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OnlineStudentGuide

OpusWorks2016,AllRightsReserved

A3ProblemSolving

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TableofContentsLEARNINGOBJECTIVES......................................................................................................................................3INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................................3LEANISSEEING..........................................................................................................................................................................3

WHATISA3?..........................................................................................................................................................3THEA3FORMAT..................................................................................................................................................4PDCACYCLE..............................................................................................................................................................................4PDCAANDTHEA3REPORT...................................................................................................................................................5GOINGTOGEMBA......................................................................................................................................................................5OURPROCESS.............................................................................................................................................................................6TITLE&ACCOUNTABILITY......................................................................................................................................................6BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................................................................................7GOTOGEMBA.............................................................................................................................................................................7LOOKINGATTHECOMPLETEDA3..........................................................................................................................................8CURRENTCONDITION...............................................................................................................................................................9REFLECTANDLEARN.............................................................................................................................................................10ROOTCAUSEANALYSIS.........................................................................................................................................................11COUNTERMEASURES..............................................................................................................................................................11PLAN/CONFIRMATION..........................................................................................................................................................12FOLLOW-UPACTIONS............................................................................................................................................................13

COMPLETEDA3..................................................................................................................................................14GUIDELINESFORA3ANDPDCA.........................................................................................................................................14AGOODA3..............................................................................................................................................................................15

©2016byOpusWorks.Allrightsreserved.Version5.5September,2016TermsofUseThisguidecanonlybeusedbythosewithapaidlicensetothecorrespondingcourseinthee-LearningcurriculumproducedanddistributedbyOpusWorks.NopartofthisStudentGuidemaybealtered,reproduced,stored,ortransmittedinanyformbyanymeanswithoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofOpusWorks.TrademarksAlltermsmentionedinthisguidethatareknowntobetrademarksorservicemarkshavebeenappropriatelycapitalized.CommentsPleaseaddressanyquestionsorcommentstoyourdistributorortoOpusWorksatinfo@OpusWorks.com.

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LearningObjectives

Uponcompletionofthiscourse,studentwillbeableto:• ExplainthatLeanisaboutobservingtheprocess• DefinetheA3report,asaproblemsolvingandcommunicationtool• DemonstratehowthePlan-Do-Check-Act,orPDCAcycleisanintegralpartofA3• ExplaintheconceptofGoingtoGemba• WalkthroughthestepsforcompletinganA3Report,includingkeyquestionstoaskateachstage• DiscusswhatmakesagoodA3

Introduction

LeanisSeeingToooften,whenanimprovementteamisfacedwithanalysisandproblemsolvinginacomplexprocess,itwillturntotime-consumingreportsthatarefulloftechnicaldetails,businessterminology,anddataanalysis.Amoreefficientapproach,however,isapowerfulandcriticalLeantoolcalledVisualManagement.InaLeanprocess,themanager’sjobistosee:toseetheprocess,seeprogress,andseeproblems.VisualManagementmakesthispossible.AgoodVisualManagementsystemenablesmanagementtoseeopportunitiesforlearningandimprovementthatarealignedwithorganizationalgoals.

Next,wewillexplainhowtoapplyVisualManagementtotheproblem-solvingprocess.WhatisA3?

TheA3Reportisasinglepagepresentationofaproblem-solvingactivity.IttakesitsnamefromtheEuropeandesignationforasheetofpaperthatisapproximately11by17inchesinsize.TheprinciplebehindA3isthateverythingyouneedtoknowaboutanissueorproblemcanbecapturedonasinglesheetofpaper.TheA3ReportwasevelopedbyToyotatoteachpeopletocommunicatewithasfewwordsaspossible,usingvisualaids.Thismeansthatinformationanddataaboutaproblemmustincludeonlythecriticalandvisualinformationneededtocommunicate,collaborate,andreachconsensusabouttheprocessandproblembeingobserved.Inotherwords,everythingtheteamneedstoknowabouttheprocessiscontainedonthisonesheetofpaper,whichservesasakeycommunicationtoolthroughouttheproject.

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TheA3Format

AlthoughA3formscanvary,theycontainsomebasicelements.ThisisatypicalA3format.

PDCACycle

Aproblem-solvingprocesscalledPlan-Do-Check-Act,orPDCA,isembeddedintheA3Report.DevelopedbyW.EdwardsDeming,itissometimesreferredtoastheDemingCycle.Let’stakealookatthefourphasesoftheprocess:Plan,Do,Check,andAct.TheteambeginswiththePlanphase.Duringthisphase,theteamidentifiesandanalyzestheopportunityorproblem,andplansachange.Next,theteammovesintotheDophase,whichistotestthechange.Here,theteamwillcarryoutasmall-scalestudy,andthendevelopandtestapotentialsolution.IntheCheckphase,theteamreviewsthetest,analyzestheresults,andidentifieswhathasbeenlearned.Duringthisphase,theteammeasurestheeffectivenessofthesolutionanddetermineswhetheritcanbeimprovedinanyway.Inthefourthandfinalphase,Act,theteamimplementstheimprovedsolutioninfull.Ifthechangedidnotwork,itwillgothroughthecycleagain,withadifferentplan.Ifsuccessful,theteamwillincorporatewhatitlearnedfromthetestintowiderchanges.Itwillalsousethelessonslearnedtoplannewimprovements,thusbeginningthecycleagain.

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PDCAandtheA3Report

Asyoucanseehere,theA3formatincludesthePDCAprocess.TheA3isdesignedtoensuretheteamhasathoroughunderstandingofthecurrentsituationbeforeitmovesintoplanning.BeforetheteamcanstartthePDCAprocesstoimplementchanges,itmustfirstdefinetheproblem,identifyrootcauses,anddeterminecountermeasures.

GoingtoGemba

NowthatyouunderstandthebasicsoftheA3formandthePDCAcycle,let’stakeacloserlookatheproblemsolvingprocess.Inanysuccessfulproblemsolvingprocess,itiscriticalthattheteamdefineandsolvetherightproblem.Oneofthemostseriouserrorsateamcanmakeisthinkingitknowssomethingconcreteaboutasituationwithouthavingdirect,preciseknowledge.Inourbusinessculture,thereisoftenasenseofurgencytosolveproblemsquickly.Thisleadstohastydecisionsandsolutionsthatdon’tfixtherootcauses.Inproblem-solving,animportantstepisfortheteamtoobservetheactualprocess.Thisbringsustoanimportantphilosophycalled“goingtoGemba.”Gemba,aJapanesetermfor“actualplace,”describestheplacewherethevalue-creatingworkhappens.Itismorethanjusttheshopfloor;itisthesettinginanyareaororganizationwhereindividualsarecreatingvalueforthecustomer.Improvementhappensonlywhentheteamdirectlyobservestheprocess,andthecurrentconditions,wheretheworkisdone.Thiscan’tbeaccomplishedfromadeskorconferenceroom;itrequiresactualobservation.To“gotoGemba”istodiscoverthetruth.

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A3isnotjustaformforateamtofillout.Indeed,LeanandA3thinkingareaboutlearningtoseetheprocess.Next,let’slookatanexampleofaproblemsolvingprocesstoillustratehowtheA3thinkingprocessisused.OurProcess

Inthisexample,theprocessconsistsofthreeworkcellsthatassembleanelectronicproduct.Theproductconsistsofseveralsmallcomponentsthatareassembledtodifferentconfigurationsbasedoncustomerdemand.ThePartsWarehousegathersthecomponentsfortheproductintokits,thataredeliveredtotheSupermarketStagingArea.Thevariousworkcellsthenpullthekitsasneeded.BecausetheprocesshasbeendevelopedasaLeanflow,itisdrivenbycustomerdemand.Lately,however,thecellsupervisorshavebeencomplainingthatthewarehouseisputtingwrongparts,ormixedparts,intothekits–whichcausesdelaysintheentireprocess.Title&Accountability

Inthisexample,theteambeginstheA3bygivingitaclear,descriptivetitle,andestablishingownership.Clearownershipisessential.Itensuresthateveryoneinvolvedcanseewhoistakingresponsibilityfortheproblemorsituation.

KeepinmindthatanA3isnotastaticdocument,butratheritevolvesovertime.Infact,manyA3sarewrittenbyhand,inpencil,sothatportionscanbeerased,updated,andwrittenonasnewinformationislearnedandtheprocessisupdated.

Thetitleshouldbeaclearindicationofthesituation;itshouldnotimplyanycausesorsolutions.TakealookatthetitletheteamhasgiventothisA3project.BasedonwhatyouknowaboutLean,theprocess,andA3sofar,doyouthinkthisisanadequatetitleforthisproblem?

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Background

OncetheteamhasgiventheA3atitleandestablishedownership,thenextstepistodefineanybackgroundinformationthatisessentialtounderstandingtheextentandimportanceoftheproblem.Thismightincludecommentsonhowtheproblemwasdiscovered,problemsymptoms,whytheproblemisimportanttotheorganization’sgoals,thevariouspartiesinvolved,pastperformance,andsoon.Takeamomenttoreadthebackgroundtheteamdescribedforourexample.Doesitcompletelydescribesthesituation?No,itdoesnot.Infact,itismissingaveryimportantstep,whichwementionedearlier.Whatisthatstep?

Ifyouanswered,“gotoGemba,”you’recorrect.Let’sfindoutwhy.GotoGemba

Asyourecall,theteammustnotassumeitknowswhatisgoingonwithoutseeingitfirsthand.Itmustseektounderstandthecurrentrealityofthesituation,whichoftenrequireslookingbeneaththesurface.Todothis,theteamshouldaskpeoplewhattherealissuesarethattheyfaceeveryday.Bydirectlyengagingpeopleintheirworkplace,theteamdemonstratesitsrespectforthem.GoingtoGembaisnotjustastrollthroughtheprocess;theteammusthaveapurpose.Itmustknowwhatitisgoingtoobserve,andwhatithopestolearn.Remember,theGembaiswherevertheactivitytheteamhopestolearnaboutisbeingperformed.Oncetheteamfindsthispointofactivity(theGemba),itobservesthestructureoftheprocess.OnitsGembawalk,itseesthepeople,equipment,andmaterials,andobserveshoweverythingflowsthroughtheprocess.Italsoobservesexceptionstotheprocessthatoperatorsmustdealwith,anddetermineswastethatcanpotentiallyberemoved.WhengoingtoGemba,theteamlooksbeneaththesurfaceandvalidateswhatitobserves.Thisconfirmationisaccomplishedbyinterviewingtheprocessassociatesandperformingdataanalysis.

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LookingattheCompletedA3

Onceithasseentheprocess,theteamtakesanotherlookattheA3it'scompletedsofar.Initstitledescription,theteamwrote,“Warehousesendingwrongparts.”Thistitleseemstoimplythatifthewarehousepeoplewouldjustdotheirjobright,theproblemwouldn’texist.Butconsiderwhatyoujustlearnedabouttheimportanceofdemonstratingrespectforpeopleintheirworkplace.Demingnotedthat95percentoftheproblemsobservedinaprocessarenotduetotheoperators,butrathertothesystemtheoperatorsareworkingin.Despitethis,thereisatendencytoblameoperatorswhenthingsdon’tgoright.Unfortunately,thisseemstobethecasewiththeteam’stitledescription.RecallthatinaLeanprocess,thereisasteadyflowofproductthroughthevalue-addingsteps,withminimalwaste.OnitsGembawalk,theteamobservesthattwoofthecells,AandC,areexperiencingwrongormixedpartsinthekits.ThisissuedisruptstheLeanflow,andrequireswastedefforttocorrect.Afterobservingtheprocess,theteamdecidesabettertitletobe,“SupporttheLeanprocessflowbyprovidingaccuratekitstotheworkcells.”Thenewtitleallowstheteamtosearchforsystemicproblemsintheprocess—withoutplacingblameonthepeople.

Withtheadditionalinformationanddatathatitgatheredfromobservingtheprocess,theteamcanalsoexpandandadddetailtotheBackground,asshown.Remember,theBackgroundinformationiscriticalforcommunicatingtheimportanceoftheproject,andformotivatingpeopletoparticipateintheimprovementeffort.

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CurrentCondition

TheCurrentConditionsectionoftheA3shouldanswerthefollowingquestions:“Howdothingsworktoday?”,“Whatistheproblem?”,and“Whatarethebaselinemetrics?”Toaccomplishthis,theteamestablishesmetricsformeasuringprogress,thendefinestheproblembasedonthosemetrics.Toooften,however,ateamwilltrytoresolveaproblembasedonitsperceptionofthesituation,andwillwordtheproblemstatementinawaythatsupportsitspreconceivedideas.Inourexample,forinstance,theteammightbetemptedtostatethatwarehousepeopledon’tfollowstandardworkandarenotproperlytrained.Withthisproblemstatement,theteammaycomeupwithaquicksolutiontotheurgentproblemofincorrectandmixedparts,butitwouldnotsolvetheproblem.Forexample,thesolutioncouldbetotrainthewarehouseworkers,butthesystemicproblemsthatcausedtheprobleminthefirstplacewouldstillexist.Remember,theA3isnotjustacollectionoffactsanddata.Rather,itshouldtellastory.Next,wewilltakeacloserlookatthekeyelementsoftheCurrentConditionsection.Theproblemstatementdescribesthepainorsymptomexperiencedbythecustomer,whichcanbeanexternalcustomerorthenextstepintheprocess.Itmustbeclearandconciseandnotcontainanyspeculationastocausesorsolutions.Itspurposeistofocustheteamonthedeficiency,andcommunicatetheprojectsignificancetoothers.TheCurrentConditionssectionshouldalsoincludeanyvisualtoolsthatcanhelpcommunicatethesignificanceoftheproblem.Becausethespaceinthissectionislimited,however,onlynecessarydiagramsanddatashouldbeincluded.Someexamplesareshownhere.

Asyoulearnedearlier,A3’spurposeisnotsimplytodocumenttheproblemsolvingprocess;itshouldalsocommunicatetheresults,andserveasabasisfordiscussionandanalysisamongtheteamandthestakeholders.Oncetheteamhasdefinedtheprojectandcurrentcondition,itcanaskseveralquestionstohelpdeterminewhethereverythinghasbeenconsidered.

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ReflectandLearn

Aftertheteamhasdefinedtheproblemstatement,thenextstepistoestablishthegoal.Thegoal,orobjective,istheamountthattheprimarymetricwillimprove.Acommonformatforagoalstatementistoincrease(ordecrease)themetric,fromthebaselinetothegoal,bythetimeframe.Let’sseehowthisworksinourexample.Thepercentofkitscontainingmixedorincorrectpartsisthemetric.Foritsgoal

statement,theteamstatesthatitwillreducethenumberofdefectivekitsduetomixedorincorrectparts,fromthebaselineof10percenttothegoalofunder1percent,byyear-end.Oncetheteamhasgatheredfactsanddefinedtheproblem,it’stimetoreflectandlearnfromtheprocess.Atthispoint,theteamwillhaveanalyzedactualperformancehistoryinagraph,asitrelatestothegoalorstandard.Fromitsanalysis,theteamidentifiesthegapbetweenactualperformanceandthegoal.Italsodeterminesiftheinformationcollectedtrulydescribesitsproblem,andclarifiesthesignificancetotheorganizationofsolvingthisproblem.Next,itdeterminestheamountofimprovementneededtoclosethegap,andthemostcost-effectivemethodforproceedingwiththeinvestigation.Insomecases,theteammaynotbeabletodeterminetheamountofimprovementthat’sneeded.Thisisoftenthecasewhenthecausesareunknown.Insuchcases,theteammayneedtocompletethenextstep,RootCauseAnalysis,beforeitcandeterminetheactualfixesandamountofimprovementrequired.

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RootCauseAnalysis

Therecanbemanyaspectstoaproblem,andasresult,manycauses.Thechallengeistofindthetruecause,orcauses,atthecorrectlevelintheprocess.Atthisstage,itiscrucialtouseeffectiveanalysistoidentifythepotentialcausesoftheproblem,andtonarrowthefieldoffocustothemostsignificantones.Inthisphaseoftheproblem-solvingprocess,theteamwillbeexploringareasnotpreviouslyunderstood.Indeed,thisphasemayfeelabitlikedetectivework,withsomescientificexperimentationthrownin.Often,whentheteamfindstherootcauses,thesolutionstotheproblemwillbecomeobvious.AsAlbertEinsteinoncesaid,“Theimportantthingisnottostopquestioning.”Severaltoolscanbeusedforrootcauseanalysis,asshownhere.InthissectionoftheA3,theteammustclearlydescribetherootcausesoftheproblem.Itshouldalsochoosethesimplestproblemanalysistooltoclearlyshowthecause-and-effectrelationship.Sincethesetoolscanbecomecomplex,theteammayfindithelpfultoincludeabriefwrittendescriptionoftherootcauses.

Asyoulearnedearlier,theA3tellsastory.Andbecausetherootcauseanalysiswillformthebasisfortheplot,theteamshouldchoosethetoolsandgraphicsthatbesttellthestory.Countermeasures

Oncetheteamhasdeterminedtheamountofimprovementneededtoclosethegap,andthemostcost-effectivemethodforproceedingwiththeinvestigation,itmovesontocountermeasures.A3analysistypicallyusestheterm“countermeasure”ratherthan“solution.”That’sbecauseaproblemthatis“solved”impliesapermanentsolution.Thinkaboutthedetectivewhoreferstoacaseas“closed”–whichmeansthesuspecthasbeenidentifiedbasedonevidence,andthecaseisturnedovertothecourts.Butsuchaconditionisrarelysatisfiedinthebusinessworldbecausesolutionsinevitablycreatenewproblems.A“countermeasure,”ontheotherhand,referstothewayactionsaddressexistingconditions.Itservesasatemporaryresponseuntilabetterapproachisfoundorconditionschange.Countermeasurescanincludebothshorttermandlongtermactions.Iftheproblemhasanimmediateeffectonacustomer,eitherexternalorinternal,thenimmediateactionsneedtobeputinplaceto“Band-Aid”theprocessuntilalongtermsolutioncanbedesignedandimplemented.Forexample,ifa

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longtermfixinvolvesdesigninganewprocesstoreducedefects,thenashorttermsolutionmightbetoplaceanextrainspectionstepintheprocesstoscreentheproductandpreventdefectsfromescapingtothecustomer.Oncethenewprocessisdesigned,implemented,andtested,theinspectioncanbeeliminated.InthissectionoftheA3,theteamwilldefineitsproposaltoreachthefuturestate,orthetargetconditions.Itwillalsoassesshowitsrecommendedcountermeasureswillaffecttherootcausetoachievethetarget.Severaltoolsanddatathatcanbeincludedinthissectionareshownhere.

Plan/Confirmation

Earlierinthismodule,youlearnedthatPlan-Do-Check-Act,orPDCA,isamanagementcycle.Itisbasedonthescientificmethodofproposingachangeintheprocess,implementingthechange,monitoringandmeasuringtheresults,andtakingappropriateaction.ThepowerofthePDCAcanbefullyrealizedwithinthesystematicapproachofA3thinking.A3providesastructureforthePDCAprocessbycapturingwhattheteamisgoingtodo,howitisgoingtomonitorit,andwhatadjustmentsitwillmakebasedontheresults.A3andPDCAoccurtogetherasalearningprocess.

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InthePlan/ConfirmationsectionoftheA3,theteamidentifieswhatactivitiesarerequiredforimplementation;whoisresponsible;wheneachtaskisdue;andwhattheindicatorsforprogressorperformance,canbeusedtoassessthesuccessoftheproject.LikeothersectionsintheA3,thePlan/Confirmationsectionshows,intheclearestwaypossible,howtheoldprocesswillbetransformedintothenew.Thereareseveraltoolsthatcanbeusedanddisplayedinthissection,includingaGanttchart;beforeandaftercapabilityanalysis;andcontrolcharts.Iftheprojectrequiresacomplexprojectplan,asummaryofthatplancanbeincludedtoshowoverallprogress.Follow-upActions

TheactionsintheFollow-UpsectionoftheA3includetheCheckandActportionsofthePDCAcycle.Aswementionedearlier,problemsarealmostneverfixedwithpermanentlong-termsolutions.Often,afixmaygenerateanothersetofissuesthatmustbecorrected.Forthisreason,theFollow-Upstepiscriticallyimportanttolongtermsuccess.InthisstepoftheA3,theteamdefinesanongoingprocesstoensurethegainsobtainedfromtheimprovedprocessaremaintained,andthatanyotherrelatedissuesaredefinedandresolved.ItalsodeterminesanypotentialproblemsandensuresthePDCAeffortisongoing.TheFollow-Upsectionisalsoaplacefortheteamtocaptureandsharethingsitlearnedabouttheprocessthatwillbenefitotherorganizationsorsites.

Toolsordatausedinthissectioncanincludeanongoingcontrolplan,FMEAorPPAresults,andlessonslearned.

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CompletedA3

HereisthecompletedA3.Beforewecontinue,takeamomenttolookovereachcompletedsection.

GuidelinesforA3andPDCA

HerearesomehelpfulguidelinestorememberwhenusinganA3:1)Don’tgethunguponformality.Ahand-writtenA3isjustaseffectiveasacomputer-generatedone.Inotherwords,it’sokaytogetmessy.2)Getthemessageacross.BesuretheA3,withthePDCA,tellsacompletestorythatapersonwithareasonableunderstandingoftheprocesscanfollow.3)UsetheA3asaprimaryformofcommunication.Useittocontrolmeetingsandlockdownagreements.ThebiggestmistakeyoucanmakewhenusinganA3isnotgraspingthesituation.Thishappensbyassumingyouknowwhattheproblemiswithoutseeingwhatisactuallyhappening;assumingyouknowhowtofixaproblemwithoutfindingoutwhatiscausingit;orassumingyouknowwhatiscausingtheproblemwithoutconfirmingit.Andwheredoyougotograspthesituation?TheGemba!

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AGoodA3

Asdemonstratedthroughoutthismodule,theA3isnotsimplyaformtobefilledout,butacommunicationtoolthatutilizesthePDCAprocess.ThefollowingarethreecriticalcomponentsofagoodA3:IttellsaclearandconcisestoryItcontainsobjectivefactsanddata;notjustspeculation,butactualdatabasedonobservationItsolvesaproblemInaddition,agoodA3engagesandalignstheorganizationbyservingasacommunicationtool,andgetspeopleclosertobeinggoodproblemssolversand“A3thinkers.”