Guidelines for the 8D Process

Selecting the Team

● Include team members from various functions who are related to the problem. These members may
belong to multiple sites and disciplines.
● Include operational people. For example, if the defect suspected is on one machine, you must involve
the Production Operator. Or, if the defect comes from the customer, the Customer Project Manager
must be involved.
● Involve additional competencies, for example, maintenance, manufacturing, and so on, as your
understanding of the problem progresses.

Describing the Problem

● List the difference between the correct referential and the actual product or part in the problem
description
● Document the problem description in English for easy understanding
● Indicate the sensitivity of the problem:
● Problems marked as “Confidential” must not be communicated or acknowledged out of
Schneider Electric under any circumstances
● “Public” problems can be acknowledged on need-to-know basis

Developing and Validating Corrective Actions

● Follow standard action plan format:

o Action – Specific action verb
o Owner – Specific name – no function
o Plan date, Do date, Check date – Challenging but realistic
● Implement required process changes based on 5 why analysis:
o Update process documents
o Update other management processes
o Update document on PFD – PFMEA – Control Plan – Work Instructions
o Train as required
● Follow up through formal meetings
● Ensure closure
 Evaluate and validate potential corrective actions
o For each root cause, different “possible corrective actions” can be evaluated against
choice criteria
 o Use “priority matrix”
 Remember to assess the risk of side effects induced by the solution
o It may be useful to run some pilot test and validate the effectiveness of the solution
before full deployment
 Make the process more efficient and robust
 Control the process inputs and the process parameters. It is always more efficient than
inspecting the process output!
o Remember Prevention vs. Detection
 Use Poka-Yoke and Jidoka techniques
o Error proofing
o Self assurance
 Accept that Humans will make mistakes
 Address quality issues through the process
o Process is persistent in the organization, regardless of human factors: mood, distraction,
changes of role, etc.
 Modify the process so that you do not:
o Receive defects
o Make defects
o Pass on defects
 Create or document the standard process
 Produce control plans
o Are they controlling process and product parameters
 Manage corrective action as a project
o Plan
o Do
o Check
o Act

Preventing the Problem

 Focus your preventive actions on improving your processes, policies and procedures.
 Focus on all elements of the process:
o Design and documentation
o Ownership, empowerment and authority
o Management of knowledge, skills, behaviors and incentives
o Supporting tools
o Metrics and how they are employed
Also consider the link between the major processes, and how people from different organisations
collaborate to achieve a common goal.