A3 Problem Solving

Written By

Erik Hansen

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This article describes how to work with A3 Problem Solving. A3 problem solving is a method used to solve problems. The different steps in the A3 problem solving can be arranged in a A3 sheet, hence the name. You can get the template from the below download button.

It is important that it is a problem-solving process, and not just filling in the blanks. You must also be aware that the A3 is a “living” document that is continuously filled in and updated.

You must therefore be prepared for the fact that you may find that several fields need to be further elaborated or even reworked, e.g. with new graphics, numbers or the like.

The A3 work can either be done in a team or alone. It is about constantly becoming more knowledgeable about the given problem, and therefore lots of Gemba visits, experiments and analyzes to constantly better understand the problem.

Download A3 Problem Solving (PPT) template

A3 problem solving is structured in a way so that you follow the PDCA wheel through the completion of A3. On the left side, all the sections are centered around the Plan phase, and only on the right side do we get started with Do, Check and finally Act as the last one.

We will be discussing each steps in A3 problem solving template in following sections of this article.

Theme

In this section, the problem, deviation or gap is indicated by a description. Examples of themes can be: “Reduction of scrap on the packaging machine”, “Improving productivity in the moulding department”, “Reduction of lead time in the filling plant” etc. The purpose of the theme is that you quickly get an idea of what the problem solving is all about. Just choose a working title to start with, you can always change it later when you are more sure of what the theme should be.

Background

This is a brief description of the background of the problem and where the gap between the standard (target) and where we are right now exists. It also describes why it is a problem and why we choose to spend energy on that particular problem. Describe how the problem relates to the overall strategy of the company or factory. Include historical data, preferably over time, eg. can you show the scrap percentage over a number of years or over several months, the productivity development over months or years, the development in the lead time over a period, etc. The background must set the framework for what the problem is about, and answer why it is important to deal with this problem right now.

Here you must obtain data and facts that can indicate the framework for the problem, and thus also indicate what is not included in the problem solution.

Current situation

In this section you must describe the current situation so that the problem, deviation or gap can be quickly understood and seen. You must concentrate on illustrating the current situation graphically, this can be based on VSM, process diagrams, pareto diagrams or other graphic illustrations that show the extent of the problem. Only if it cannot be avoided can you supplement with very short text in bullet form. This is where you have to be very specific with the problem, and be accurate in the representation of the problem. Make sure that it is 100% clear where the gap is and that you can clearly see it visually. You must try to quantify the gap as clearly as possible and preferably by means of calculations, such as percentage, number of defects, indication of downtime in hours etc.