INTRODUCTION

8D problem solving is certainly one of the skills that every engineer working in
the automotive industry should know, regardless of whether she of he works in
the quality, production, process, maintenance or logistics department.

Thanks to 8D problem solving, companies have the ability to efficiently carry out
analysis for both problems reported by external customers and those identified
internally.

It is also worth remembering that this method doesn’t only refer to quality
issues, because it can also be widely used to improve health and safety,
efficiency, ergonomics, material flow and more effective changeovers and
maintenance activities.

All the above arguments that make 8D problem solving universal, have also made
it start to be used by other industries.

I hope you will like the form and content. More information is available on the
website automotivequal.com

Kindest regards,

Dariusz Kowalczyk
Table of contents
D0 – Preparation and Problem Statement .............................................................................................. 4

Teamwork and effective problem solving ............................................................................................... 5

5W2H – how to perform properly problem description ......................................................................... 7

Is / Is Not method as a more effective approach to problem description ............................................ 11

D3 Interim Containment Actions ICA – 8D Methodology ..................................................................... 14

Ishikawa Diagram – how effectively perform root cause analysis ........................................................ 18

5xWhy – effective method for root cause determining ........................................................................ 21

D5 and D6 - Permanent Corrective Actions implementation and verification PCA .............................. 26

What preventive actions can be implemented in D7 ............................................................................ 29

8D Report – Recognition and Closing Audit .......................................................................................... 33

Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 35
D0 – Preparation and Problem Statement
Unlike the other steps in 8D problem solving, the Problem Statement step is
optional. Why? Because the purpose of this stage is an immediate reaction to the
threat resulting from the impact on the safety.

The second scenario may involve a large number of parts claimed by the customer,
which may result in significant assigned for the company. Such actions are referred
to as ERA - Emergency Response Action, i.e. immediate actions in response to a
threat.

What are some examples of such actions?

• Customer notification regarding an internal report

• Blocking the products at the customer's site and starting the sorting process

• Retention of products during transport

• Blocking of products in sequencing warehouses

• Blocking of products prepared for shipment

Teamwork and effective problem solving

Just like in team games, also during solving problems without the proper team
which will have the right skills, we will not be able to go through the entire analysis
process at the given time.

At best, it will be very difficult.

Remember that working in the automotive industry involves cooperation with

many departments. It’s applicable not only when solving problems, but also during
daily activities performing. That is why it’s so important to build the right
relationships with another team members.

Even if we don’t like someone excessively, we should remember to “separate

the emotions level from the content level”. Thanks to which it will be easier for us
to focus on the problem solving. Not on looking for the guilty.

There is also no such thing as “one man hero” – this is not a Marvel movie.
Teamwork gives you the opportunity to look at the problem from a different
perspective. Why? Because each of us has a different baggage of experience and
skills. This translates directly into the synergy effect leading to a more effective
problem solving.

In some training manuals you can also find information that people in teams should
change from time to time. We should approach it rationally. As research on air
crashes shows, more than 80% of accidents are caused in situations where the
flight crew cooperates with each other for a maximum of a few weeks.

Of course, in a situation where one person leaves the team because they have been
promoted or want to develop in another area, it is understandable. Then the team
can be supplemented with a person who will look at the problem from a different
perspective. This approach is also named as “fresh eye view”.
Teamwork and competences

There is also no need to cheat that there should not be a process engineer or
technologist on the team, unlike the rest of the team. Why is it worth making
friends with them? Because they have a great deal of process knowledge.

In addition, it is recommended that the team also includes an employee directly

performing a given operation in production area or a team leader. Their knowledge
is invaluable for checking whether our hypotheses verified in step D4 are correct
or whether they can be ruled out right away.
5W2H – how to perform properly problem description

One of the important elements in solving problems is the proper implementation

of its description, thanks to which it will be possible to solve it faster and this
opportunity gives us 5W2H methodology application.

Quality problems solving is one of the operational activity key elements of each
manufacturing plant. financial costs charged by customers for complaints and the
effects of their consequences generate losses that significantly affect the financial
result of organizations. In some cases, they can even determine the fate of
companies. Dealing with problems effectively is in the interest of both the supplier
and the customer.

One of the problem solving analysis element is 5W2H methodology. It’s a part
of 8D report defined in step D2 – Problem Description.

A common mistake at this stage is to rewrite the information about the problem
that we receive from the customer, such as “dashboard deformation” or “front
seat noise.” This type of description does not bring any specific information that
may be a point of reference for the cause analysis. That is why it is so important to
gather all relevant information. Following the 5W2H methodology, we can refine
the problem description.

5W2H question compositions

The name of this method comes from interrogative words beginning in English with
the letters “W” and “H”. All of them are presented below:
WHAT?
What product is affected? What exactly is the problem (where the defect appears
on the product)? What component have this problem?

WHY?
Why this is a problem? What are the pre-known current causes for this type of
problem? Previous analyzes of internal quality problems solving, non conformity
tickets (NCT’s), FMEA analysis records and internal audits results (for example
Layered Process Audits – LPA) will be useful. Are there specific standards
maintained: work instructions, settings, production machines maintenance and
measuring equipment?

WHEN?
When was the problem first observed? This is important as it gives a time period
to focus on, to identify whether something has changed to cause the problem, and
if so, when.
Does the defect occur immediately, or does it take time to materialize? This
situation could be useful during analysis of warranty returns.

WHO?
Which customer reported a problem? Do other customers receive the same
products and report the same problems?

WHERE?
Where did the problem occur? On what machine exactly? At what machine
settings? What process step detected the failure and what process steps should
have detected the failure? If answer is “at the customer”, then this information
may need to be requested.

HOW?
What is the mechanism of this type of problem? What phenomena must occur for
the problem to occur? Potential problems can arise from the machine (wear of its
parts and tools).

HOW MANY?
How many units are affected? Based on data, how may units in the population are
affected. This and the following question give an indication of the size of the
problem

How is this problem spread across the working day? Does the problem occur
randomly, on a particular shift or day.

Information on the amount of potential costs, excluding those related to safety

characteristics, should be an indicator of investment opportunities for corrective
actions.

Although it would seem that the description of the problem using 5W2H questions
takes a lot of time, it can be seen that the answers are fundamental information
needed to analyze the reasons required in point D4 of the 8D report. We will save
a lot of time in the further stages of 8D report.

At the problem description stage, we will certainly not be able to answer each of
these questions, but we can already plan the path to obtain this information. One
of the most important sources of answers to questions is the results of selection of
final product in organization and customer warehouse.

Their 100% control allows to orientate on the real scale of the problem,
repeatability, size, location of the defect and the mechanism of its formation. This
activity is defined as Interim Containment Actions and are placed in step D3 of 8D
report.
The most common mistakes taken during 5W2H defining

There are few typical mistakes which we can meet during 5W2H. The most
common are listed below:

• Actions are based on symptoms, not a real problem.

• Relying on premature conclusions about the root cause (avoiding “jumping

into conclusions rather than focusing on the problem”).

• Describing the problem by copying the problem definition created by the

client, which is often only a symptom. This example was also mentioned at

beginning of this chapter.

It said that proper description of a problem causes its faster solution and above
method is giving us this possibility. For this reason we need to remember that if
we’ll spend more time on this phase of problem analysis, then it will be easier to
follow root cause analysis defined in step D4 of 8D report.
Is / Is Not method as a more effective approach to problem
description

By default, the 5W2H method is used to describe the problem. We can further
develop it by using the Is / Is Not method.

Thanks to this approach, we gain a broader view of the problem and a risk analysis
of potentially non-compliant parts at the customer’s site.

When to use the 5W2H extension?

Most often it’s used to structure the team working on the problem definition that
we want to analyze. Additionally, it should be used when we suspect that
knowledge of a situation is only partial. We do not have to strictly follow the
questions that are placed on the form. If necessary, questions may be rephrased if
You feel that they do not apply.

Is / Is Not in problem description structure

The structure of the document is very transparent. It just involves adding an extra
column to the 5W2H tool. We should answer the following questions:

Who

Who is affected by the problem? (Is); Who is not affected by the problem and
could? (Is Not)

What
What is the problem? (Is); What could be the problem and is not? (Is Not)

Where

Where problem occurs? (Is) Where could the problem occur but didn’t occur? (Is
Not)

When

When the problem was observed first time? (Is); When was the first time problem
could be observed but was not detected? (Is Not)

Fig. 1 Sample problem description structure containing Is / Is Not and 5W2H.

How Many
How many parts are affected by the problem? (Is); How many parts aren’t affected
by the problem? (Is Not)

How Often

What is the trend cycle for this problem? (Is); What may the trend be but is not?
(Is Not)

What can we gain by Is / Is Not applying?

The Is / Is Not method is a great extension of 5W2H used in problem analysis.

Thanks to it, we can estimate if the problem concerns only one production line. Or
should we analyze all the production lines in the production plant (for example,
plastics processing, welding, thermoforming ect).

In addition, it allows us to transparently estimate whether a given report concerns

one customer (or one of his plants).
D3 Interim Containment Actions ICA – 8D Methodology

Each person dedicated for problem solving according to 8D Methodology has to be

aware that Interim Containment Actions can be applied not only in step D3 but also
in D0 defined as Problem Statement.

In this second case ICA can be kicked-off as element of Emergency Response

Actions (ERA) which are defined after considering, if the problem from client is
related to safety or it’s needed urgent solving.

Fig. 2 Infographic showing the ICA actions introduction in step D0.

Here has to be mentioned that ICA is eliminating the problem symptom (so
exactly this what is reported by client) instead of Permanent Correction Actions
defined in step D5 which is eliminating the root cause and by this problem
symptom itself.

Of course the effectiveness of ICA’s and PCA’s activities should be verified as

well.

During interim containment actions defining we should ask yourself:

• Are we still not producing defective products?

• Do our control processes require increased frequency of sampling or
measurement method change?
• Is the problem could be notified to the supplier?
• Do the actions that we intend to take do not cause additional problems?

Above actions must take place immediately after determining the problem and
have to eliminate the effects caused by the defective product. The goal of each
ICA implementation should be related to impact limitation of the problem found
by final customer, occurrence scale and the final costs of lack of good quality.

Interim Containment Actions ICA – examples

There is a lot of different strategies of ICA implementation which are depends

from problem gravity reported by customers. Examples are listed below:
 • Temporary 100% sorting of components
• Additional control of finished products before shipment
• Additional measurements and tests in the process
• More frequent tool change
• Manufacture from one source (in case of dualsource)
• Change of the manufacturing cell
• Requesting 100% control of materials at Tier 2
• Client notification of non-conform products
• Immediate repair of the machine or tool
• Additional quality control operations
• Introduction of sorting actions in all places in the supply chain
• Stopping and isolating suspected measurements

Benefits of Interim Containment Actions ICA implementation

The main benefit of ICA activities implementing is ensuring the safety of the
finished product and minimizing costs resulting from the occurrence of a quality
problem. Thanks to the appropriate and immediate response, we are able to
eliminate the potential costs resulting from the need for:

scrapping / repairing non-conform final products

special transports to customer factories

additional production shifts kick-off

final products selection in customers warehouse

recall campaigns from the field.

We can’t also forget that ICA activities are implemented for defined time period,
because they’re generating significant costs for which can be included: cycle
time, work inputs, more expensive raw materials and others).
Ishikawa Diagram – how effectively perform root cause analysis

Ishikawa Diagram, also known as the “fishbone”, is a qualitative tool that is often
used during problem solving by the production plant.

Usually it’s used in the quality area, but it can also be successfully carried out in
logistic, health and safety (ergonomics, accidents at work, etc.) and
production analysis.

Most often, we can deal with it when using:

• 8D reports in step D4 – root cause analysis

• Kaizen methodology – with this approach, is used as 4M (Man, Machine,
Method, Material) or 4M + 1D (Design)

It’s a great tool for the correct verification of the problem root cause, and thus,
it determines its effectiveness. An additional benefit of using the Ishikawa
diagram is that it is easy to learn and simple to use.

We must also remember that group problem-solving is a good practice,

eliminating the pathology of the pseudo-one man show strategy. In the long run,
this solution can lead to a reoccurrence of the problem and OEM client
escalation.

Why are we mentioning this? Because the Ishikawa diagram strengthens

teamwork, stimulating creative thinking. Its additional advantage is that it can
be used immediately when a problem occurs and where it occurs (often referred
to in the automotive industry as “gemba”).
Ishikawa diagram – category description

In the Ishikawa diagram, the most common are six categories that should be
considered. Belong to them following areas:

Man – in this category we verify qualifications, habits, job satisfaction,

internship, well-being of the person or employee whose work led to the
occurring problem

Figure 3. Ishikawa diagram – graphic presentation

Machine – in this category, we verify all aspects relating to the machine, which
include among others, license, durability, modernity, efficiency, precision, safety
and working conditions

Material – here we consider components at the entrance to the production

process and semi-finished products that occur in the inter-operational areas
(named also as WIP – work in progress)

Method – refers, among other things, to verification of procedures, instructions,

specifications, standards, laws, rules, know-how and technology

Measurements / Measurement system – in which it’s worth taking into account

the incorrect or distorted indication of the measuring instrument

Environment – that is the area where the following factors should be

considered: temperature, humidity, pressure, lighting, noise, radiation
5xWhy – effective method for root cause determining

5xWhy is a key problem solving part. Thanks to it, we are able to define the real
root cause, not the symptom. It’s important because for the symptom the
containment actions are defined in the step D3 in the 8D report.

How then to carry out such an analysis?

Step zero is to correctly fulfill Ishikawa diagram. If we already know whether we

are dealing with an incorrectly performed control, lack of its implementation or
poorly defined process parameters, we go to the 5xWhy method

5xWhy – structure

Fig. 3. An example of the 5xWhy Method structure

The structure of the method itself is very simple, as it consists in asking questions
five times that will most likely allow to get to the root cause.
In theory it seems easy, but in practice not necessarily anymore, because we can
fall into several traps that will significantly make it difficult to continue:

5xWhy vs. 5 guilty

When conducting any meetings in a team, we must be aware of the importance

of the relationships within it. I have had the opportunity to observe many times
(even as a client’s representative) when during the meeting, the conversation
moved from the “content” level to the “emotional” level.

It’s a definition during which the meeting participants do not focus on the
physical solution of the problem, but on reminding who didn’t do what and what
it led to.

Teamwork, not a “one man hero”

Group work is very important during 5xWhy defining. Only the effect of synergy
and modifying the ideas presented by other participants gives a better view of
the problem, during which we can look at the operational activities carried out
in our own area from a different perspective. One person cannot get it.

Quality of the team – who should solve the problem?

Continuing the topic of teamwork, it should be remembered that, unlike defining

Ishikawa (which can also be attended by people from outside the production
area), 5xWhy requires a person who knows the production process and technical
issues. This knowledge most often appears from Why number 3, where the most
common transition from general formulation to the technical area.

Additionally, the team should include everyone who has the problem, not just
the person reporting it. Most often it is a quality person who reports customer
complaints or internal problems. Then this person is obliged to organizes the
team.

Objectivity, or “it didn’t happen with us”

Maintaining objectivity and going beyond the comfort zone is a very good
feature of the participant taking part. It allows us to look at our process critically,
without delegating responsibility to other departments.

I had the opportunity to find out about it myself when I blamed the sub-
component for the bent metal bracket. As it turned out later, such a problem
could occur during incorrect bracket handling by the operator. Of course, it was
not his fault, because such opportunities were provided by the designed
production process.

5xWhy – example

Below is an example of the 5xWhy method that will help You understand the
exact mechanisms between each question.

Problem: Unable to mount the instrument cover to the dashboard

Why (1):
Because the dashboard cover does not have the correct dimensions (it is too
short).

Why (2) is too short ?:

Because the component cooling parameters were changed during the injection
process.

Why (3) the component cooling parameters have been changed?

Because the parameters of the production process have not been password
protected.

Why (4) parameters were not password protected?

Because after tests for the production of another product in the pre-launch
phase, the process engineer forgot to activate the password for current
production.

Why (5) Why did the process engineer forget to activate the password?

Because the production software does not force such an action when changing
parameters from the test cycle to the production cycle.

In the above case, we can see that the action that can be introduced is the
software modification. It should be done in such a way, that when switching
between test and production parameters, they are immediately unavailable for
modification by production workers.

Another action that can be implemented in a systemic way in this case is the
modification of the check list for production tests performing by adding the
following questions:
– Have the parameters changed from test to process parameters after the tests
finishing?

– Has a process engineer activated password for process parameters?

D5 and D6 - Permanent Corrective Actions implementation and
verification PCA

We find thousands of reasons not to implement corrective actions when

conducting 8D analysis. The most common explanation is that defective products
are no longer sent to customers and we know exactly where the mistake was
made.

Often, the condition determining the suspension of the implementation of the

above activities are related to costs that would be too high. This means that
additional control is maintained at the organization production plant or at the
customer’s location.

One of the most important things to remember during analysis performing is to

define PCA (Permanent Corrective Actions) that will remove root causes, but
without causing another issues. It is also important that the action refers to root
causes, and not to the symptoms for which are dedicated Interim Containment
Actions – ICA.

Permanent Corrective Actions effectiveness verification

Actions defining which will ensure that we are able to avoid reoccurrence is just
part of the 8D methodology process. The next step is to check in practice
whether the actions taken bring the intended effect. The key to conducting the
assessment is choosing appropriate indicators that will confirm the short and
long-term effectiveness of solutions (e.g. ppm). During solution implementation,
it should also be observed whether there are no side effects.

What does this mean in practice? We are talking about a situation when another
type of problem occurs through an action that has not been taken into account
when carrying out the risk analysis (for example PFMEA).

If we are considering an official notification from a client, we must remember

that a positively validated solution must be accepted by him. Most often this is
done by approving the overall 8D report, which is placed on a specific portal used
to manage complaints.

The most important, from the production plant point of view, is the fact that
validated definitive actions should allow the elimination of temporary actions.
Thanks to this, can be eliminated the costs of selection, additional control, using
of one machining production cell, etc.

How the validation process should look like

The best approach, of course if possible, is to use ICA to verify the effectiveness
of Permanent Corrective Actions, which is illustrated below in two scenarios. On
the left is presented, an example with effective final action is shown, on the right
with an ineffective one.

With this approach, is possible to monitor whether the level of nonconformities

has been reduced to 0% after the implementation of the final action. If this level
after the introduction of PCA is not equal 0%, it means that PCA is not effective
and must be improved. In this situation, ICA must be continued until PCA is 100%
effective.

Fig. 4. Effectiveness verification of PCA

What preventive actions can be implemented in D7

Even if we have implemented in step D5 permanent corrective actions, we have no

guarantee that the problem will not occur again, without appropriate preventive
actions to prevent recurrence of the problem.

In case of 8D report using, this possibility is obtained in step D7.

D7 preventive actions – basic information

Defining the strategy in step D7, we can’t forget that the implemented corrective
actions must not only prevent the same problems in the production of a given
product from reoccurring, but also concern:

all final products that are manufactured under the same or similar conditions. In
this case, we can consider a production cell, process, material, production line
or technology

other products that are of a similar design or are from the same product family,
e.g. window lifters with similar construction, but for different car models or for
different customer plants

future projects that will be launched at the supplier’s production facility

gaps in the system, which meant that the problem was not found in the next step
of the production process, but at the customer location. We do not limit
ourselves here only to the internal customer and the customer to whom we
deliver products for assembly, but we also take into account reports from
the warranty field.

Communication during implementation

Effective communication is one of the key elements during change

implementing, which of course includes the implementation of preventive
measures. Therefore, in this topic, it is worth remembering two basic rules:

all interested personnel must be informed of the actions which will be taken (in
case of shift work communication should cover all of them)

communication should be presented in daily meetings with management for

appropriate allocation of resources

Preventive actions examples

We must be aware that in addition to the frequent practice of Control Plan and
PFMEA updating, we have many other options relating to preventive actions to
prevent problem occurrence. These include, but are not limited to updates of:

• visual master samples

• changeover instructions carried out by production or maintenance
operators
• Flow Chart
• LFMEA related to the logistics area, if the problem was related to improper
handling or storage of sub-components or final products
• information provided as part of the Lesson Learned database, which will
be taken into account when creating the Flow Chart, DFMEA and PFMEA
for new projects – see figure below:

Fig. 5. Lesson Learned interaction

• Voice of Customer (V0C) or Voice of Process (VoP) tolerances change

within the range limits. The second is more often used to reduce internal
scrap
• drawings – both sub-components and finished products
• incoming control including modification of the measurement method,
frequency and selection of sample sizes. In the latter case, we should note
 that it is more efficient to select one part from each cavity (e.g. if there are
eight), rather than randomly measuring five of them
• Boundary samples or Failure Catalog
• packing instructions for finished products
• selection instructions in case of nonconformity with the final product. This
scenario is where parts can become damaged during selection and
improper repackaging

What if we don’t implement?

Lack of preventive actions implementation can have very serious consequences

for supplier plant. As an example may serve the story of plant producing metal
structures for seats.

The story begins with the transfer of the stamping mould that was used to
manufacture another model from abroad.

Production ran smoothly for the first few weeks. However, after the first
scheduled maintenance carried out by the maintenance staff, the client started
to issue a problem with the backrest noise. During the analysis, it turned out that
the same problem existed in the earlier plant and was solved by modifying the
height of one of the die elements from stamping mould.

On the other hand, the fundamental failure, that was made, was the fact that no
preventive actions were planned for the actions defined in step D5. In this case,
it referred to drawing documentation updating both – manufactured seat
structure element and the stamping mould drawing data documentation.
8D Report – Recognition and Closing Audit

The last step in problem solving using the 8D methodology is step D8. It relates to
the recognition of the team.

One of the stages that can be assigned to it is the Closing Audit, which ensures
the certainty of an effective analysis.

Step D8 – Recognition of the team’s contribution

Conducting an analysis requires the appropriate skills and experience to be able

to make progress towards a satisfactory problem solution. These skills and
experiences are the reason for the appropriate selection of team members.

The very process of solving a problem leads to a better understanding of it from

the data at each stage. As we increasingly understand its cause and solution at
different stages throughout the analysis must be applied, different skills, support
tools, and experience.

Acknowledging the effort of the team and other people involved is very
important as it strengthens behavior and self-esteem. However, unlike the
previous steps, this one is very often overlooked. Why? Because management
assumes that problem-solving is a standard activity assigned to employees’
responsibilities.

This is a false assumption because step D8 gives us the ability to:

• evaluation and summary of the overall analysis

 • check that all 8D steps have been completed
• update of the last part of the 8D report
• sending the completed report to the customer (in electronic form or on
the customer portal)
• thanks to the team for the contribution of the work
• communicating the organization of the effects of their work

8D report Closing Audit – assumptions

One of the tools supporting this step (Discipline) is the Closing Audit. Its structure
reflects the steps that are carried out when creating a standard 8D
report. However, the significant difference is the separation of the time
dedicated to a given step in relation to the requirements of the client and the
organization.

As a rule, the above audit should be carried out by a manager or supervisor, but
there may of course be more than one person involved. As a result, the team
that conducted the problem analysis receives a clear message that their work is
important to the organization. In addition, each person can directly present the
actions taken on the production line.
Summary
I hope that the presented material will allow you to better understand all the steps
related to 8D problem solving.

This is one of those skills that, when used in a conscious way, allows You to
effectively solve problems that you will face.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me:

dariusz.kowalczyk@automotivequal.com

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and visit Automotive Quality Solutions website.

Dariusz Kowalczyk