8D Report Generator (problem solving with containment and 5 Whys)

About the 8D Report Generator (problem solving with containment and 5 Whys)

Writes an 8D report — the eight-disciplines corrective action report that automotive, electronics and industrial customers ask their suppliers for after a complaint. The method was developed at Ford Motor Company and is used across many industries; ASQ’s guide to eight disciplines (8D) problem solving describes it. Each discipline has its own part here, with its status and date:

• D0 the symptom and the emergency response; D1 the team, its leader and champion;
• D2 the problem: a problem statement, the 5W2H and an is / is-not table;
• D3 interim containment, with the quantities checked and rejected at the customer, in transit and in your own stock;
• D4 the root cause of occurrence and of escape, with a 5 Whys chain for each, the causes considered on a fishbone (method, machine, material, people, measurement, environment) and the escape point;
• D5 the permanent corrective actions with how each was verified; D6 when each was put in place and the evidence it works; D7 the FMEA, control plan, work instructions and training updated, and the read-across; D8 closure and recognition.

The checks list what a customer’s quality engineer would ask about: a missing problem statement, containment without quantities, no root cause of escape, an action without an owner or a date, D8 closed before D6. Add photos and list your attachments; your logo, colour and footer brand the report. Up to 20 reports and their photos are kept in this browser. Without a pass the report shows as a free preview; the PDF, the Word file and the copied text unlock with a Premium pass.

Common uses

• Answering a customer complaint or a supplier corrective action request (SCAR) with a complete 8D.
• An internal 8D after a line stoppage, a scrap spike or an audit finding.
• Keeping several open 8Ds in progress, each with its own status.
• Teaching structured problem solving with a worked example.

Occurrence and escape

Every defect that reached a customer has two causes: why it happened (occurrence) and why it was not detected before it left (escape). An 8D finds both — a 5 Whys chain for each — and the escape point: the earliest control in the process that should have caught it. D5 then needs at least one action against each: the checks say so when one is missing.

Is / is not

For each dimension — what, where, when, how many — write where the problem is and where it could be but is not: on cavity 3 but not on cavities 1, 2 and 4; on one lot but not the ones before and after. What is different about the “is” side is the strongest clue to the cause.

Containment

Containment protects the customer while the root cause is found: sorting their stock, the goods in transit and your own stock, and extra inspection in production. Give each action the quantities checked and rejected and where the stock was: the totals show how far the problem spread, and a customer reads them first.

Verification and validation

D5 verifies each chosen action before it is put in place — a trial or a test that shows it removes the cause. D6 validates it afterwards with evidence over time: defect rates before and after, audits, the customer’s results. The checks ask for both.

Preventing recurrence

D7 changes the system so the problem cannot come back: the PFMEA (the cause and its new occurrence and detection rankings), the control plan, the work instructions and the training, and the same fix on similar products, lines and plants (read-across). D8 closes the report and recognises the team.

Limitations

• A report of your own analysis: it checks that the report is complete and consistent, not that the cause you found is the true one.
• Your customer may have its own 8D form or portal; copy the text into it, or ask whether this report’s PDF is accepted.
• Attachments are listed by name, not stored or embedded; photos are embedded in the PDF and the Word file.
• Photos are kept in this browser’s storage, which is limited; save a backup to keep a report and its photos in a file.

Privacy

On this device; its files download once

Your reports, logo and photos are kept in this browser on this device only and never uploaded; a backup file is saved only when you press Save a backup.