This page is a scannable checklist by discipline, D2 to D8, plus the attachment and contradiction traps that send otherwise solid packs back. It reflects common automotive and industrial 8D practice. Always follow your customer’s form and customer-specific requirements (CSRs).
Completeness vs engineering
A customer quality engineer reviews the document in front of them. If the evidence is not in the text, it is hard for them to give you credit for it. It helps to sort gaps into two kinds:
- Completeness gaps: the work may exist, but the report does not show it. Quantities missing, causes stated without data, actions without owners or dates.
- Engineering gaps: the analysis stopped too early. A person instead of a process cause, no escape analysis, or training listed as the permanent fix.
Completeness gaps are the faster fix, so check them first. They also tend to expose the engineering gaps.
Checklist by discipline (D2–D8)
Each line is a question a reviewer may ask. If the answer is “no” or “it’s in the attachment,” fix it before you send.
D2 · Problem description
- What, where, when, how many, and how it was detected, with numbers.
- Part number, lot or date codes, shipment window, and the requirement not met (with the spec value).
- No suspected cause written into D2. D2 describes the deviation; D4 explains it.
D3 · Containment
- Every location covered: line, warehouse, in transit, customer site, other sites.
- Quantity checked and quantity NOK per location, including zero results.
- Sort method stated, and a break point (clean point) customers can identify.
D4 · Root cause
- Separate occurrence and escape (non-detection) causes.
- Each cause verified with data in the report, not only a team discussion.
- No person-blame such as “operator error” or “lack of attention” as the final cause.
D5 · Permanent corrective actions
- At least one action per verified cause, for occurrence and for escape.
- Actions change process, tooling, method, or detection, not only attention.
- Owner and due date for each action.
D6 · Verification of effectiveness
- Results after implementation: measurements, trial runs, or challenge tests.
- “No complaints since” is not evidence on its own. If data is pending, give the date.
- Containment ends only after the permanent action is verified.
D7 · Prevent recurrence
- System documents named with revision status: PFMEA, control plan, work and inspection instructions.
- Read-across to similar parts, lines, or sites, as a list rather than “will be reviewed.”
D8 · Closure
- Closure proposed only when open items are closed, or open items listed with dates.
- Status in D8 matches the status of actions in D3–D7.
Deeper guides, section by section: D3 containment examples, how to write D4 root cause, the escape point in D4, and why “operator error” fails as a root cause. To keep D3 and D5 apart, see 8D corrective action vs containment. For how the IATF 16949 problem-solving clause relates to your customer’s 8D requirement, see IATF 16949 and 8D.
Checklist done? Get a second, skeptical read of the whole pack — free Accept / Conditional / Reject advisory with the gaps named, before the customer opens it.
8D Gate is a free pre-send readiness advisory. It doesn't replace the customer's decision. We don't store your 8D body in our database; you can delete anytime. Anthropic processes the text for the review.
Attachment and contradiction traps
These show up across sections and are easy to miss when several people wrote the report.
- “See attachment” or “available on request” for key evidence. Summarize the result in the body: method, sample size, outcome.
- Attachments that aren’t there. A fishbone named in D4 but missing from the PDF export reads as no analysis.
- Numbers that don’t match. Quantity affected in D2 differs from D3, or sort totals don’t add up.
- Status that doesn’t match. Actions marked “done” before the cause was verified, or D8 proposes closure while D3 says the sort is ongoing.
- Dates out of order. Verification dated before implementation, or containment started before the complaint.
How to use the checklist
- Finish the draft first. Checking half a report finds gaps you already know about.
- Read it as the customer would: only the document, no hallway context.
- Mark each line yes, no, or attachment-only. Treat attachment-only as no.
- Fix the “no” lines, then re-read D2, D3, and D8 together for matching numbers and status.
- If the customer already returned the pack, map each of their comments to a section and say what changed. See 8D rejected? What to do next.
Get the free 8D / D4 checklist
Keep the one-page version for your next pack. It covers D1–D8 and goes deeper on D4 occurrence, escape, and verification.
Get the free 8D / D4 checklist
Free readiness advisory
The checklist works best with a second reader. When no colleague is free before the deadline, 8D Gate gives you a pre-send readiness check on the full pack.
Paste text or upload PDF, DOCX, or Excel. You get an Accept / Conditional / Reject advisory, a score, section ratings, missing evidence, and questions to close gaps, with a PDF download. It is a pre-send readiness check for your team, not a customer decision.
8D Gate is a free pre-send readiness advisory. It doesn't replace the customer's decision. We don't store your 8D body in our database; you can delete anytime. Anthropic processes the text for the review.
FAQ
- Is a rejected 8D always an engineering problem?
- Not always. Often the work was done but the report doesn’t show it: numbers missing, evidence only in attachments, or two sections that disagree. Fix the document first, then check whether the analysis itself has gaps.
- Should we resubmit quickly or completely?
- Answer every point the customer raised, and say what changed in each section. A resubmission that only adds a sentence to D4 can come back again. Follow your customer’s deadline and CSR.
- Does this checklist replace our customer’s template?
- No. It checks completeness against common 8D practice. Your customer’s form, CSR, and any VDA or AIAG-based requirements they name come first.