Atan Johan : The 8D problem solver

Atan Johan: The 8D Problem Solver of Sawit Indah Mill

In the heart of a remote palm oil estate, Sawit Indah Mill was Atan Johan’s kingdom. As the resident engineer, his job wasn’t just to keep the machines running—it was to make sure the entire operation ran like clockwork. Over the years, he’d faced countless breakdowns, production hiccups, and unexpected failures. But instead of panicking, Atan had a method—the 8D approach.

D1 – Define the Problem

It began one humid Monday morning when the sterilizer’s pressure kept fluctuating, threatening to delay the day’s production. Workers speculated everything from faulty gauges to poor steam quality.

But Atan didn’t assume. He gathered real data: steam pressure readings, cycle times, feed rates, and maintenance history. Only then did he lock down the problem statement—“Sterilizer pressure drops below 2.8 bar during peak operation, causing incomplete sterilization of fruit.”

D2 – Form a Team

Atan knew no problem was solved alone. He pulled together a crew—Ismail the boiler foreman, Ramesh the fitter, and Farah the quality control officer. Each brought a different piece of the puzzle.

D3 – Containment Actions

To avoid losing the day’s batch, Atan implemented a temporary fix:

Reduced sterilizer load per cycle.

Adjusted feed timing.

Added a bypass steam line from a standby boiler.

It wasn’t perfect, but it kept production moving.

D4 – Root Cause Analysis

Then came the detective work. They used the 5 Whys method:

1. Why is pressure dropping? → Steam supply is unstable.

2. Why is steam supply unstable? → Boiler can’t maintain output at peak.

3. Why can’t it maintain output? → One water feed pump is underperforming.

4. Why is it underperforming? → Impeller blades are badly worn.

5. Why are they worn? → Water treatment chemical dosage was inconsistent, causing scaling.

D5 – Permanent Corrective Action

The team proposed a dual-solution:

Replace the worn pump impeller.

Install an automated chemical dosing system for consistent boiler water treatment.

D6 – Implementation

By Friday, the impeller was replaced, and the dosing system installed. Atan personally monitored the boiler’s steam pressure trend—steady at 3.0 bar throughout operations.

D7 – Prevent Recurrence

To ensure it never happened again, Atan:

Updated the maintenance SOP for weekly water treatment calibration.

Trained boiler operators on chemical dosing checks.

Logged the incident in the mill’s Lessons Learned database.

D8 – Close and Celebrate

The following Monday, Atan called the team for a quick meeting. Over steaming mugs of teh tarik, he thanked everyone for their effort and highlighted how teamwork and structured problem-solving saved the mill from major losses. The crew left the meeting not just relieved—but proud.

Atan Johan’s story became the mill’s golden example: problems weren’t roadblocks—they were opportunities to improve processes, strengthen teamwork, and make the mill more resilient.