Why-Because Graphs

One of the results of the Why-Because Analysis is a Why-Because Graph, which is a graphical representation of the causal relationships between all factors that make up the causal explanation of an incident or accident. Factors can be Events, States, Processes, Un-Events, and are represented as nodes in the graph. A causal relationship between two nodes, meaning “This node is a necessary causal factor of this other node” is represented by an arrow.

WB Graphs have been an invaluable tool for getting a good understanding of what went wrong and thereby lead to a specific accident, and how to avoid a recurrence.