Does it work for IT system outages?

Yes. Use people, code, configuration, dependencies, infrastructure and monitoring as the bones, which fit system failures better.

Does a fishbone diagram find the root cause?

Not by itself. It lays out the possible causes; downtime records and data confirm which one is the root cause.

Can I combine it with five whys?

Yes. Spread the causes out on the fishbone first, then ask why repeatedly on the one or two most likely and write the answers as deeper levels.

Equipment failure fishbone diagram template

Previewed in the “Paper” theme; you can switch themes in the editor

When to use it

Use it for a monthly failure analysis in the maintenance department, a downtime review on the shop floor, or to justify an equipment upgrade. The six bones adapt the classic categories to maintenance work, and each cause points to something that can be checked.

Make it yours

Change the second line to the specific symptom, such as "Line 3 down more than 20 hours a month".
Replace the causes with what your inspection logs and work orders actually show.
For a finer level, indent under a cause, such as "Bearing run past service life" under wear.
Indent with spaces only and keep lines on the same level aligned.

Mermaid code

equipment-failure-fishbone.mmd

ishikawa-beta
    Frequent equipment downtime
    People
        Operating procedure not followed
        Abnormal signs not passed on at handover
    Machine
        Wear on critical components
        Insufficient design margin
    Spare parts
        Inconsistent part quality
        Wrong lubricant grade
    Maintenance methods
        Preventive schedule not kept
        Repairs made without finding the cause
    Operating environment
        Dust blocks cooling
        Voltage fluctuation
    Monitoring
        No vibration or temperature sensors
        Alarm thresholds set too wide

Ask an AI for one with this structure

Send the prompt below to ChatGPT or Claude, then paste the whole reply into the editor; the code inside is detected automatically.

prompt.txt

Draw a fishbone diagram with Mermaid ishikawa-beta syntax that analyzes the causes of frequent equipment downtime. Write ishikawa-beta on the first line and the problem, indented, on the second. Below it add one line each for People, Machine, Spare parts, Maintenance methods, Operating environment and Monitoring, with two specific causes indented one level deeper under each. Indent with spaces only and write plain text on each line. Output only the mermaid code block.

FAQ

Does it work for IT system outages?: Yes. Use people, code, configuration, dependencies, infrastructure and monitoring as the bones, which fit system failures better.
Does a fishbone diagram find the root cause?: Not by itself. It lays out the possible causes; downtime records and data confirm which one is the root cause.
Can I combine it with five whys?: Yes. Spread the causes out on the fishbone first, then ask why repeatedly on the one or two most likely and write the answers as deeper levels.

More in this category

All templates

Updated 2026-11-11