Use casesManufacturing

Customer complaint 8D

Containment is due tomorrow, and the evidence is in five systems.

Kinds of AI
SLMsAgentic AI
Who decides
Quality engineer
FIG. 1 · 8D draftIllustrative
8D draft · OEM complaintBurr on 12 mm bore

Agent · containment

  • D3Suspect stock counted in the warehouse and in transitERP stock query
  • D3Sort at the customer proposed; needs quality engineer approval

SLM · root cause and action

  • D4Candidate 1: worn deburring tool, life above limittool counter
  • D4Candidate 2: new operator on line 2, weak evidenceshift log
  • D7Add a tool-life interlock; update the PFMEA occurrence. The quality engineer decides.

Agent · 8D check

  • metD4 candidate 1 is a cause, not a symptom
  • metD7 updates the FMEA
  • SLM
  • Agent

DecidesQuality engineer

1. The desk

Today

  1. ReadA complaint from the vehicle maker (OEM) arrives with photos and asks for an eight-disciplines (8D) report; containment (D3) is due in 24 hours, root cause in 10 days.
  2. GatherThe quality engineer spends most of that time collecting genealogy from the manufacturing execution system (MES), past 8D reports, and the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA).
  3. WriteRoot causes are sometimes symptoms, and the FMEA is not updated.
  4. SignThe quality engineer signs each 8D step against the customer's deadline.

With the system

  1. ReadThe SLM reads the complaint, drawings, and past 8Ds, and writes the D2 problem statement (is / is not).SLM
  2. GatherThe agent pulls batch genealogy from the MES, inspection results, and similar past 8Ds, counts suspect stock in the warehouse and in transit, and drafts D1–D4.Agentic AI
  3. WriteThe SLM lists candidate root causes with the evidence for each and checks the draft: is D4 a cause, not a symptom? Does D7 update the FMEA?SLM
  4. SignThe quality engineer reviews the evidence, signs every 8D step, and decides, as before; a person submits to the customer.Person decides

What lands on the desk

The quality engineer starts from a draft where every line points to its evidence: the problem bounded, suspect stock counted, and candidate causes ranked by how well they are supported. The sort and the corrective action are proposals until the engineer signs.

FIG. 2 · 8D draftIllustrative
8D draft · OEM complaintBurr on 12 mm bore

SLM · problem statement

  • D2Burr on lots 7740–7742 only; not on line 1photos, MES genealogy

Agent · containment

  • D3Suspect stock counted in the warehouse and in transitERP stock query
  • D3Sort at the customer proposed; needs quality engineer approval

SLM · root cause and action

  • D4Candidate 1: worn deburring tool, life above limittool counter
  • D4Candidate 2: new operator on line 2, weak evidenceshift log
  • D7Add a tool-life interlock; update the PFMEA occurrence. The quality engineer decides.

Agent · 8D check

  • metD4 candidate 1 is a cause, not a symptom
  • metD7 updates the FMEA
  • SLM
  • Agent

DecidesQuality engineer

2. The system

For your technical team — skip it if you like.

How it works

In

  • The complaint: portal, email, photos
  • Drawings and past 8D reports
  • The process FMEA (PFMEA)
  • The control plan

  1. SLM · understands

    8D reader and writer

    Post-trained on the company's 8D reports and OEM formats

    Reads

    • Everything under In

    Out

    • D2 problem statement (is / is not)
    • Candidate root causes, each with evidence
    • 8D check: D4 a cause? D7 updates the FMEA?

  2. Agent · prepares

    Evidence-gathering agent

    Fixed workflow

    Reads

    • The problem statement

    Out

    • Batch genealogy from the MES
    • Inspection results, similar past 8Ds
    • Suspect stock: warehouse and in transit
    • D1–D4 drafted

  3. Decision

    Quality engineer

    Reads

    • The D1–D4 draft with its evidence

    Out

    • Signs every 8D step
    • Customer submission is done by a person
How the agent's work is arrangedFixed workflow

Fixed workflow

The 8D steps and their data sources are the same for every complaint, so a fixed sequence with one reading step is enough.

How the models are trained and tested

Your expert writes the test first. A step the test does not need is skipped, and we say why.

Show the training steps

Small language model (SLM)

  1. Test set

    30–60 past 8Ds graded by senior quality engineers (D2 accuracy, cause quality, evidence links).

  2. Dataset

    Past 8Ds, PFMEA, control plans, and OEM formats (the German VDA and North American AIAG automotive quality terms).

  3. Continued pre-training (CPT)If needed

    Only if the base model fails the test on the plant's technical vocabulary.

  4. Supervised fine-tuning (SFT)

    On 8D sections and the 8D quality rules.

  5. Reinforcement learning (RL)Skipped

    Skipped: there is no reviewable reward beyond the engineer's grading.

Where the agentic system stops

The quality engineer signs every 8D; customer-facing submission is always a person's.

Show its tools, limits, and record
Tools and access
Read the MES, inspection, ERP stock, the 8D archive, and the PFMEA; write drafts in the quality system.
May not
Submit to the customer portal, or quarantine stock without approval.
Who decides and the written limit
Quality engineerThe quality engineer signs every 8D; customer-facing submission is always a person's.
Stops when
Genealogy is incomplete or a stock query fails: the file goes to the engineer, with what is missing.
Record
Every query, evidence item, and the engineer's edits.

How agentic systems stay inside limits

3. Value and conditions

Where the time goes, and what your institution will measure.

Where the value comes from

  1. Faster containment.
  2. Fewer repeat complaints.
  3. Engineer hours freed from collecting evidence.

What your institution measures

  • Time to D3
  • Time to D8
  • 8D rejection rate by the customer
  • Repeat-complaint rate
  • Customer parts per million (ppm)

Measured in the Decision Blueprint

Baseline times come from your recent 8Ds; the plant sets the target.

Conditions

The rules, the data, and the known error, with its guard.

  • Customer data and drawings under NDA stay on premises; OEM portal terms apply.
  • Plausible but wrong root causes: the evidence column is mandatory.
  • Every 8D is a draft for the engineer; nothing is submitted automatically.

Start here

We read your recent 8Ds with your quality engineers, map where each piece of evidence lives, and measure today's time to containment before anything is built.

Request a Decision BlueprintWhat the Decision Blueprint covers
  • ModelsSLMsAgentic AI

    Visual inspection

    TodayInspectors check every part under a lamp; night shift misses more, and each nonconformance report takes half a day.

    With the systemA draft nonconformance report with its evidence, ready for a hold-or-release call.

    Quality engineer decides

  • ModelsSLMsAgentic AI

    Maintenance on the bottleneck line

    TodayThe press fails on the night shift; its vibration had changed weeks before.

    With the systemRising stop risk flagged, with a draft work order and a proposed slot.

    Maintenance planner decides

Equalize the gap.

Bring one decision. Leave knowing the first step.

A short description of the decision is enough; no confidential records.

Start with a Decision BlueprintTalk to the engineer

https://eqlx.ai/use-cases/complaint-8d · Printed copy; the website is the current version.