How do the Shainin methods differ from the 5 WHY problem solving approach?
5 WHY is a powerful technique to converge on the true sources causing a larger problem. The philosophy is to go to Gemba, or go to the shop floor and see with your own eyes what is happening and learn the cause by asking and answering WHY. Many of our Shainin consultants learned these techniques as part of Kaizen events in previous assignments. At Shainin, we also believe it is important to go to Gemba. We refer to our technique as “talking to the parts”; for they hold the clues as to what is causing the problem. For more complex problems, however, often the cause of the problem is not known, and can’t be understood by simply asking why. In fact, one of our clients has referred to our approach as “enhancing the art of asking WHY.” For these tough problems, Shainin techniques can enhance your 5 Why approach by making sure we ask the right “Why” questions, resulting in more options for improvement.
