How to introduce Lean A3 problem solving to a team?

Hi Mary,

I would use the following structure in your A3 Problem Solving session:

• (05 min) - Intro - Definition and History of A3
• (10 min) - A3 steps - walkthrough
• (45 min) - Workshop (needs to be prepared before)

1. (05 min) Intro - History and Definition of A3 problem solving

The most basic definition of an A3 would be a P-D-C-A storyboard or report, reflecting Toyota's way of capturing the PDCA process on one sheet of paper. But the broader notion of the A3 as a process–embodying the way of thinking represented in the format–captures the heart of lean management. In this context, an A3 document structures effective and efficient dialogue that fosters understanding followed by the opportunity for deep agreement.

Jim Womack, author of  "The Machine that Changed the World"

As the definition says, the A3 was developed as a mix between the PDCA cycle and Toyota’s problem solving methodology. Legend has it that Taiichi Ohno, the father of Lean Manufacturing, was known for not reading further than the first page of a report.

As A3 was the largest standard paper size in Toyota, this is how the A3 problem solving tool was born - one piece of paper that captures the problem statement, root cause analysis and action plan. From there it started being used by a lot of companies, as a structured tool for problem solving.

2. (10 min) A3 steps - walkthrough

I’m sure you already know what the A3 steps are and that you have your own A3 format you use (there are different versions out there), but in a nutshell these are the A3 steps I usually use:

A) Problem description

• What is the problem?
• When did it happen?
• Who was involved?
• What are the benefits of solving the problem now?

B) As-Is situation

• Describe the initial condition in as much detail as possible
• Do you have numerical data about the problem?
• Do you have process documentation for the problem?
• At which step in the process did the problem occur?

C) Future situation

• What do you want to improve/achieve?
• By how much?
• By when?
• Who should be involved?

D) Fishbone Diagram (Cause and Effect) - the 6M method - break down the causes of the problem in these 6 categories:

• Break down the root causes by using an Ishikawa diagram (fishbone)
• Material (Physical Equipment)
• Mother Nature (Workplace)
• Machine (Systems)
• Measurement (KPIs)
• Men & Women (Employees & Customers)
• Method (Process)

E) Root cause, solution and prioritisation

• Use the 5 Whys technique to drill down to the root cause of each issue and propose a solution
• Use a prioritisation matrix (Benefits vs Ease of implementation) to prioritise these solutions

F) Action Plan

• What are the actions
• Who is the responsible for each of them
• What’s the deadline
• What’s the status

G) Control plan - what are the KPIs that you’ll track to see that the problem has been solved. Who will check these KPIs and by when

H) Before/After Check

I) Key learnings

3. (45 min) Workshop - use A3 on some specific problems the team is facing

(pre-preparation) I would suggest that before the workshop you think about 2-3 problems the team is facing. You can ask the manager/team leaders what are these.

Depending on the size of the training group, you either split them into 2 sub-groups or do the workshop with one big group. If you chose to split them into 2 groups:

• (5 min) You ask each group to solve one of the problems. I usually do the split by distributing one of two different type of pens (blue and red) to each team member. Thus the blue team and red team. While doing this, I ensure that each team has a good distribution (e.g. ensure not all managers/team leaders are in one team).

• (30 min) Leave each team 30 min to fill in an A3. Here you might need one extra pair of hands to facilitate this with every team. The facilitator should guide the team through the A3. 30 min is quite short to do an A3 for a complex problem, but it’s doable if you have a good facilitator.

• (10 min) Ask them to come back and give each team 5 min to present back their A3 (ask a volunteer from every team to do so).

If the team is too small (up to 12 people), you can choose only one problem and do the same routine with all the team members. The last 10 min can be used to assign owners for the solutions and put more details on the action plan. 

PS: if you have an extra 10 min, I would suggest you ask the participants at the beginning of the training session what are their expectations, write this on a flipchart and end the training session with going through each expectation and see if it’s ticked.

I also attached some A3 problem solving templates that you might use in your workshops (I found them on citoolkit.com, but I'm sure you can find plenty more on other websites).

Good luck and let us know how it went!

Mirel