Based around Deming’s PDCA cycle, A3 Thinking utilises a simple yet innovative reporting system, designed as part of the Toyota Production System, that can be used for decision making, problem solving and process redesign.
Introduction
A3 thinking (also known as A3 planning) is a tool developed at Toyota which takes Deming’s PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) improvement cycle and articulates it as a targeted problem-solving technique. All the relevant information required to investigate, solve and document the problem is captured on a single sheet of A3 paper, enabling the story of the problem to be told clearly, concisely and in a fully transferable way.
A lot of the power of the A3 report is its simplicity, but this does not mean it is a lightweight tool. Used properly, it is an incredibly effective means of not only solving a problem, but finding its root cause, documenting the resolution, transferring the knowledge and ensuring the resolution stays in place. The content of the A3 report will answer questions relevant to the problem, such as:
- What is it we are trying to do?
- What is the current state?
- What is the root cause?
- What are the potential difficulties that need to be overcome?
- What solutions are there to these difficulties?
- What do we have to do to get these solutions implemented?
- What measures can we put in place to ensure the solutions work?
Key elements
The A3 report is divided into sections where the information to answer these questions is collated. Crucially, every person who has a stake in the problem is required to input to the report in order to reach a collaborative solution. Jeffrey Liker, in his book The Toyota Way, speaks at length about the A3 report, and says of this collaborative technique: “While seeking consensus is a cumbersome process, it goes much faster when all the different opinions, scenarios, and numbers are communicated on one sheet of paper.”
The method drives the team members involved to find the root cause of the problem, thus making it much more unlikely that the problem will be repeated. In addition, getting the input of everyone involved makes the solution much easier to implement and be taken onboard.
There are seven key elements in the production of the report, as detailed in Understanding A3 Thinking by Durward Sobek II&Art Smalley:
- Logical thinking process – promote thoroughness, address problems, create numerous solutions, account for the effects of implementation and incorporate contingencies.
- Objectivity – get everyone involved to give their input, eliminate blame, use quantitative data.
- Results&process – understand the problem as well as the bigger picture, achieve consistent, repeatable results.
- Synthesis, distillation&visualization – create the full story whilst being concise and coherent within standardised practices.
- Alignment – consider horizontal and vertical relationships, as well as future ones.
- Coherence within and consistency across – logical flow, related to goals and values.
- – think about the organisation as a system and share the results.
So far we have talked about A3 Planning as a problem-solving tool, but it can also be applied in other areas, such as strategy planning, new system proposals, and process redesign in tandem with Value Stream Mapping.
The process
In Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, Spear and Bowen identify four simple rules that they claim to be at the heart of the Toyota Production System, including its planning and problem solving methods. “These rules guide the design, operation, and improvement of every activity, connection, and pathway for every product and service.” The rules are as follows:
- Rule 1: All work shall be highly specified as to content, sequence, timing, and outcome.
- Rule 2: Every customer-supplier connection must be direct, and there must be an unambiguous yes-or-no way to send requests and receive responses.
- Rule 3: The pathway for every product and service must be simple and direct.
- Rule 4: Any improvement must be made in accordance with the scientific method, under the guidance of a teacher, at the lowest possible level in the organization.
Whilst the A3 process conforms to these rules, in addition a failing organisational system will violate at least one of them, and this failure is frequently at the root cause of the problem.
The first section of the A3 report maps the current condition and ensures it is thoroughly investigated and documented. This section highlights how the work is presently being done, often in the form of diagrams and drawings with problem areas exposed, before identifying and quantifying the extent of the problem and its root cause. Vital to the effectiveness of the report is the principle of Genchi Gembutsu (rough translation: “go to the problem”, often abbreviated to Gemba in English usage), which should be exercised at all stages but particularly at this one . Other tools can be used, as required, during this and the other stages: for example, “5 whys” is often employed in order get to the real cause of the problem.
It is only after the current state has been mapped and the root cause identified that the search for possible solutions begins. At Toyota, the improvements are called counter-measures, not solutions, as a counter-measure can be improved upon, whereas a solution implies the problem is solved. With this in mind, the report author maps out the ideal future state of the problem in the same syntax that they used to map the current state so they are directly and easily comparable.
Once a countermeasure has been chosen, an implementation plan is designed with responsibilities clearly assigned to all parties and conforming to Toyota’s four principles as detailed above. At the same time, a follow-up plan is devised to measure and quantify the new outcome against the old to ensure that there has been a real improvement.
The solution and the implementation and follow-up plans are then discussed with all affected parties and the necessary approvals obtained, before the counter-measires are implemented.
Example of an A3 report showing information flow
Other benefits
The A3 report is a good way of engaging staff creatively in a controlled, methodical way. One of the other major benefits is that it facilitates more efficient and productive meetings. Liker, again in The Toyota Way defines the prerequisites of an efficient meeting as:
- Clear objectives prior to the meeting.
- The right people at the meeting.
- Prepared participants
- Effective use of visual aids.
- Seperate information sharing from problem solving.
- The meeting starts and ends on time.
The A3 report greatly assists in these efficiencies with its discipline, thoroughness and ease of use.
References
Sobek, Durward K (2008), Understanding A3 Thinking, CRC Press.
Spear, Steven, and Bowen, H. Kent (September 1999), Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System, Harvard Business Review
Jeffrey Liker (2003), The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, McGraw-Hill
