Can the Engineering “5 Whys” Technique be Used to Understand Modern Society?
Driving to work this morning, I rolled over a thick carpet of leaves scattered across the road. Moments later, I noticed a professional gardener using a leaf blower to push leaves from the property he was maintaining straight onto the public street. That small act made me pause and think about what it reveals about our society today.
Not long ago, gardeners routinely collected and removed garden waste as part of their service. Later, the practice shifted to placing the waste in the property owner’s green bin. Now, in some cases, the waste is simply blown onto the road for someone else—usually local council—to deal with.
To explore this behaviour, let’s apply the well‑known Toyota engineering problem‑solving method: the “5 Whys” technique.
Applying the 5 Whys:
Problem Statement: A professional gardener blows leaf litter onto public roads
Why 1? It is the fastest way to clear the client’s property
Why 2? Speed is necessary to meet the booking schedule
Why 3? The schedule is tightly packed as the business model relies on high volume to maintain profitability
Why 4? High volume is necessary due to competing on low pricing
Why 5? The pricing model does not take into account the labour time and disposal fees
Additional Why 6? Blocked storm water drains, polluted waterways and effects to road users are not considered in pricing model
Additional Why 7? There are no local council laws and the client (market) does not demand environmental or road user considerations in the pricing
Is This the Whole Story?
Probably not. The “5 Whys” technique does not claim to provide the only answer. It relies on gathered information surrounding the problem, ideally from the source, so that facts can be used in the analysis. I did not stop to ask the gardener or the client regarding what I witnessed so my analysis can only be considered as a high level analysis.
Insight into Modern Society
What is interesting to see even without all of the facts is how behaviours connect to cultural norms, low barrier entry markets, pride in work, cost of living, economic incentives, governance and environmental & road user consequences. Far from making the gardener a villain, this analysis has made me reconsider what I do in my work and my life outside of work. It serves as a reminder that issues are rarely as simple as they appear to be on the surface. The good news is that there is room to improve in modern society and we should seek out continuous improvement in all that we do.