Find the Root Cause, Not Just the Symptom — The Thinking Skill That Makes You Irreplaceable in Any Factory
Ma Su Myat works in a garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar producing jackets for a European brand. For three weeks, she keeps finding the same defect: loose buttons on the left chest pocket. Every day she rejects 30 to 40 jackets for this issue. Every day the production team resews the buttons. Every day the same defect appears again. Ma Su Myat is exhausted. Her reject rate report looks terrible. Her supervisor tells her to 'inspect more carefully.' But Ma Su Myat IS inspecting carefully — that is how she keeps finding the defects. The real problem is that nobody is asking WHY the buttons keep coming loose. After three weeks of this cycle, the European buyer cancels the repeat order worth 150 million kyat. At the post-mortem meeting, a visiting QC consultant discovers the answer in five minutes: the button-sewing machine's thread tension cam was worn down by 0.4mm, causing inconsistent tension on every eighth stitch cycle. The fix cost 15,000 kyat for a replacement part. Ma Su Myat had spent three weeks catching symptoms of a problem that a single question — 'why does this keep happening?' — could have solved on day one.
Ma Su Myat works in a garment factory in Hlaing Tharyar producing jackets for a European brand. For three weeks, she keeps finding the same defect: loose buttons on the left chest pocket. Every day she rejects 30 to 40 jackets for this issue. Every day the production team resews the buttons. Every day the same defect appears again. Ma Su Myat is exhausted. Her reject rate report looks terrible. Her supervisor tells her to 'inspect more carefully.' But Ma Su Myat IS inspecting carefully — that is how she keeps finding the defects. The real problem is that nobody is asking WHY the buttons keep coming loose. After three weeks of this cycle, the European buyer cancels the repeat order worth 150 million kyat. At the post-mortem meeting, a visiting QC consultant discovers the answer in five minutes: the button-sewing machine's thread tension cam was worn down by 0.4mm, causing inconsistent tension on every eighth stitch cycle. The fix cost 15,000 kyat for a replacement part. Ma Su Myat had spent three weeks catching symptoms of a problem that a single question — 'why does this keep happening?' — could have solved on day one.
A QC inspector who only finds defects is a cost center the factory tolerates. A QC inspector who finds WHY defects happen is a strategic asset the factory cannot afford to lose. The difference is one question asked five times.
Apply the 5-Why root cause analysis method to any recurring factory defect and arrive at a systemic cause within 10 minutes using only a phone and a Notes app
Distinguish between a symptom, a proximate cause, and a root cause for at least 3 common manufacturing defects relevant to Myanmar factories
Create a simple fishbone diagram using Canva or hand-drawing to visually map the potential causes of a recurring defect across 4 categories: Machine, Material, Method, and Manpower
A QC inspector who only finds defects is a cost center the factory tolerates. A QC inspector who finds WHY defects happen is a strategic asset the factory cannot afford to lose. The difference is one question asked five times.
Apply the 5-Why root cause analysis method to any recurring factory defect and arrive at a systemic cause within 10 minutes using only a phone and a Notes app
Distinguish between a symptom, a proximate cause, and a root cause for at least 3 common manufacturing defects relevant to Myanmar factories
Create a simple fishbone diagram using Canva or hand-drawing to visually map the potential causes of a recurring defect across 4 categories: Machine, Material, Method, and Manpower
12 learning cards · 1 quiz
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