A3 Thinking in lean

In lean management, A3 thinking methodology is structured for continuous improvement and problem solving. The A3 name was inspired from the international A3 paper size (48.13* 27.94) cm. In order to use A3 approach, we need only A3 sheet, pencil and eraser. Pencil is preferred rather than pen because we need to erase and rewrite many times. We did not need any special software to use this methodology

A3 thinking considered as structured and logical approach in lean thinking. It can be used for all types of problems across business. It is adopted by Toyota production system. A3 helps to maintain sustainable and lean environment within the organization

The Power of A3 is taken from systematic and structured methods to solve problems. It was built around and inspired by PDCA philosophy. The corner angle of the A3 method is to find the root cause instead of searching for a temporary solution which will not be effective. A3 passes by seven stages as shown in the below figure

A3 Stages Model

Background: In this step it is important to report the problem selected and the reason behind choosing this problem

Current Conditions: The purpose of this stage is to document the statue-quo of the problem. It is crucial to use charts and graphs to better analyze the situation

Target: In this stage, we must identify the expected outputs and benefits from the problem-solving process; in addition to, KPIs and metrics to better measure the project success

Analysis: It is ineluctable in this stage to neglect problem understanding and the reason behind it. This process may need complex statistical tools

Proposed Countermeasures: a list of actions must be determined to prevent the repetition of the root-cause another time in the future

Plan: In order to reach goals or targets, we need to identify a plan to implement the countermeasures. It is preferred to use Gantt charts for planning

Follow-up: In the last stage, the outcomes of the plan are evaluated

Conclusion

A3 approach is an effective way to group together different problem-solving approaches in one place. A3 will provide stakeholders with continuous updates of the whole project. It is prefers to use data visuals and graphs to be more effective in presenting data