• D1-Set up the team

Establish a small group of people who know the process and/or product, the work times and who have the authority and skills in the technical disciplines required to solve the problem and implement corrective actions. The keys to success are:

• Review the problem or opportunity for improvement
• Review priorities, scope and complexity
• Identify if a team is needed
• Identify team members and establish the team.
• Appoint a team leader
• Establish basic guidelines for the team

• D2-Describe the problem

In order to define a solution, it is important to know and clearly understand what the problem is. Most solutions that end up not working are derived from a poor understanding of the problem.

The length of the problem description will vary depending on its complexity. It may include known data from the context of the problem or research on similar problems, which will serve to describe the characteristics of the problem. One of the most common methods is 5W + 2H, which consists of answers to 7 questions that together describe the problem in detail:

• What? Briefly describe the problem that is occurring.
• When? Describes the moment in time when the problem is being seen (time of day, week, month, etc.).
• Where? Describes where the problems are materializing (a production line, a machine, a place, a product or a process, etc.).
• Who? Describes who the problem happens to, and whether or not it is related to their abilities.
• Why? Describes the apparent conditions that are generating the problem (for example, due to a machine failure, improper handling, etc.)
• How? Describes how the problem differs from the normal (optimal) state, is there a trend in which the problem appears, is it random or follows a pattern.
• How Much? Describes how the problem is quantified. How many problems occur in a day? In a week? In a month? How much money are they involved?

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• D3-Develop provisional containment actions

Rather than waiting until the end of the process to solve the underlying problem, the eight disciplines approach calls for a temporary solution from the beginning, which should be affordable, easy to implement, and easy to undo once a permanent solution is found.

By implementing temporary containment once the problem has been characterized, it is possible to limit the damage done to the organization while waiting for a definitive and permanent solution that guarantees that the problem will not recur. In classic quality management systems, we know this as applying Corrective Measures.

• D4-Analyze and identify the Root Cause(s) (RCA)

This discipline is the heart of the method, and it is where the team will really “get down to business” when it comes to finding a solution to the problem. Once the temporary solution is in place, more time can be spent identifying the real causes that are generating the problem.

There are several analysis techniques that can be used to answer the question of why the problem occurs repeatedly:

• Statistical analysis of data
• Ishikawa diagram
• Tree Diagram
• Relationship Diagram
• Flowchart
• Pareto analysis
• Brainstorming
• Expert judgment or others

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• D5-Develop and implement permanent solutions / Permanent corrective actions.

In this step, corrective actions are determined based on the previously identified causes of the problem. Each case must define at least one solution that will be implemented in the long term and that will aim to eliminate said cause. In this way, the set of actions defined in the long term make up the corrective action plan that will be implemented.

This stage can be long, and the resources available to the company also have an influence. In both cases, you should not give up.

• D6-Verify and monitor solutions

Select the best permanent corrective actions to eliminate the root cause. There are different ways to prove that the solution that has been reached is effective. In the short term, the simplest way is to observe the recurrence of the problem. In the medium and long term, the effects produced by each action and by the solution in general must be monitored.

If in the short term, the expected results are not being achieved or if the solution has unwanted side effects, it is necessary to return to step 4 and take the time to rethink the causes and/or actions to ensure success in the end.

Now that testing, inspections, assessments and/or audits have been conducted and the results confirm that the solution is working, it is time to permanently communicate and implement the chosen solution.

• D7-Prevent the problem from recurring

The best solutions are those that prevent the problem from happening again. In the previous step, it was verified that the implemented solutions solved the problem permanently. Now, in this step, it is necessary to think about and define how to organize or create permanent solutions so that the entire organization knows how to act and take measures so that this problem does not happen again in the future.

This phase allows the creation of a working standard to solve similar problems in similar processes and products or in any organizational context.

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• D8-Close the issue and acknowledge contributions

Finally, to encourage continuous improvement, the work of team members must be recognized. In this sense, the organization must formally reward and congratulate all collaborators involved in the solution, and thus communicate how much their work is appreciated by the organization.

In short, 8D is an orderly route followed by a multidisciplinary team, composed of 8 predefined steps to identify and describe a problem, analyze its causes, determine and plan the set of actions that allow achieving an effective solution, verify the result of the solution and provide feedback to those involved, to improve learning and the way of applying the method in subsequent cycles, and in turn improve the systemic management of problems.

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At IBAS, we understand the importance of implementing effective problem solving steps to ensure business success and sustainable growth. 

We hope that you now have a clearer idea of effective problem solving steps.

Contact us  VERN and IBAS and find out about our method and our business administration programs.

Contact with IBAS: +201000498154