Ford teams use the 8D process to solve problems.
Why is Ford creating a corporate data base containing the experiences of 8D team efforts?
Ford Chairman and CEO Alex Trotman:
“One of the things that has irritated a lot of us who have been at Ford a long time is that, when there is a problem,
we look at each other and say, ‘How many more times do we have to deal with this problem? I remember it back in 1967, then in 1977, and here it is again!’ Based on old timers’ knowledge, the
problem is resolved.But people move or retire, taking their knowledge and experience with them.
With the data base, we will institutionalize their memories so that the young engineer who is designing, say, a door lock could go to his computer, key in “door-lock designs,” and get get information on specifications, past problems, and their solutions.
Today, such information is in people’s heads, and that’s not a very efficient way of transferring knowledge.”
(excerpted from “Ford Chairman Was, and Continues To Be, a Progress Chaser,” by Karen Bemowski, Associate Editor,
Quality Progress magazine, Vol. 27, No. 10, October 1994, pp. 29-32):
8D process to solve problems
