Q 403. What is an Escape Point? Elaborate on how it can be used effectively in a DMAIC project?

 

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The Problem Solving Process (Global 8D) is a structured approach to reach to the base cause and hence the escape point and taking actions to confirm that these are eradicated permanently through effective controls and actions that are embedded within the operations of the business. The Deming cycle is part of the Global 8D process, starting with the G8D form and is used at various steps through the method.

 

In this current step the cycle is employed to: -

• PLAN -
  • Plan for validation of the PCA
  • Plan to remove the Interim Containment Action (ICA) as a 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 required resources
  • Documentation, Instruction, Training and Implementation to be planned
  • What, when, who and when (team roles and responsibilities) - define clearly
• DO – Initiate the plan for implementation for both the basis cause and escape point, ensuring that each one the required steps are managed and adhered to.
• CHECK – ensure the PCA’s are fully implemented and integrated into the operational and business processes. 
• The measures for effectiveness of the PCA’s should use the identical measurables that we wont to describe the matter within the article Describe the matter. In other words comparing similar looking data.
• ACT – Actions to be taken on any variation from the plan or expected outcomes.
• Validation is proof that's developed after implementation has taken place, over a period of your time and must:
• Follow successful verification

Provide a knowledge driven comparison before and after implementation. Check that the implementation doesn't introduce a replacement problem or side effects.

 

Validation is: Normally performed under defined operating conditions on the ultimate product or process. May be necessary in earlier stages before product completion. Uses the identical indicators that demonstrated the matter and should be easily tracked

Escape point is the initial control point in the system, where the root cause of the problem should have detected in early stage but failed to detect in the system. It gives us a hint that there is a lapse in the system as it has not detected the problem, where it was supposed to detect.

It can be effectively handled by using following Basic Problem Solving tools to define and verify the root causes to identify the escape points.

1) SIPOC diagram by correctly mentioning the Project scope.

2)Detailed top down charting/flow diagram of the process

3)Check Sheet monitoring during the process

4)By plotting Scatter Plots to understand the extent of deviation

5)Detailed Ishikawa diagram and

6)Thorough Why- why analysis

So once the deviations are identified in the above tools, escape points can be easily identified and efforts to mitigate the same can be taken care of before going to implement the permanent solution for the problem.

 

To understand the escape point, First we will begin with 8D methodology:

 

What is 8 D:

 

The 8 D (8 Disciplines) is a problem solving tool / methodology widely used in industries. It is mainly used for corrective action processes in both manufacturing and service industries. This tool focuses on correct root cause and permanent corrective and preventive action, It follows the systematic 8 steps methodology for problem solving. Most of the automotive industries  are using 8 D form for identifying the correct root cause and eliminating the recurring problem by implementing appropriate corrective and preventive action. Most of the customer complaints are handled through the 8 D processes to identify the correct root cause to reduce or eliminate the CoPQ (Cost of poor quality). 

 

8 D approach as follows: (All Ds are not explained, D4 is explained to answer the question of escape point)

What is Escape point in 8 D process:

 

Here D4 is considered as an “escape point”. Here We isolate and verify each root cause against problem description and test the data. Isolate and verify the location in the process where the real root cause could have been detected but not detected hence the problem transferred to next stages. This point is called an escape point.

 

Any processes there shall be a barrier to stop / identify the defect, If the defect is not detected in the first stage or real root cause at first level then the cause shall transfer and become a defect hence the escape point shall be identified during the 8 D process to make permanent solution.

 

D4 is one of the most vital and important D in the 8 D process. The reason is to identify and verify the real root cause of the failure in the process or product. There are many causes related to one problem like Y = f(X1,X2,X3…...Xn). Here we need to find the right X to identify and validate the causes. This shall not be done through brainstorming or nominal group techniques, We may use 5 Whys or cause and effect diagrams, to map causes against the problem identified.

 

Main activities involved in D4:

• This step consists of performing the failure analysis and investigation needed to determine the root cause of the problem:

  • A structured method such as cause and effect matrix, is / is not table, or 5 – why technique is required for root cause identification.

• The detailed description of the actual defect / failure mechanism shall be given, to show that the failure has been fully understood. ASK as many WHYs to ensure the real root cause is addressed.

• The Is/Is Not tool and the cause and effect matrix should be revised to assist in root cause analysis and more details become known.  

• Other root cause analysis tools such as hypothesis testing or quick DOE’s can also be employed to help determine the exact root cause of the problem.  All details should be included in the 8D as attachments.

Note: 

• WHYs should be described clearly. 

• Subsequent WHY must answer the question “Why” for the previous why statement, leading to the actual ROOT CAUSE.

• Do not just put in disconnected statements to point to the root cause you think it is. 

• The maximum amount of  evidence must be provided to show that 1)That the root cause is the real culprit behind the problem 2) That all the other potential causes can be excluded.

Escape Root Cause Description:

• Similarly as above, identify (with 5 Whys) the reason why we didn’t detect it.

• Was the process control plan not comprehensive?

• Think carefully about why the problem escaped.  

• Careful not to blame the operator as most often it is a weak system that allows the operator to make a mistake without providing help to detect the actual error and prevent it from occurring.  

Description of Root Cause to WHY not predicted:

• Why was it not predicted in the FMEA, consider the following questions to arrive at your root cause.

  • Was no FMEA created for this process/system

  • Current FMEA not good enough, review needed?

  • Modifications to the system over the years were not updated?

  • Is the control chat evaluation done or not? Out of control limits points to be checked thoroughly and appropriate action shall be initiated as and when needed. 

Main benefits of 8 D:

• Team orientation and engagement

• Lesson learned can be shared with other business line or product line 

• Can create a database for problems and causes

• To bring the process under control 

• Reduce CoPQ

• Better understanding on system change

Example of 8 D form:

Thanks for reading  





 

Escape point

 

During a problem-solving exercise using the 8D or 8 Discipline approach it is often essential to observe where exactly the process failed to identify a defect. This process step at which the failure to detect the problem occurred is called the escape point. A 5 why analysis or a Root cause analysis using an Ishikawa diagram could be used in this step (D4) to help discovery of the escape point.

 

The objective is to strengthen the process at its weakest links to prevent further recurrence of the problem.

 

Some examples of escape points

 

 Problem                                                                Root Cause                                                       Escape Point          

 

Incorrect component on PCB                    Untrained operator                                 Line set-up, Board final inspection

 

Powder coating defects on housings       Inadequate cleaning before coating       7 Tank Process inspection

 

Incorrect pricing of products                    Approved price master not used            Invoice approval, ERP validation

An escape point is the next point of control after the root cause which should have detected the issue. It is control point which has failed to do its job. Idea behind identifying the escape point is to understand which control point has failed so that necessary action can be taken. This way root cause and control point both can be improved. 

 

Escape Point is generally used in 8D Problem solving technique, However it can be used just as effectively in DMAIC project.

In DMAIC Project during analysis phase we can identify the escape point and update control plan accordingly in later phases. Taking action on escape point in Improve phase should be done.

 

An 'escape point' is a point in the process where the problem or defect could have been detected but was not. As one can deduce from the definition, escape point is vital as it gives us an idea that there was a lapse in the system as the defect escaped unnoticed. https://everythingwhat.com/what-is-an-8d-escape-point

 

Uses of Escape Point in a DMAIC project –

 

1.       During analysis phase of a DMAIC project we tend to focus only on the root cause of the problem, whereas it is essential to find out escape points where problem could have been detected and stopped but due to system failure that didn’t happen.

 

2.       This means along with fixing the root cause of the problem we also need to set up a robust system with strong escape points which would make problem easily identifiable before it becomes a grave issue.

 

Let’s understand this better with the help of an example –

 

Example – In a content writing assignment the final article had a lot of spelling mistakes.

 

Possible Root Causes –

1.       Lack of training and skills

2.      Selection criteria of content writers wasn’t robust etc.

 

Escape Points –

1.       The best escape point here would be auto-spell check. Questions to ask and understand are – Why in spite of having auto-spell check the final article was full of spelling mistakes?

2.       System failure could be because of the following reasons –

 - Auto-spell check not enabled

- The user chose to ignore highlighted errors etc.

 

The above mentioned escape point analysis along with root-cause analysis would not only fix the problem but would also enable deployment of a robust system which makes defects easily identifiable and assist in avoiding future errors.

 

Conclusion – Root Cause of the problem and failure of escape points working adequately both require attention and appropriate corrective actions to prevent incidents of similar kind in the future.

Escape Point
Escape Points is one of the eight steps of the “Eight Disciplines of Problem Solving” The 8D methodology was made popular by Ford Motors. The logic used in 8D is similar to the PDCA Cycle. The main goal of 8D is in the identification, correction, and elimination of problems that occur recurrently. It uses various analytical techniques including Statistical Analysis to determine the root cause of the problem.

The eight steps of the 8D process are

• “Preparation and Emergency Response Actions”,
• “Use a Team”,
• “Describe the Problem”,
• “Develop Interim Containment Plan”,
• “Determine and Verify Root Causes and Escape Points”,
• “Verify Permanent Corrections for Problem that will resolve the problem for the customer”,
• “Define and Implement Corrective Actions”,
• “Prevent Recurrence / System Problems”,
• “Congratulate the Main Contributors to your Team”.

Step 4 of the process “Determine and Verify Root Causes and Escape Points” involves identification of the root cause and taking steps to permanently eliminate it. During this step the Escape Point needs to be determined, i.e., the point closest in the process where the root cause could have been found but was not. Root Causes are generally grouped under Occurrence, Escape, and Systemic. The Occurrence Root Cause is the specific cause that resulted in the problem. It is the factor that brought about a change in the process. The escape root cause is the reason or cause as to why the problem escaped detection, the systematic root cause is the broader reason/cause that is responsible for the local cause or reason.

It requires long-term corrective action.
Escape points need to be identified during the Root Cause Analysis. The Escape Points can be controls that are currently in place in the process flow to detect the problem but have failed and allowed the problem to escape. Some examples of this can be audits, tests, sign-offs, etc. The Escape points in the process flow could also be blind spots. The points where the problem could have been detected but no controls were in place for its detection.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight_disciplines_problem_solving

https://quality-one.com/8d/

                                                                                 Escape Point

The escape point is the place in the process of D8 methodology where the root cause of a problem that should have detected the problem but failed to detect so. This considers not only the root cause but also went wrong with the control system in allowing this problem to escape. The 8D problem solving process requires the team to identify and verify escape point at D4 and through D5 and D7. The escape point objective is to improve the ability of the control system so that it can detect the failure or cause if it should occur again. At the end, prevention loop explores the system that permitted the condition that allowed the failure and cause mechanism to exist in the first place.

The PDCA, DMAIC, 8D all approaches have in common following scientific and methodic way to solve the problem. In addition, different phases in each approach can be mapped to the phases of the other ones.

 

PDCA	DMAIC	8D
Plan	Define	1.       Create team & collect information 2.       Describe the problem
	Measure	3.       Interim Containment Actions
	Analyze	4.       Identify/Analyze the root cause & Escape Point. 5.       Developing Permanent Corrective Actions (PCA)
Do	Improve	6.       Implementing Permanent Corrective Actions
Check	Control	7.       Define Actions to Avoid Recurrence 8.       Congratulate team
Act

 

PDCA: The PDCA cycle is the classic problem solving approach in LEAN also called Deming Cycle. PDA is used to solve medium size problems. The Plan phase should have done very carefully that consume high weightage approx. 50% of the total time.  Act phase implies that it will start again as part of continuous improvement.

DMAIC:  The origin of DMAIC problem solving approach is the SIX SIGMA world. This is a 5 Step PDCA used for large problems where huge amount of data is available.  Depending on the complexity and process that need to improve the DMAIC project may exceed more than three months.

8D:   8D is a problem solving methodology design to find the root cause of a problem.  The structured approach formulated a short term fix and implement a long term solution to prevent difficult, recurring or critical problems and also provides transparency, drives a teams approach and increases the chance of solving problem.  8D Methodology helping to explore the control system and allowing the problem to escape. 8D is very popular in manufacturing domain because it is effective and reasonably easy to teach. This is an 8 step PDCA cycle focused on fast reaction to customer complaints such as product failed at the customer end or a delivered component. Usually first three steps should be completed and reported to the customer in three days. PSP is the same thing like 8D but used in the aerospace industries.

Escape point in 8D (D4 through D6):

The escape point in 8D methodology is at D4 and goes through D5 and D7. This 8D methodology requires the team for choose, verify, implement and validate permanent correction actions to address the escape point.

 

 

                                         Figure: 8D Problem Solving Methodology stages .  

D4-  Review control system and Identify the root cause and escape point. Also, select counter measure  of root cause and escape point.

D5- Developing permanent corrective actions. Selecting control point improvement for the Escape point. Verification of the effectiveness for the PCA and the escape point are required.

D6- Implementing permanent corrective actions.

Escape point approaching in PDCA/DMAIC:

In this step, the verification and implementation of the Permanent Correction Actions (PCA’s) by approaching PDCA/DMAIC to ensure the successful implementation and verified the best permanent correction actions (PCA’s) for the root cause and escape point.

The 8D problem solving process is an approach to find the root cause and escape point and taking necessary actions to ensure that these are eradicated through the effective controls and actions that are embedded in the business operations.  

PLAN (Define, Measure, Analyze in DMAIC): The implementation of the permanent Corrective actions (PCA) in attentions to.

-          Validation plan of the Permanent Corrective Actions (PCA)

-          Removing plan of the Interim Containment Actions (ICA) as per part of the implementation of the PCA

-          Integrate and check for side effects

-          Continued monitoring plan for effectiveness of the PCAs

-          Plan for all necessary resources

-          All documentation planning process, training and communication for the implementation for the PCA.

-          Define clearly the team roles and responsibilities

DO (Improve in DMAIC): Initiating the implementation plan for both the root cause and escape point, ensuring that all the necessary steps have been managed and followed.

CHECK (Control in DMAIC): Verify the PCAs have fully implemented and integrated into the operation and business processes. Validate for both the root cause and escape points and will be carried out at this stage and on an ongoing basis. The measures for the effectiveness of the PCAs should use the same measure.

ACT (Control in DMAIC): Check actions on any variation from the plan or expected outcomes.

Validation: Validation is performed usually under defined operating condition on the final product or process. Validation is the proof that is developed after implementation has taken place, over a period of time and must:

-          Follow successful verification & Provide a data driven before and after implementation.

-          Ensure & Check the implementation does not introduce a new problem or side effects

 

At the end, Escape point can effectively use in DMAIC project also to ensure the product quality released by internal and external customer and subsequently to have one or more non conformities to the product, specification and contract requirements. Also, reduced customer complaints due to fast response. Through elimination of root causes improved quality control system and is highly achievable for business operations.

All published answers are correct. 

 

There are 2 winners to this question - Saravanan MR and Mohammad Mahmudul Hassan.