Challenges in using 8D

8D – 8 Disciplines is a structured methodology that offers a systematic and detailed approach to solving problems, customer complaints, correcting and improving performance indicators and is widely used in various industries, initially being developed by the Ford company.

8D seeks to identify, correctly understand the deviation, immediately isolate the effects and correct the problems in such a way as to prevent their recurrence.

However, in order to have the expected results after the application, the challenges and obstacles that may arise should also be considered, such as:

- improper identification of team members, who do not have the experience, knowledge, skills necessary for the situation in question. Also, the team must have an authority (up to a certain level, approved by the Management) to make decisions, allocate resources or implement different actions.

- conflicts or lack of understanding and collaboration between team members may occur during the period of working on 8D

- incorrect or incomplete description of the problem, where the problems are not clearly defined or are not measurable. The data, measurements, information are not relevant or they are erroneous. If records or historical data are used, they must be checked, as there are risks that they are not correct, which can lead to wrong approaches in the following stages.

- the temporary actions "to protect the client" (sorting, rework, 100% checks...) were not verified, tested and validated, thus there is a risk of not isolating the problem, allowing the continuation of unwanted effects. Without proper monitoring for these temporary actions, it will generate products and continue to send non-compliant products to the customer.

- the superficial use of root cause identification tools (Ishikawa, 5 Why?), does not go into enough detail about those factors that can generate defects. The information and data are not precise, are not correctly described or have not been verified in the production areas on the "field".

- the generated solutions are not correctly sorted, evaluated, detailed or prioritized and do not address all aspects of the root cause

- permanent corrective actions are implemented incorrectly or incompletely, because they were not assigned to the right people, the resources are insufficient or the deadline is inappropriate.

- lack of verification, validation of the actions implemented to demonstrate effectiveness and the fact that it does not generate other types of defects or problems.

- instructions, procedures, control plan (according to the Quality Management System) are not updated, implemented, revised to prevent recurrence.

- insufficient recognition of the team's merits for the achievements and efforts made, which can generate demotivation and a superficial approach to the next 8D.

Therefore, in order to maximize the effectiveness of the 8D methodology, it is essential to identify these challenges in each organization, for management to offer directives and constant support in application.