Global 8D - D7 & D8: Prevent Recurrence and Recognise Team and Individual Contributions

In this article I am going to cover the last two stages of the Global 8D problem solving process

I mentioned in my last article that some problem solvers’ activity will stop after having implemented and validated the permanent corrective action

These last two important steps ensure that: 

• This type of problem could never occur again
• Reinforce behaviours and esteem of the team and individuals

These last two steps in the G8D problem solving process are fairly short to explain and technically not much of a stretch. However, their importance should not be underestimated.

Astute problem solvers know that whenever a problem occurs there is normally a procedure, policy or practice (systemic) that has allowed it to happen. I call this the 'root cause of the root cause'. This needs to be established and resolved.

Just as important is recognition of the problem solving effort that has been afforded by the G8D Team and other individuals in the business.

Prevent Recurrence

As stated above, the next step is to examine the evidence established during the problem solving process and establish the policies, procedures and practices that led to this particular problem. For this we use a problem solving tool called 5 Why’s (sometimes called stair stepping).

In essence this involves asking the question “why” of the root cause until the root cause of the root cause is established. The question may be asked more or less than 5 times, it does not have to be 5!

Example: A small engineering company had problems with hole positions being out of tolerance in some instances. Having 'masked the problem' for some time with constant drill changes, the problem solving team discovered the root cause as being a worn spindle bearing. The 5Y’s exercise went something like this: 

• WHY – was the bearing worn?

• BECAUSE – it had become dry

• WHY – did the bearing become dry?

• BECAUSE – the operator did not carry out shift autonomous maintenance routines fully

• WHY – didn’t the operator follow maintenance routine fully?

• BECAUSE – he was not properly trained during induction

• WHY – was he not trained on induction?

• BECAUSE – his induction programme missed this off the sheet

• WHY – was this missing from the sheet?

• BECAUSE – the induction plan was not signed off by Engineering (Root Cause)

In fact, the induction process allowed for any manager to sign the induction plan (the systemic issue). The induction planning was changed to require function based sign off.

These systemic issues need to be fixed. The goal is to change the system that allowed the problem to occur in the first place and to prevent similar problems from happening.

Because these systemic issues are normally beyond the brief of the G8D team, these changes are made at management level. However the team does have the opportunity to offer recommendations for systemic improvements.

Recognise Team and Individual Contributions

This final step in the Global 8D process is about closing the process and involves: 

• Recognition and review of team experience (Cooperative Learning)

• Completing any unfinished business

• Closure process

Recognition and Review of Team Experience

The application of the process requires skills and experience of the business to be able to make progress towards a satisfactory problem resolution.

These skills and experiences are the reason the team are selected.

The problem solving process drives improved data-driven understanding of the problem at each step of the process. As more is understood about the problem, root cause and resolution, different skills and experiences will need to be 'drafted in' at various stages throughout the process.

Recognising the effort of the team and other individuals involved is important as it tends to reinforce behaviour and self-esteem.

Completing unfinished business

Making sure all the problem solving activities have been completed and include:

• Finalising and archiving documentation

• Recognising technical lessons learned

• Making final presentation to the Champion

• Expressing experiences from team member to team members (Cooperative Learning)

• Archiving all the lessons learnt from the problem solving effort

• Ensuring all other related documentation is revisited and up to date (e.g. FMEA’s, Control Plans, etc.)

Closure Process

In this final activity the team ensures that the completed 8D report is circulated to all concerned detailing all the above activities including the recommendations for systemic changes.

Next Time

There are a number of ways you can gain the skills necessary to apply this world class problem solving methodology in your workplace. Shortly I will share with you how you can gain access to training at various levels, quickly and easily that will get you on the path to solving problems effectively.

If your problem needs immediate attention, then you can contact me directly on graham.cripps@resultsresults.co.uk or you can visit our web site www.resultsresults.co.uk for more information.

Graham Cripps
Results Consortium Ltd

Global 8D - Implement and Validate the Permanent Corrective Action

Having established and verified the best PCA’s for the root cause and escape point, the next step is the implementation of the PCA’s.

To do this we employ the Deming 'Plan Do Check Act' cycle to ensure successful implementation.

The Global 8D Problem Solving Process is a structured approach to getting to the root cause and the escape point and taking actions to ensure that these are eradicated permanently through effective controls and actions that are embedded in the operations of the business.

In this article I will explain the steps that need to be taken to ensure that this is done efficiently and effectively.

Implement and Validate the PCA’s

The Deming cycle is used in the Global 8D process, starting with the G8D form and is used at various steps through the process.

In this current step the cycle is used to: -

PLAN – The implementation of the Permanent Corrective Action (PCA) giving particular attention to:

• Plan for validation of the PCA

• Plan to remove the Interim Containment Action (ICA) as part of implementation of the PCA

• Integrate check for side effects

• Plan for continued monitoring of effectiveness of the PCA’s

• Plan for all the necessary resources

• Plan for all documentation, process instructions, training and communication for the implementation of the PCA’s

• Define clearly the what, when, who and when (team roles and responsibilities)

DO – Initiate the implementation plan for both the root cause and escape point, ensuring that all the necessary steps have been managed and adhered to.

CHECK – Check that the PCA’s have been fully implemented and integrated into the operational and business processes. Validate the PVA’s for both the root cause and escape points (see item below on validation). Validation will be carried out at this stage and on an on-going basis.

The measures for effectiveness of the PCA’s should use the same measurables that we used to describe the problem in the article Describe the Problem. In other words comparing like for like data.

ACT – Take actions on any variation from the plan or expected outcomes.

Validation

Validation is proof that is developed after implementation has taken place, over a period of time and must:

• Follow successful verification

• Provide a data driven comparison before and after implementation

• Check that the implementation does not introduce a new problem or side effects

Validation is:

• Normally performed under defined operating conditions on the final product or process

• May be necessary in earlier stages prior to product completion

• Uses the same indicators that demonstrated the problem and may be easily tracked

Complete the G8D Report (Template)

Complete the Global 8D form and circulate. Remember to update team composition for any changes that are made, at the end of this stage.

The G8D form is a summary of the problem solving activity and is supported by all of the other worksheets, data and supporting information including the validation results that is generated as a results of the problem solving activity.

There are two more steps to complete the Global 8D problem solving activity. A lot of problem solvers would normally stop at this point assuming that the job is done. However, for the problem solving process to be truely completed we need to: 

• Recognise that there was a process, procedure or other activity that allowed this problem to occur in the first place. This is the root cause of the root cause.

• Having put a lot of effort into the problem solving process, the final stage is to acknowledge the contributions made to the problem solving and to ensure that all lessons learnt are shared and recorded

So join me next week for the final two articles that explain these last two stages. I will also provide access to further help to enable you to apply this world class problem solving methodology in your workplace.

Graham Cripps

Results Consortium Ltd

Global 8D – D5: Choose and Verify Permanent Corrective Action (PCA)

Having determined the root cause/s of the problem and the escape point you are now in a position to determine and choose the most appropriate Permanent Corrective Action (PCA).

PCA’s need to be considered for both the root cause and the escape point.

The PCA needs to meet several requirements that satisfy both customer and business needs.  Given that there may be a number of possible permanent corrective actions that may be applied, I will describe how the most appropriate PCA is arrived at.

The process for determining the possilbe PCA's will be driven by the nature of the root cuases and the business objectives.

The final choice of which PCA's to implement will be determined from:

• The best interest of the customer

• The needs of the business

Define Permanent Corrective Actions

Having identified the root cause of the problem under investigation, the team will have the data and information at hand to determine what corrective action options there might be available to implement. These are all considered and articulated in such a ways as to ensure that all the necessary steps needed to remove and protect against the route cause have been considered.

As stated above, the process for determining the possilbe PCA's will be driven by the nature of the root cuases and the business objectives.

Chose The Permanent Corrective Action

For this activity we will consider two levels of needs: 

• Givens – those criterion that must be met (mandatory) and that are measureable and realistic to achieve and satisfy both customer and business needs

• Wants – those criterion that are nice to have but not necessarily critical and also cover both customer and business aspirations

Examples

Givens could be: 

• Must be implemented within three months

• Must not cost more than £25,000 to set up

• Must be able to continue delivering product during implementation

• Must solve the root cause of the problem permanently

Wants could be: 

• To be cost effective in the first year of operation (Set up costs plus running costs within the first year)

• To be introduced as soon as possible

• To be implemented without overtime

• To have zero impact on energy consumption

• To work on both lines simultaneously

There are two worksheets that are used in this process, the Criteria Worksheet and the Decision Making Worksheets.

Criteria Worksheet

Using the Criteria Worksheet on the right, the Wants are scored in terms of relative importance, 10 being the highest. This score will be used as part of the "choosing" process.

The Givens are not scored, these are things that must be achieved by the PCA

This is worksheet used for recording the givens and wants. These are normally populated by the business management team.

A copy of this can also be downloaded free, accessed via a 'button' at the end of this article.

Decision Making Worksheet

Having established the Givens and Wants, you can now rank each proposed PCA against these criteria. To help this process we use the Decision Making Worksheet.

NOTE: the number of Givens and Wants worksheets used will depend upon the number of proposed PCA's. One complete section must be recorded for each proposed PCA

The Decision Making Worksheets are used to rank each of the PCA’s by first determining if the PCA meets all of the givens.

If the PCA does not meet all of the givens, then it cannot be progressed in its current form.

Then the wants are scored as to how well the PCA achieves each criteria.10 is completely and 0 is not at all.

The scores are added up to and this summative score is used to rank the PCA’s

The highest scoring PCA option is normally the one chosen to move forward with.

Verify The Chosen PCA

Before the PCA is fully confirmed, the Global 8D team need to verify that the PVA will actually meet all of the givens and the wants are achieved at the level declared in the decision making worksheets

The Team must verify that the PCA will eliminate the root cause permanently for both the root cause and the escape point.

When verification testing is carried out, it is critical to remeber that an Interim Containment Action has been put in place. Verification must be carried out in such a way that there is no influence on the outcome of verification testing. e.g remove the ICA for testing purposes.

Complete The G8D Form (Template)

Complete the Global 8D form and circulate. Remember to update team composition for any changes that are made at the end of this stage.

The G8D form is a summary of the problem solving activity and is suppoirted by all of the other worksheets, data and supporting information. At this stage the report should include the decision making worksheets, verification testing process and data generated as a results of the problem solving activity.

Graham Cripps 

Results Consortium Ltd

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: 

• Team skills

• Team roles

• 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: 

• Knowledge of the process where the problem has manifested itself

• Knowledge of the item (part, sub-assembly, outcome)

• Technical knowledge of the item under analysis

• Customer usage and application knowledge (internal or external customers)

• Decision making

• Conflict resolution

• Communication skills

• 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: 

• Data collection

• Data analysis

• Decision making processes

• Experimentation

• Solution verification and validation

• Modelling and/or experimentation

• Managing resources

• Planning and implementation of solution (see also Plan-Do-Check-Act)

• 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: 

• Have all changes been documented?

• Is the ERA continuing to be effective?

• Is the team composition correct to proceed to the next step?

• Have all the measurables been established?

• 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

www.resultsresults.co.uk

Plan-Do-Check-Act: Keep the plan alive

First, thanks for sticking with your business planning journey.  I hope you have found the information useful so far.

Introduction

This is the final publication in this series and here we will discuss the business plan, how it is constructed, the additional information that needs to be attached and, how to keep the plan alive and therefore, a useful business tool for the future.

If you have been following these articles you will now have all the necessary elements to start to populate your business plan. These elements are: -

• Clearly defined personal and business goals

• A full list of your business skills and an action plan for improving or acquiring these skills

• Customer groups clearly defined

• A clear understanding of your competition, your strengths and weaknesses and an action plan in place to lever your strengths and minimise your weaknesses in the market place

• A full understanding of your USP

• A detailed, realistic sales plan

• A driven marketing plan

• A completed cash flow forecast

• An understanding of your key business processes

The business plan

If you have not already done so, you can download a free Business Plan template by clicking on this button

One of the core methodologies the we use at Results is the application of the Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle. Briefly, this is about spending time planning an activity to maximise the chances of success.

PLAN – what you have to do and include all the preparation, research and planning activities

DO – carry out the plan

CHECK – the outcome against the plan and identify any gaps or problems

ACT – take action to improve the outcomes, updating the plan as you go

I propose that the P-D-C-A cycle is applied to your business planning activity. In fact, if you have been following this series of articles, you have been in the planning stage of writing your business plan.

PLAN

The contents of a business plan can vary. The Results Business Plan Template provides a robust framework that has been tried and tested and has been accepted by all the main high street banks.

The business plan content should include: -

• Executive summary – about you and an overview of your business plan

• Product/service description – a detailed description of the product or service that you intend to provide

• Market research details – a summary of the marketing you have carried out for your product/service and the potential market population

• Customer groups – clear definitions of your customer groups and the products/services to you intend to sell into those groups

• Your competition – the competition you have identified and their relative strengths and weaknesses

• Reasons for success – detail the reasons why your business will be successful, include your unique selling proposition as well

• Risks to your business – for each risk identified, detail the risk and what you have, or will have, in place to protect against that risk

• How will the business be managed – list the roles and responsibilities and include finance, sales, marketing and operations

• Sales plan – a brief summary of your planned sales

• Sales methods – how you intend to sell your product or service into your specified customer groups

• Sales methods – a brief overview of each sales method and how each will impact upon sales volumes overall

• How will the business be financed – describe how the business will be financed over time and includes set-up costs, working capital and future stock purchases

• Cash flow forecast – estimates of cash in the business over the first year and why you believe this is a realistic forecast

• Pricing policy – how are your prices arrived at, are they competitive and sustainable

• Your business and the law – list the laws applicable to your business and nay actions taken to comply

• Attachments – there should be a minimum of: cash flow forecast; sales plan; marketing plan and any additional details that you feel support and strengthen your business plan.

Do 

Having the plan in place is paramount at the start of any business venture. Once the business is trading and you have some experience of operating the business, the next thing is to check how things are going against that plan. As the old saying goes “a failure to plan is a plan to fail”.

Check

How is your business doing against your plan? Are you doing better than planned or worse?

Review all the key measures for your business cash flow, sales and costs.

Act

What actions need to be put in place to either redress the situation, or, take advantage and capitalise on a positive trend.

Summary

A Business Plan is a live document and should be reviewed to check that it remains relevant in all aspects. So make it a regular activity that you undertake at regular intervals.

If you have missed of the previous articles, please click on any or all of the following to access the article and a selection of free templates. For any other related articles including SWOT analysis and setting SMART objectives, please contact Results Consortium Ltd.

A business plan is key for business

Defining your personal and business goals

Understanding your in your business

Define your customer groups

Know your competition

Defining your USP

Establishing your sales plan

Establishing your marketing plan

Establishing your business costs

Definine your business processes

Graham Cripps

Results Consortium Ltd.

www.resultsresults.co.uk

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? 

Everyone wants to save money. Most people realise that organised work saves money.

The point is – “How do I get to be organised?”

Two things can help.

The first is PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT

The second is 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation.

Here, we’re going to have a look at PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT.

(See my separate blog for 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation) http://www.resultsresults.co.uk/blog/

Plan-Do-Check-Act is a simple, straightforward and easy to use system.

Its purpose is to make sure that your actions achieve what you want them to achieve. And very importantly, that we learn from the way we do things.

Consider going out to get some milk.

You don’t leave the house without a purpose, or a target in mind. You don’t suddenly decide one day “You know what; I’m going to leave the house, drive round for a while and see what comes up.” That would be silly – wouldn’t  it?

You know that you’re going out for milk. You know where you’re going to go to get it. You also have a plan of what route you are going to take. That’s your PLAN.

So you set out – you start on your DO. But hey! There’s a “No Entry” sign on roadworks, so you have to go through a detour. But that’s Ok, you can change the plan a little so you use a different route, but the final goal is the same – get some milk.

So you get to the shop. You pick up some milk. While you’re there your partner texts you on your mobile. “Pick up some bread as well”. So you get some bread. Your plan has changed again, but the core objective is the same – get some milk.

So you drive home. Your DO is complete. Some minor changes to the plan were needed, but the core objective was the same.

So you do a little CHECK.  “I got the milk, but then I had to get bread as well, and I had to use a different route”.

So now you ACT – you learn a lesson “Maybe I could think a bit more about what I need before I go to the shops. I’m going to do that from now on. I’m going to use a different route until I know the roadworks are clear”.

This all seems reasonable here in our “personal life”. We try to do things without wasting time and effort. That’s what we do in real life. But sometimes, that’s not what we do in business.

So we need to apply that same common sense from “Real Life” to business.

• Plan what it is you want to achieve, and how you are going to achieve it.

• Do carry out the plan and allow for modifications to the plan.

• Check whether the plan is working and decide what lessons can be learned.

• Act on the check by applying the lessons.

Notice that we’ve spent a lot of time on the plan. That’s because the old rule of “fail to prepare, prepare to fail” is actually true. If you do what you planned, and act on the checks on how well it works, your success rates will improve. If you don’t plan, you won’t know what you’re trying to achieve or whether you need to change your approach. If you don’t plan, you won’t really have a concrete objective – so how will you know if you are achieving it?

Be very careful though! Only change the Plan during the Do if it is absolutely necessary, and cannot be avoided. And make sure you learn the lessons from the need to change the Plan. That should make your next Plan more robust.

Planning what to do saves time and unnecessary expense.

Doing what we planned, and allowing for necessary modifications saves us time, effort and money.

Checking what worked and what didn’t allows us to learn from success and failure.

Acting on our lessons learned allows us to stop wasting time on things that don’t work, and to concentrate on things that do.

This all saves time, effort, expense.

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? Everyone wants to save money. Most people realise that organised work saves money. The point is – “How do I get to be organised?”

Two things can help: The first is 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation; The second is PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT.

 Here, we’re going to have a look at 5 Stages to Workplace Organisation. (See my separate blog for PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT) 

5 Stages to Workplace Organisation is a simple, straightforward and easy to use system. 

Its purpose is to make sure that the workplace that you operate in is fit for purpose. In short, it means that the workplace is helping you to do the jobs you need to do, instead of hindering you.

Think of it this way. Would you rather have the area you work in as your enemy or your friend?

Consider making a cup of coffee at home. If you drink tea, it’s the same thing, only the names have changed to protect the innocent!

Picture yourself at home, in the kitchen.

• Where is the kettle?
• Where are the mugs?
• Where is the spoon?
• Where is the coffee, the sugar, the milk?

Everything you need is close to hand, isn’t it?

Now ask yourself. “Is my workplace like that?”  If you answer no, then why not? If you say yes, is it really? Can you get it to be any better?

The answer to improving the area you work in is called the 5 Stages of Workplace Organisation. Usually, the people who use the system call it 5S.

It’s a very simple system, and that’s the beauty of it.

Sort, Set, Shine, Standardise, Sustain.

Each stage builds on the previous ones. It is of no value at all to jump in to one of the middle stages. If you don’t get each stage right, all of the work in the next stages are going to actually make things worse, not better.

Sort - make sure that only the things we need are present, and everything that we need day to day is present.

Set –make sure that it’s obvious where things should go. Make sure that it’s very easy to locate and return items to the right place.

Shine –make sure that the hard work that you’ve out into getting Sort and Set in place doesn’t have to be done again and again and again. Keep the area clear, organised and clean.

Standardise –make sure that there are Standard Operating procedures for the key tasks performed in the area. This makes sure that we always do things the right way, in order to improve quality of product and service. Make sure that the knowledge and experience gained so far in organising this area are spread out into other areas.

Sustain – This is often the hardest thing to do, and the part of 5S that is often missed. The key is to constantly strive for Continuous Improvement of the area. So you should make sure that you regularly review the area, to see if any other things need improving. If you find something that needs improving, then improve it!

Simple, common sense stuff.

All we are saying here is to apply what you do in the kitchen at home to your workplace.

The 5 Stages to Workplace organisation is a simple, easy to use, common sense based system that should help you. It’s not there for its own purpose. Everything you do in the 5 Stages should save you time and make your job easier in the long term, even if it might take some time to do at the start.

So how have we saved money?

Every time you can’t find something, you’ve wasted time – and time is money.

Having everything that you need, where you need it, kept that way, always that way and improved when needed.

This all saves time, effort, expense.

It doesn't matter if you're a factory, small business or an office. Wasted time is wasted money.

Being organised saves money!