1. INTRODUCTION
The
currently existing global competition makes companies seek more and more
alternatives to remain alive in the market. For this, many companies seek to
reduce the number of failures in its products, seeking an increasing of
reliability.
To
have a good reliability, it is necessary for the departments of Production,
Maintenance and Quality work together into the company, because they are
dependent of each other. Through maintenance practices, it’s possible to
provide availability for the machines operate. A decrease in availability of
machinery reflects the company's productivity immediately. Quality management
provides quality tools for the two sectors work in harmony.
For
Coutinho et al. (2010), the main objective of the application of quality tools
is to identify the major problems of companies, always seeking the best
solution of the same.
Quality
tools help to improve the quality of products, services and processes. Quality
tool is a tool designed to perform a specific task, according to a defined
procedure. It enables direct and support the activities of improvement and
change. Quality tools can be divided in two groups: traditional tools and
additional tools. Traditional tools are the tools that were developed in Japan,
including the Pareto chart and the Ishikawa diagram. The complementary tools
are less used or are used only to solve a specific problem (SLACK, 2009).
This
research was developed in an European multinational, active in the agricultural
market. The main problem observed was the breaking of some tractors when they
were already in operation by the customer. In order to decrease the number of
breaks, which result in a negative image for the company and annoying to the
customer, it was used the tool 8D (Eight Disciplines) to minimize the damage.
The
8D is a quality approach to dealing with a problem in a company or
organization. This is a method of analysis and fast response for a problem. It
applies the double objective of ensuring the continuity of flows and at the
same time finding ways to eradicate the roots causes of the problem. Solutions
to specific problems are continuously improved and kept as a model. In this
study, specifically, the need to deploy the tool 8D to solve the machinery
breaks in a multinational company. As it is necessary a monitoring of employees
for the method has effectively, in this work was discussed a knowledge transfer
from senior management to employees, teaching a working method, contributes to
the growth of the organization.
This
manuscript is justified by the fact that present the tool and its context 8D
inserted into a multinational European agriculture. Being a case study, it’ll
provide to the production engineer the interaction of the theme, developing
their knowledge and searching for concepts and techniques to play the best possible
understanding and analysis of this study, and thus replicating and generalizing
knowledge to another number of samples.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Quality Evolution
The
art of getting Quality experienced a great evolution in the twentieth century,
from the mere inspection of finished products to the strategic vision of
business. According to Heras et al. (2009), quality evolution is divided in
four steps: quality inspection, statistical quality control, quality assurance
and total quality management (TQM).
Until
the mid-twentieth century it was rare for a company present in your chart a
department directed to quality. This function was performed by special
inspectors (CARVALHO and PALADINI, 2012).
The
Taylorist system generated some undesirable effects due to the emphasis given
by senior management to productivity. Supervisors and workers prioritized
productivity and quality have relegated to the background. At this time, the
inspection was focused on the product
In
1922, the inspection activity is formally incorporated into the Quality
Control. The activity of the inspectors was restricted to the identification
and quantification of defective products, which often resulted in punitive
measures. Manufacturers were removing defective parts without being made a
preliminary study on the causes (CARVALHO and PALADINI, 2012).
With
the growth in production, the model based on the 100% inspection becomes
expensive and ineffective. In 1924, Shewhart, applying statistical knowledge,
develops a powerful technique in order to troubleshoot quality control of Bell
Telephone Laboratories: the control charts, currently used in the industry.
The
statistical control was evolved and came to the era of Quality Assurance, which
consists of four main movements: quantification of quality costs, Reliability,
Total Quality Control and Zero Defects Program.
The
era of Total Quality Management (TQM) is a natural evolution of the three ages
that preceded it and is ongoing today. According to Slack et al. (2009), TQM is
a management philosophy that focuses on continuous client, relying on
management tools and working within a cooperative organizational culture.
Firms implement TQM to raise the
competitive advantage, increase the profits, and become innovative (BON and
MUSTAFA, 2012). Experience
has shown that some firms fail when they implement TQM because its implementation cannot be successful
without the use of suitable quality management methods (TARÍ and
SABATER, 2004).
TQM is positively related to
innovation performance because it establishes a system and culture that will
provide a fertile environment for organizations to innovate (PRAGOJO and SOHAL,
2006).
2.2
Quality Tools
Before speak about quality tools, it
should define what quality is. According to Carpinetti (2012), quality has
different settings due to generic allocation to which the term is used to
represent things are quite different. Garvin (1992) rated the quality in five
distinct approaches:
·
Quality transcendent: the quality is not an idea or a
concrete thing, although we cannot define quality, we know what it is;
·
Quality based on the product: quality is a precise and
measurable variable;
·
Quality based on the costumer: quality is to meet
consumer desires;
·
Quality based on production: quality is the degree to
which a specific product is in accordance with a design or specification;
·
Quality based on value: quality is the degree of
excellence at an acceptable price.
Quality works to achieve continuous
improvement in the productive system, in an approach that is characterized as a
process of continuous improvement in products and processes to achieve
improvements in overall performance.
According Carpinetti (2012) and
Silva et al. (2013), to assist in the development of continuous improvement, it
is used the tools of Quality, which are:
·
Pareto Chart: is used to divide a large problem into
several smaller problems, with the goal of viewing the problem. It shows, in
order of importance, the contribution of each item to the total effect.
Typically, it is represented by a bar graph;
·
Cause and Effect Diagram (Ishikawa Diagram): is used
to represent the relationship between the effect and all possible causes that
are contributing to this effect. Causes are usually grouped in these
categories: method, measurement, machine, raw material, labor, and work
environment.
·
Check sheet: is a very simple tool which aims to group
data so that they are easily further processed;
·
Stratification: It separates data collected from
different sources so that patterns can be seen.
·
Histogram: is a bar graph showing the frequency at
which the values occur in the measurements. In the graph, the thickness is
variable, and the range of the height of the bar shows the number of times it
occurs;
·
Control Chart: widely used in SPC (Statistical Process
Control), is a graph done to identify how a process can be changed to point to
modify the product quality;
·
Scatter Diagram: relates two variables by studying the
possible relationships that may exist between them.
A single tool is a device with a
clear function, and is usually applied on its own, whereas a technique has a
wider application and is understood as a set of tools. Companies that know how
to use correctly the quality tools to solve a problem, are able to achieve
goals, leading to a true competitive position (TARÍ and SABATER, 2004).
According to Heras et al. (2009), the use of quality tools enhances the
competitiveness of those organizations that support your quality system based
on ISO 9000.
2.3
8D (Eight Disciplines)
The tool 8D (Eight Disciplines),
corresponds to their readiness to solve complex problems for continuous
improvement of a product or a process. The tool is processed in eight
disciplines and emphasizes the synergy of the people involved. It was
originally developed by Ford Motor Company, where it combined various elements
of other techniques for problem solving to shape the eight disciplines, which
it was introduced in Ford manual titled: Team Oriented Problem Solving (TOPS)
(MARCHINI, sd). According to Marchini [sd], the tool 8D ranks according to
table 1:
Table 1 – 8D
|
D1. Inicial Data |
Establish a small group of people
with knowledge, time availability, authority and competence to solve the
problem and implement corrective actions. The
group must select a team leader. |
|
D2. Description of the problem |
Describe the problem in
measurable terms. Specify clearly and objectively the problems that occurred
both internal and outside the company. |
|
D3. Immediate
countermeasures |
Define and implement actions that
will provide protection for the customer to faulty, not causing a significant
loss of the same, until permanent corrective action is implemented. Check
with the data of the effectiveness of those actions. |
|
D4. Root causes |
Identify all potential causes
that could explain why the problem occurred. Apply and test each potential
cause against the problem description and data. Identify
alternative corrective actions to eliminate the root cause. |
|
D5.
Corrective and preventive actions |
Confirm that the corrective
actions implemented will solve the problem for the customer or supplier and
will not cause undesirable side effects. Define other actions, if necessary,
based on the potential severity of the problem. |
|
D6. Effectiveness of
actions |
Define and implement the
necessary corrective actions for the permanent elimination of the root cause
of the problem. Choice controls to ensure that the cause is eliminated.
Monitor the long-term effects and implement additional controls, if
necessary. |
|
D7. Updating of
standards |
Modify the specifications,
training of employees, work flow, improve practices and procedures to prevent
recurrence of this and all similar problems |
|
D8. Closing |
Recognize the collective efforts
of the staff. Promote your accomplishment and share knowledge and learning
with the whole team, to assist in possible failures or similar errors that
may occur. |
3. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
8D METHOD
The company in question is a
manufacturer of agricultural machinery. The machines vary in size; each size is
to meet a different specification. Each one of the machines has a person
responsible for their design, being the Chief of the project.
Seeking to know what was the
situation regarding the use of quality tools; a questionnaire was prepared to
see the actual state of the each tool use. The main objective of the
questionnaire was to take all information about the use of the tools, in
verifying that the tools were known or not, if the tools are used properly, if
there are difficulties for the use of the tools and what are the frequently
used tools. The questionnaire was sent to the project leader for each segment
and contained all quality tools, and the Chief of the project indicates the
most used, and describe the facilities and difficulties in working with a
quality tool.
After getting the answer of each
leader of the project, it was found that there are tools which are not known or
used. The large number of tools and the difficulty of working with more than
two at the same time were appointed as the main difficulty in implanting a quality
management tool.
By the questionnaire survey, it was
found that the most appropriate tool to accomplish the deployment in the
enterprise was the 8D. To put into practice this tool, a technician document
has been created. This technician document was designed to collect all the
information about the problem. In fact, this technician document is based on
the PDCA cycle, as shown in Figure 1 below (DEMING, 1990):
Figure
1 – PDCA Cycle
Source: Deming (1990)
The quality approach presents a basic
management method - PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Action) cycle - as well as several
sets of tools that can be applied to operationalize each cycle phase and
employed depending on the company’s quality management maturity, and also on
the complexity of the problem (SILVA et al., 2013)
The phase P (Plan) is to find the
problem and establish the goals, i.e. what is the plan of action adopted to
solve the problem. The phase D (Do) is to monitor the implementation of the
plan, to see if the action plan is being implemented properly. The phase C
(Check) is to verify that the result of the goal was met. Finally there is the
stage A (Action), which should provide a corrective action in case of failure
or standardize and retrain if there is success.
As the failures occur, it is
necessary to block their root causes. This can only be achieved through the
operation of the PDCA cycle. Each spin of the PDCA cycle represents an increase
of knowledge that maintenance teams acquire about the equipment.
From the knowledge of the problem,
security is the formalization and implementation of immediate actions for the
protection of the client. It includes the search for evidence on the ground,
the sorting actions, blocks production and its communication to the client.
There are three phases:
·
D1 (Initial data - Locating the problem);
·
D2 (Description of the problem);
·
D3 (Lock Stock): collecting the facts and the
evidence, the problem is described in a structured way using 5W2H (Why, Where,
When, What, Who, How, How much) by setting up so lock stock application to
avoid this problem keep happening.
During the phase Plan/Do the root
causes of the problem are identified, by setting up an action plan and
corrective actions. There are two steps:
·
D4 (Identification of potential causes);
·
D5 (Corrective and Preventive actions): based on
evidences and data, it can be identified potential factors. By using the “5
Whys”, it’s confirmed the root causes of the problem.
During the Check/Act, the
effectiveness of the corrective measures are evaluated, the standards are
updated to prevent any recurrence and action plans are determined. There are
three phases:
·
D6 (Efficiency of actions);
·
D7 (Update of standards);
·
D8 (Closing): here, the effectiveness of the actions
with the data and welcomes the success of 8D team. After that, the customer is
invited to show the evidences of change. The problem was solved and probably
will not return.
The 5W2H, used during D2, is a
technique for finding information about a problem and its causes, asking
questions to find the root causes of the problem. What, who, where, when, how,
how much and why are conducted and an action plan is proposed.
The development of 8D Method is
proposed in two levels: analyze level one and two. Analyze level 1 will
determine the problem that must be dealt with from the symptom, using the 5W2H.
An analysis of the actual parts and checking the correct implementation of the
rules are made. It is important not to confuse the symptoms with the problem.
Symptom is what is annoying the customer, and the no resolution of the symptom
becomes the problem.
Analyze level 2 is made to find the
root causes of the problem, the implementation of plans of action for its
eradication and the formalization of the lessons learned. The 8D Method can be
viewed in figure 2 above:
Figure
2 – 8D Method
Source: The
Author
Lessons
Learned cards are complete files to avoid the same problem more than once. It
documents all the steps and methods used to solve the problem. Here, one can
identify the factors that could create the problem and the 5 Whys identify root
causes. After that, the corrective actions are implemented, eradicating the
problem.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
To
achieve success in implementing the tools, the monitoring of the users is
necessary. For this, it is important to undertake training courses for users,
showing and teaching how the method works and/or it applies.
The
training was made by using the 8D Method. One of the objectives was to
integrate the method as a daily routine. Through the use of this tool, all
company progresses on the path for continuous improvement, where all people
learn continuously.
In
the studied company, one month after the implementation of the 8D method, the
time spent to solve a problem decreased about 30%, on average, before the
deployment of 8D. This is due because the 8D integrate all departments of the
company immediately and effectively in search of the root cause of the
problems.
The
essential role of an "integrated learning" is to support the
long-term success of a company's in innovation programs. One of these innovative
programs can cite a quality tool. The basis of learning is synonymous with the
acquisition of new technologies and human experiences in the application of
these technologies (SMITH and SHARIF, 2007).
Any
new technology that the company experience generates a competitive advantage
for the company front of yours competitors. Having achieved an advantage,
technology assets are an essential ingredient to defend that position. It is
very important for a company to adopt and apply new technologies early enough
so that the financial benefits are available to pay the initial costs that can
be extremely high. If a company waits too long to apply a new technology, so it
can find a position where the available profits cannot overcome the initial
costs. In this way, the production of knowledge is essential for the company to
maintain a competitive position.
The
production of knowledge is analyzed as an interactive and collective learning
process in which a variety of authors are involved, such as companies,
universities, research and development centers and laboratories. This process
is affected by the characteristics of the system in terms of appropriability of
knowledge, availability of external knowledge and accessibility to external
knowledge. Each participant has to invest in communication process and transmit
additional pieces of knowledge (Kang Rhee and Kang, 2010).
Having
knowledge ready to be transferred, the broadcast must be agile and in an
effective way. The process of knowledge transfer is defined by Szulanski (1996)
as: "replication internal practice that is made of a higher form in any
part of the Organization and is considered higher than alternative practices
known outside the company."
In
the process of transferring knowledge, interpersonal skills relating to
employees are extremely important; this includes leadership, oral communication
skills, strong impact and friendly staff. Intellectual capacity is also
critical, and research has shown that verbal and quantitative skills are
related to success. Finally, the motivation for the breakthrough is a strong
determinant of progress later, since those who want to succeed are much more
likely to do so (PATRUCCO, 2008).
Creative
organizations consist of creative employees and their performance is based on
the continuous development of knowledge and implementation. Thus, the purpose
of creative organizations is to spread valuable knowledge (GIRDAUSKIENĖ and
SAVANEVIČIENĖ, 2012).
Nonaka
(2000) classifies the knowledge according to its origin and type. The author
suggests four types of knowledge: Tacitus (skills of the individual),
conceptual (product concept, the design of the product name, average), explicit
(routine knowledge, organizational culture), and systemic (documents, patents
and licenses). Thus, the knowledge, the main tool of a creative organization is
mainly about making more accessible the tacit knowledge.
Knowledge
transfer is based on openness, trust and cooperation, providing opportunities
for the team to develop actively new ideas and share knowledge, especially to
encourage managers to experiment and take risks (PETRONI and COLACINO, 2008).
After
the deployment of 8D Method there was training with the employees, to learn the
correct way how the method worked. Initially there was resistance to its
adoption, but it was proved that this method is the most effective and quick to
seek answers to the problems, came to be regarded as a priority tool for the
solution of problems of breakdown of machinery.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The
need for quality and innovation in services organizations became vital for
their business excellence and to compete through strengthen their competitive
advantage (BON and MUSTAFA, 2012).
Having
knowledge about the correct use of the tool, it is possible to use it correctly
and effectively to non-compliance of a product of his line, so the application
of the tool is made by employees who worked directly with the process
presented problem. Thea appropriate use brings the following benefits:
a) Customer satisfaction: the goal of 8D is to seek accurate information
about the defects found on the customer. With this, it can improve
responsiveness by giving priority to complaints from customers, developing an
effective approach to problem solving, with which one can meet all requirements
of the customers;
b) Development of a quality system: the objective is that the procedures
meet the aspect of Quality at the source, that is, the concern with the
blockage of faults begins already in the production process. Deploy the quality
as a daily basis tends to increase the reliability of the products.
Knowledge
is a critical resource for competitive advantage. Companies must create new
knowledge continuously, to maintain its competitiveness in rapidly changing
environments. However, the creation of knowledge is not a process that
necessarily creates new knowledge, but an operation that recombines and
rearranges the existing knowledge.
The
8D Method presents considerable advantages to attack the root cause of the
problem. The basic principle for the final disposal of any equipment failure is
the precise identification of its causes. The identification of root causes
allows you to take all necessary countermeasures to block these causes and
prevent the recurrence of the failure. If this principle is not applied, the
same failures they appear so commonplace. With the proper training of
employees, the method works properly, ensuring a higher speed for the search
and resolution of problems.
REFERENCES
BON, A. T.; MUSTAFA, E. M. A. (2013) Impact of Total Quality Management
on Innovation in Service Organizations: Literature Review and New Conceptual
Framework. Procedia Engineering, v.
53, p. 516-529.
CARPINETTI, L. C. R. (2012) Gestão da Qualidade: Conceitos e Técnicas. 2.ed.
São Paulo: Atlas.
CARVALHO, M. M.; PALADINI, E. P. (2012) Gestão
da Qualidade: Teoria e Casos.
2. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier: ABEPRO.
COUTINHO, M. et al.
(2010) Contribuição associadas à
aplicação integrada das ferramentas da qualidade: o ciclo PDCA como base para
resolução de problemas nos processos de produção. In: Simpósio de
Engenharia de Produção, 17., 2010, Bauru (SP) SIMPEP.
DEMING, W. E. (1990) Qualidade: a revolução da
administração. Rio de Janeiro:
Marques-Saraiva.
GARVIN, D. A. (1992) Gerenciando a Qualidade.
Rio de Janeiro: Qualitymark.
GIRDAUSKIENĖ,
L.; SAVANEVIČIENĖ, A. (2012) Leadership role
implementing knowledge transfer in creative organization: how does it
work? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, v.41, p. 15-22.
HERAS, I.; MARIMON,
F.; CASADESÚS, M. (2009)
Impacto competitivo de lãs herramientas para la gestión de la calidad. Cuadernos
de Economía y Dirección de la Empresa, v.12, p. 7-35.
KANG, J.; RHEE,
M.; KANG, K. (2010) Revisiting knowledge
transfer: Effects of knowledge characteristics on organizational
effort for knowledge transfer. Expert
Systems with Applications, v. 37, p. 8155-8160.
MARCHINI, L. R. (2013) Disciplina 8D. Disponível
em:
<http://http://lodineimarchini.no.comunidades.net/index.php?pagina=1365191325
>. Acesso em: 20. abr. 2013.
NONAKA, I., TOYAMA,
R., NAGATA,A.(2000) A Firm as a Knowledge creating Entity: A New Perspective on
the Theory of the firm. Industrial and corporate change,
v.9, n.1, Oxford University
Press.
PATRUCCO, P. P. (2008) The economics of collective
knowledge and technological communication. The
Journal of Technology Transfer, v.33, p. 579-599.
PRAGOJO, D.; SOHAL, A. S. (2006) The relationship
between organization strategy, total quality management (TQM) and organization
performance - the mediating role of TQM. European Journal of Operational Research,
v. 168, p. 35-50.
PETRONI, A.; COLACINO, P. (2008) Motivation strategies
for knowledge workers: evidences and challenges. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, v.3, p. 21-32.
SILVA, D. A. L.; DELAI, I.; CASTRO, M. A. S; OMETTO, A. R. (2013) Quality
tools applied do Cleaner Production programs: a first approach toward a new
methodology. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 47, p. 174-187.
SMITH, R.; SHARIF, N. Understanding and acquiring technology assets for
global competition. Technovation,
v.27, p. 643-649, 2007.
SLACK, Nigel. (2009) Operations Management. 6th ed. England: Printice
Hall.
SZULANSKI, G. (1996) Exploring internal stickiness:
Impediments to the transfer of best practice with in the firm. Strategic Management Journal, v.17, p.
27−43.
TARÍ, J. J.; SABATER, V. (2004) Quality tools and techniques: Are they
necessary for quality management? International Journal of Production
Economics, v. 92, p.
267-280.