With Toyota being the innovator in lean manufacturing, and lean business processes, that they are; it came as no surprise to me to learn that they have also developed a tool to assist with processed thinking. It was even less surprising to learn that the tool they developed has the ability to incorporate any one of the other tools they’ve developed in their lean innovations. At first glance, it would appear that the A3 method of thinking is just a simple, organized list. Naturally, this is how a newcomer would look at it, as is illustrated with the example of Porter. As Sanderson shows us, however, the tool can be and is much more powerful than that.
Before directly discussing the A3 method, I first want to talk about some of the other tools that Toyota has developed. It is well known that Toyota is the pioneer and essentially wrote the book on lean thinking and methodology. Many of the tools they developed are being taught to every level of employee at every size company today. My company, for instance, uses an abundance of tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen Bursts, Gemba Walks, 6S, and many others, all geared at continuous improvement, waste elimination, and adding value for the customer. When it comes to thinking about problem solving, however, we are often restricted to one of these techniques, such as a Value Stream Mapping Event.
The A3 method of thinking offers an opportunity for any person at any level of any organization to look at a problem. It then allows them to use any tools they know to provide countermeasures to those problems. The huge benefit to this is it allows the user to tell a story in the best way they know how. This is extremely beneficial because this is more aligned with how we actually think. We often don’t think of solutions in terms of one fixed tool, but when combining multiple tools, we can successfully tell a story that may help address the problem. On the negative side, I do think the A3 method does have the potential to leave the new user overwhelmed, not knowing which tools are most appropriate at what times. The best way to fix this problem, however, is a good education in all of the different tools, so that the user will have a good idea of which ones are most appropriate for telling each part of the story.
Steve, I agree with the A3 report overwhelming users. In-fact, when I read it I was myself. It just a lot of information on a single page. But the important part is the listen to the user story and understand from their perspective the issue at hand.
ReplyDeleteThe A3 approach has potential in many areas where information overload is used in place of understanding. As one who is at a position set direction and goals, being presented with the A3 report instead of many pages of dialogue would demonstrate clear thought, provide opportunity for challenge and support effective action.
I agree that with any tool educating employees on how to effectively us the tool is essential. If the tool is not used properly the tool will most likely be a waste of time and not accomplish what it was designed to do. Another concern in using tools like this is that the tool becomes too cumbersome to be effective. Toyota needs to be cognizant of this as well.
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