Alan C Clark, CEng MIMechE CQP FCQI, Professional Management Coach at Key Business Improvement, explains how the A3 management process has wide application beyond Lean.
Wouldn’t it be good if you had a really effective improvement and problem-solving method? You could avoid instant reactions and other human frailties that lead to costly, recurring problems.
The A3 management process enables businesses to implement and go beyond ISO 9001:2015 – Quality management systems and recommendations in ISO 9004: 2018 – Quality management – Quality of an organisation for improvement. It can and should be used by every organisation.
In a post-coronavirus world, there is a danger that the rush to get things back to pre-pandemic levels or even just moving on again will that overrides effective problem-solving and improvement. However, there can be no return to business-as-usual. The challenges and opportunities will be great because the world will be different.
The well-known seven quality control tools, seven management and planning tools, and the Deming Cycle are available. The seven quality tools are the process flowchart, histograms, running record, process behaviour chart, cause and effect chart, Pareto diagram, and scatter diagram. The seven management tools are the affinity diagram, interrelationship diagram, tree diagram, matrix diagram, process decision programme chart, arrow diagram, and radar chart. However, under pressure, there is the temptation to just apply tools without sufficient thought.
The requirements for a quality management system to meet the requirements in ISO 9001:2015 and the recommendations of ISO 9004:2018 may not be enough to withstand tendencies for a quick fix. What is needed is a structured management approach both to improvement and problem-solving.
It’s not the tools and techniques outlined above that are lacking. Structure is required for everyone to collaboratively think and act differently about the issues or challenges that they face. This will mean letting go of command and control and the demand for instant solutions.
A thinking and learning approach
When we look at improvement and problem-solving, emotion and politics inevitably influence decisions and actions. The difference advocated here is to put a massive emphasis on using logical, evidence-based thinking and learning. Too often this is dismissed as taking too long with the emphasis being on the speed of providing solutions, with the apparent acceptance of imperfect solutions allowing issues to recur.
Part of the problem is that those involved in solving a problem or a need for improvement too often confuse “cause” and “effect”. The A3 structured and disciplined approach overcomes this by removing guesswork and applying scientific thinking to identify root causes. Scientific means obtaining knowledge from observation and analysing real behaviour, thus avoiding assumptions, biases and misunderstandings. The place to do that scientific thinking is where the issue, challenge or problem is happening, which gave rise to the phrase “Go and See”.
“The A3 provides the mechanism for wide dialogue and participation, which ultimately leads to higher engagement and buy-in for recommendations from everyone”
Check), Act) – begins at Study, thus changing the wheel to Study, Act, Plan, Do (SAPDo). Study better represents the steps needed to answer “What is happening?” It will become apparent when we look at the A3 report exactly how SAPDo is more logical.
A3 is a management process
Lean expert John Shook says in his book Managing to Learn, “Never to forget: the A3 is not the point. The point is the science. The PDCA. The problem solving. And the improvement and the learning.”
This is not just another Lean tool. A3 was introduced in 1978 by Masao Nemoto in Toyota Motor Corporation as a management process primarily to develop management capabilities. It has become a fundamental management process throughout Toyota, and is viewed as being especially useful in knowledge work.
The aim of the process was to convey a project on a single page. A3 being the largest size sheet that would go through a fax machine. Using the A3 storyboard format, a project can be explained in about five minutes. To guarantee that speed, it is recommended that the contents are highly visual with text limited to bullet points. (Note: If A3 paper is not available just tape together two A4 sheets.)
The format of an A3 must suit the issue it is used for. Four common formats are proposal, problem-solving/improvement (see Figure 1), progress, and project summary. These should be adapted to suit the project.
Figure 1: A3 Problem-Solving Template
Coaching and collaboration
The A3 provides the mechanism for wide dialogue and participation, which ultimately leads to higher engagement and buy-in for recommendations from everyone. This structured thinking by those involved creates documented learning, which adds to the organisation’s knowledge base.
The quality management standards do not tell you how to improve or solve problems. The temptation under pressure, when improvement or problems need to be solved, is just reacting. This results in superficial solutions that do not address root causes, which can continue to incur unnecessary costs.
A3 is a fundamental management process that is highly effective. It is powerful because scientific thinking, learning and improvement are achieved through its structured approach, discipline and dialogues from collaboration.