8D Gate

D7 · D8 · Excel

Lessons learned register: free Excel

One row per lesson: where it came from, what to do differently, and where it gets built in, such as the PFMEA, the control plan, a work instruction, training or an LPA question. The file shows lessons past their due date and lessons with no owner.

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Own structure and wording. Tested in LibreOffice. Advisory only.

Shared is not the same as built in

An 8D can say "lessons shared" at D8 and nothing more. Later, the lesson may be hard to find, and so may the place where it changed the way the work is done. This register keeps every lesson in one place, with the place it was built into and the date it happened. See the D8 closure checklist and D7: prevent recurrence.

What is in the file

  • Settings: an as-of date (blank means today).
  • Log: ref, captured on, source (8D, customer complaint, internal audit, scrap or rework, launch, other), source ref, what happened, the lesson, built into, owner, due, built in on, shared with.
  • Days to due runs until a built-in-on date is entered.
  • A separate check column: past its due date and not built in (on any row, whatever its status), built in before captured, and the same source ref on more than one row. Once ref, capture date and lesson are filled in, it also notes no owner and built into blank. A row can show more than one note.
  • Counts under the log: rows logged, rows per status, rows with a check note, rows past due and not built in (any status), and a last line that should read 0: rows not in any status. No score and no ranking.

How the status is worked out

In this order; the first match wins:

StatusWhen
Enter refThe row has an entry but no ref. It still counts.
Enter capture dateCaptured on is blank.
Write the lessonThe lesson is blank.
Say where it was built inA built-in-on date is entered, but built into is blank.
Built inA built-in-on date is entered.
Enter due dateDue is blank.
OverdueThe as-of date is after due.
Enter ownerOwner is blank.
Enter where to build it inBuilt into is blank.
OpenNone of the above.

Overdue comes before Enter owner, so a late lesson with no owner shows as Overdue, and the check column still says No owner. If a fill-in step such as Write the lesson shows instead, the check column still says Past due.

Example (fictional)

Made-up lessons, extract, as of Thursday 22 October 2026:

RefLessonBuilt intoOwnerDueStatusCheck
L-01Add a torque check to the tool-change sheetWork instructionQuality engineerFri 2 Oct 2026Built inSource ref on 2 rows.
L-02One label printer per part number at packingControl planFri 9 Oct 2026OverdueNo owner. Past due: worth a check.
L-03Ask about gauge due dates on the layered auditLPA questionTeam leadFri 30 Oct 2026Open
L-04Brief night shift on tool changesQuality engineerFri 13 Nov 2026Enter where to build it inSource ref on 2 rows.

Worth a check each month

  • Overdue lessons (marked in red), and any row whose check column says past its due date: build them in, or set a new due date with the owner.
  • Lessons with no owner: a lesson with no owner is easy to lose.
  • The same source ref on several rows: fine when one 8D taught several things, worth a look when it is the same lesson twice.

From the register to the 8D

The built-into column and its date are the kind of evidence D7 and D8 ask for. When the 8D is written, check your 8D report before you send it.

Your own procedure decides who signs off a lesson. The register is an aid; it does not decide for you.

Related

Advisory template, in English.