schedule (monthly) to all Lubricant pumps.

Benefits of Why-Why Analysis:

• Eliminates downtime losses by avoiding future failures
• Improves equipment life by reducing common shortcomings
• Enhances productivity by saving maintenance time
• Helps improve equipment life across similar equipment through horizontal deployment
• Strengthens process governance and enhances institutionalization of knowledge

Why-Why Analysis – Follow-up Actions:

The countermeasure is the final action taken in response to the root cause determined through why-why analysis. Principal countermeasures include Corrective Action and Preventive Action (CAPA).

Corrective Actions: All actions that have to be implemented in the equipment as an immediate and one-time measure to resolve the underlying root cause are termed as Corrective Actions.

Preventive Actions: All actions that need to be done proactively to avert the recurrence of the breakdown are termed Preventive Actions. These may include increasing the frequency of preventive maintenance, updating the tasks carried out as part of preventive maintenance or changing the schedule or actions relating to cleaning, lubrication, inspection, tightening and alignment (CLITA) activities about that equipment.

Why why analysis and the resultant corrective actions and preventive actions (CAPA) are essential for pursuing Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). A well designed Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) will provide you the ability to perform why-why analysis and implement both Corrective Actions and Preventive Actions, right from the breakdown work order.

One Point Lessons
Sometimes the preventive action may include specific tasks by the equipment operators to avert the recurrence. One Point Lesson (OPL) is used as a useful tool to educate the operators on the steps to be taken. One point lesson can be viewed as a simplified standard operating procedure (SOP). It will be precise and covers a single aspect in detail, with adequate supporting illustrations.

Horizontal Deployment
Horizontal Deployment (HD) is the process of creating an organization-wide deployment scheme across the same class of equipment, from the learnings arising out of a Why-Why analysis. It can also originate from other activities like Kobetsu Kaizen, engineering development studies, etc. Proactive horizontal deployment can mitigate potential risks of failure, thereby saving precious time, effort and money.

A well-implemented asset codification schema or an advanced CMMS implementation can help in quickly identifying all the assets that belong to the same equipment class, across the enterprise including those assets that are present at other sites.

Multidimensional Why-Why Analysis
Multidimensional analysis is the process of analyzing the failure holistically, from various dimensions, often beyond the equipment related causes. It can involve analyzing the man-machine interface, operating environment, operator awareness, process issues, etc. to determine the indirect and supporting factors that contributed to the failure or inhibited the earlier detection or prevention of the crash. Based on the analysis outcome, suitable countermeasures like changes in the operating environment, process improvements and training sessions to improve awareness are implemented.

Best Practices for doing Why-Why Analysis:

1. Training and Practice:

   Why-Why analysis is a crucial activity after the equipment is restored to normalcy. It can be taught to all the key stakeholders in the process, including lean production and maintenance teams. It’s the straightforward concept, and people can start using it with minimal training. Practice is the key to achieve best results in the Why Why analysis process. Each person can arrive at a different root cause analysis based on his personal experience. Champions can mentor the users and enhance they’re to come to the proper object to arrive at the appropriate root cause analysis. Like any other process, training and regular practice are the key factors in the quick adoption by the floor personnel.

2. Culture and Management Support:

   Though the why why analysis is a simpler technique and can be practised by anyone with little training, sustaining the why why analysis for continuous improvement needs an enabling organization culture and supporting management.

3. Timeliness: 

   Why Why Analysis for a mandated breakdown has to be completed within 24-48 hours of the breakdown closure. This is important because the incident memories fade away with time and capturing them on time improves the effectiveness.

4. Collaboration:

   Effective why-why analysis requires all the key stakeholders to collaborate. The most knowledgeable person about the problem should lead the analysis effort. Facilitators, who are aware of the process, can act as catalysts to enable a meticulous analysis, and proper determination of root cause and countermeasures.

5. Support for Learning:

   Suitable mentoring for each user on the production floor to help them understand the basics and absorb the nuances. Each shop floor user should have a Why Why mentor. In the initial days, the Why Why analysis has to be vetted by the champion to fine-tune the user skills

6. Gemba:

   Gemba is a Japanese term meaning the real place. Gemba’s walk to the breakdown area can help understand the problem from a holistic perspective, including the operating environment and conditions.

7. Institutionalizing the learning:

   Business benefits will accrue exponentially when collective learning is propagated to all stakeholders.

8. Enterprise Systems:

   Availability of tools like CMMS can help in the systematic capture of Why Why analysis and tracking the proper implementation of countermeasures. CMMS can be very beneficial as a training asset, process tool and knowledge repository for organizations that are implementing Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).

Why is MaintWiz an ideal solution for you?

MaintWiz is a new age industry 4.0 CMMS software that helps you to digitize your maintenance operations and supports you with powerful tools to help why-why analysis and implement countermeasures.

1. Simple yet Structured: MaintWiz simplifies the why-why analysis process for the user by providing all the relevant information like breakdown details, failure codes, history, etc., at a single point to enable useful analysis. Simultaneously the tool-ification of the process allows for maintaining the rigour of the structured approach to provide comprehensive business benefits.
2. Comprehensive: MaintWiz supports the JIPM templates to complete the why-why analysis and implement countermeasures.
3. CAPA: Ability to assign corrective action and preventive action (CAPA) to resources and track them to closure. Supports seamless incorporation of preventive maintenance method changes right from the breakdown order.
4. One Point Lessons: MaintWiz helps in capturing and publishing one-point lessons to improve operator awareness.
5. Multi-site Support & Horizontal Deployment: Enables horizontal deployment across the enterprise.
6. Analytics: MaintWiz provides comprehensive analytics with interactive reports to understand, learn and propagate from the root cause analysis. Dashboards and scorecards can help track your adoption, organizational maturity, and institutionalization.
7. TPM Excellence: Aids TPM practitioners to focusing on the appropriate pillar (Kobetsu Kaizen, Jishu Hozen, Education, and Training etc.) for implementation of the countermeasure

MaintWiz is a ready-to-use CMMS to support Why Why analysis and your pursuit of TPM Excellence. MaintWiz is offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) on a monthly subscription model, which means there are no entry or exit costs associated with MaintWiz rollout.