Leave it to the Japanese to develop a visual/pictorial method of problem solving. This tool does a wonderful job of organizing and documenting the problem solving process.
The idea is to identify the following items...
1) Identify the issue
2) Describe the current problem
3) Identify the desired outcome
4) Root cause analysis
5) Propose countermeasure
6) Action plan
7) Follow-up
The regular usage of this tool will certainly hone your skills at problem solving and root cause analysis. Certainly this is more useful for complicated issues, however, for those unfamiliar with the method it is good to utilize the tool on smaller problems first. After some time, user of this method will likely naturally follow this progression without formally capturing the details on an A3 Report. This sort of process becomes second nature and documenting the process becomes a tedious product of the process.
The documentation of learned results and the learning process itself is a critical part of any manufacturing environment. Many times a problem my be resolved on the assembly line in an emergency effort to push product out the door, but the resolution is never formal captured in a formal report. The analysis was done and successfully implemented, but what if the same problems happens again in two months. Will we remember how to fix it again, will the same people be working on the line and recognize the problem? Without a proper report it is likely that when the same problem arises again the analysis (or at least some of it) will need to be done again. This wastes time and money.
Documenting the problems and issue that arise allows the organization to learn and be able to react faster the next time it happens. Without documentation and learning the same mistakes will likely happen over and over.
The name "A3" is quite fitting as well. I worked for a Japanese company for 9 years and they would send reports in A3 format. Reformatting it to Letter would almost always mess up the report. Be forewarned....if implementing the A3 Report in the western world your report will likely never print properly.
Mike, I like your comment about the need for the proper documentation of solutions... we run into this problem at Children's constantly, and recently invested in some expensive Wiki software in an effort to better shore up our documentation of solutions and processes. Had I known about the A3 approach then, we may very well have saved ourselves some money :)
ReplyDeleteIs the A3 approach really about documenting solutions for future reference? It certainly counts as documentation of proposed countermeasures for a specific cause. Whether they were successful or not is not presented in the A3, because it hasn't happened yet. Yes, there is a follow-up step to evaluate the results of steps put in place to correct a given problem. If the problem persists or the solution has created a new set of problems, then a new A3 is prepared. However, what happens to the original A3 or the iterations that follow? I think that what is learned from the experience and documented is yet another science, with its own set of methods to do this properly and effectively.
DeleteOne of the strengths of this type of structured analysis and reporting is the emphasis on understanding current conditions, which is part of "describe the current problem". Often this step is given only a superficial look. It is critical to find/see all of the factors that are contributing to a given situation. That which seems most obvious cause may only be part of the equation.
ReplyDeleteFor organizations that are new to utilizing the A3, it may be beneficial to have someone brought in to train management how to properly prepare such documents, to know what to look for, to understand what level of detail or thought each segment of the report is acceptable. If the effort is not given in its preparation, then what value does it really serve? Successes perpetuate its continued use, whether the tool actually aided in the achievement or not. Failures will either cause the company to re-evaluate the problem and refine the A3 analysis or to abandon the A3 process because they deem it not valuable since it didn't work (solve the problem).
I tend to agree with David's previous reply about documentation. The power of the A3 is less about documentation and more about empowerment and systematic creativity. I will, however, agree with you that the A3 forces one to document their issues, the thought process about how solutions are identified, and provides a well crafted document to communicate issues and solutions.
ReplyDeleteI find the greatest benefit in the process, and the way it provides any employee, at any level the means to explaining a problem, think through the possible solutions and communicate just the key points to their manager.