In the Sequence of Events: Why Method, what is Step 1?

• A. Identify the actual or potential injury, damage, or near miss.
• B. Identify the root cause
• C. Define the problem
• D. List the possible causes

Answer: (A)

The main idea is to establish what happened and what could have happened so you have a clear starting point for the investigation. Step one is identifying the actual or potential injury, damage, or near miss. This defines the event you’re analyzing and sets the scope, so you can accurately map the sequence of events and then ask why to drill down to root causes. If you jump ahead to naming root causes, listing possible causes, or simply defining the problem without anchoring it to a specific event, you risk analyzing the wrong issue or missing critical boundaries of the investigation. By starting with the concrete event or near-miss, you create a precise foundation for the rest of the Why method.