(EN) The Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D)—D5 and D6

In this series of posts I go through the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D) in more detail. In my last post, I talked about D4: Root Cause Analysis and Escape Points, which is almost two separate points. In this post I will go into more detail of D5: Develop Permanent Solution and D6: Implement Permanent Solution. My next post will look at the last two disciplines of the 8D with D7: Prevent Recurrence and D8: Close problem and Recognize Contributors. Read on!

Recap: Eight Disciplines Problem Solving

Just for reference, here are the eight (nine) steps of the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving (8D).

• D0: Preparation and Emergency Response Actions
• D1: Establish a Team
• D2: Describe the Problem
• D3: Develop Interim Containment Plan
• D4: Root Cause Analysis and Escape Points
• D5: Develop Permanent Solution
• D6: Implement Permanent Solution
• D7: Prevent Recurrence
• D8: Close Problem and Recognize Contributors

D5: Develop Permanent Solution

In the last discipline D4: Root Cause Analysis and Escape Points, the one or more root causes for the problem were developed. In this discipline D5: Develop Permanent Solution we now need to develop one or more solutions for each root cause that we want to address. This is also known as „permanent countermeasure“ or „permanent corrective action.“

Here, too, you can use creativity techniques. The most simple and common one is brainstorming, where in a group you just list all the ideas you can come up with and then prioritize. For variety you can also use an analogy, creative provocation, or even negation as supporting creativity techniques. The goal is to find solutions that prevent the problem from occurring again, or as a second choice solutions that correct the problem if it happens again.

If you have multiple solutions for multiple root causes, you may end up with a lot of things you could do. However, doing them all may exceed your resources. Hence, it is necessary to select the most suitable solutions from your list of solutions. Toyota uses a table to compare the different countermeasures regarding their effectiveness; their impact on safety, quality, productivity and cost; as well as the timing and the ease of implementation to select the best countermeasures to address the problem. While this is not an official part of the 8D problem solving canon, I think it fits nicely here. For more see my post on the Toyota Practical Problem Solving Countermeasures.

At this point, you will also need more organizational overhead. At a minimum, you need to assign responsibilities for the selected solutions to different people. This can also include a due date, albeit the sometimes unpredictable nature of projects makes such dates a bit fuzzy. Depending on your company, you may also need a higher-up to approve the selected solutions and to assign a budget.

D6: Implement Permanent Solution

Now that you have selected the solutions to implement, you finally get to the implementation phase. In terms of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act), we are finally getting into the „Do“ part. Similar to the Toyota Practical Problem Solving, the „Plan“ is the largest part of the Eight Disciplines Problem Solving.

Depending on the solutions to be implemented, there may be the possibility to have trials and pilot programs to determine if the solution works as intended. This makes sense if the cost of the trial is less than the expected cost of a failure adjusted for the likelihood of a failure. Of course, nobody really knows these numbers, so use your best guess.

I assume you already have a person responsible for each solution. The subsequent implementation is like many other implementations. Someone has to develop an action plan or approach on how to do this, and then do it. Depending on the size and complexity of the solution, the preparation may include a timeline, assignment of resources, maybe even a contingency plan if something goes wrong. If possible try to get the stakeholders aligned on the process.

The actual implementation may require changes to the material, process, machines and equipment, software, and hardware, as well as talking with suppliers and customers. The supervisors and operators also need to be included, standards need to be updated, and the operators need to be trained in the new approach.

Also included in the discipline D6 is the verification if the solution was effective and react if it was not. In the PDCA, this would be the „Check“ and „Act“ parts. Don’t just rely on a nice presentation, but collect data and monitor the results. Do this not only once, but for some time to also check if it relapses into the old situation again. Tools like timelines, statistical process control, histograms, and others can be used to see whether your solution actually works.

All of the above also need to be documented. A large part is the aforementioned change of the standard, but you also need to track who is trained in the new procedures and who still needs to be trained, archive the verification data, and many more depending on your company. Ideally, the problem no longer happens after the implementation of the selected countermeasures. Similarly, you should not make something else worse and create a new problem by fixing one.

Yay! The problem is solved. But the 8D is not yet done. There are two more disciplines, D7: Prevent Recurrence and D8: Close Problem and Recognize Contributors. These will be in my next post. Now, go out, develop and implement the solution to your problem, and organize your industry!