Global 8D – D1: Establish the G8D Team
In this article I will look at teamwork and how to establish a problem solving team that will be effective and cohesive.
Having an effective team is crucial to the success of the problem solving effort. We need a multidiscipline and experienced team to be able to provide the effort needed in getting to the root cause of the problem. This is the goal of all structured problem solving tools.
In this article I will discuss the following issues:
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Team skills
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Team roles
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Team responsibilities
Having established management support for the G8D process to be applied to the problem, this implies that the right people will be released at the right time.
Team Skills (And Knowledge)
The skills that the team members require will include, but are not restricted to:
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Knowledge of the process where the problem has manifested itself
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Knowledge of the item (part, sub-assembly, outcome)
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Technical knowledge of the item under analysis
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Customer usage and application knowledge (internal or external customers)
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Decision making
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Conflict resolution
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Communication skills
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Data analysis skills
The makeup of the team will depend upon the initial perception of the problem. However, the team composition may need to change during the G8D process. This is because the team’s understanding of the problem will grow and as it does may need additional of different skills to help resolve the process.
Team Roles
There are a number of roles in effective teamwork that, when applied in the spirit of supporting the team, ensure that the team has the very best chance of success.
Before we go any further I would like to give a definition of a team.
'A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goal and approach for which they hold themselves mutually responsible'
In other words a cohesive team.
The recommended team roles are:
Champion: the champion will normally be the responsible person that is feeling the pain of the problem. The champion will not normally attend the meetings but will support the team, in particular gaining access to the resources required for the problem solving effort
Team Leader: the team leader’s role is to manage the business of the team for the team. The activities will include setting the agenda, arranging the meeting venue, managing the activities and communicating with the champion
Time Manager: this is not a time keeper! The time manger takes on the responsibility on behalf of the team to manage the allotted team meeting time. Working with the team leader, they will issue a timed agenda, allocating fixed times for each topic on the agenda. During the meeting, the time manager will advise the team of remaining time for each subject and, with the team, agree amendments on a running basis if a topic is running over and considered important enough to do so
Scribe: is the person that captures the outcomes of the meeting as agreed by the team and publishes on behalf of the team
Facilitator: the facilitator looks after the team process and ensures that everyone is involved in the process steps and captures what went well for the team members
G8D Coach – this is optional, but recommended where some, or all, of the team members have no experience of G8D process application. This should be an internal resource where ever possible to maximise the possible problem solving effort
Team Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the individual team members will be allocated by the team and will involve some or all of the following:
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Data collection
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Data analysis
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Decision making processes
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Experimentation
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Solution verification and validation
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Modelling and/or experimentation
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Managing resources
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Planning and implementation of solution (see also Plan-Do-Check-Act)
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Communication
These are the common skills required in addition to the general problem solving and technical skills required to contribute to the problem solving effort
Complete G8D Report (Template)
The G8D report has is a reporting summary for the G8D process efforts and is designed to be completed at each stage of the process
At this stage the G8D Report is completed by the team to show all the team members and circulated to all interested parties.
Circulation of the G8D report will vary at different stages of the G8D process and will normally be agreed with the Champion before circulation.
You can dowload a free, editable version of this report template via the button at the bottom of this article.
Assessing Questions
At the end of each stage there are a number of assessing questions that should be asked by the team leader or champion to ensure that all the factors have been considered and all necessary actions completed
In particular at this stage the questions will include:
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Have all changes been documented?
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Is the ERA continuing to be effective?
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Is the team composition correct to proceed to the next step?
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Have all the measurables been established?
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Is a Service Action required?
Next Time
I hope you will join me again for the next article when I will be discussing how to clearly describe the problem (Problem Description), and look at one of the main reasons problem solving efforts fail to succeed
Graham Cripps
Results Consortium Ltd
