VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 The Journal of October 2013 Technology, through Management, and December 2013 Applied Engineering Abstract/Article 2 The A3 Lean Management and References 10 Leadership Thought Process Authors: Keywords: Mr. William C. Leadership, Lean Manufacturing / Six Sigma, Schwagerman III Management, Manufacturing, Quality Dr. Jeffrey M. Ulmer PEER-REFEREED PAPER n PERSPECTIVES ARTICLE The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering© is an official publication of the Association of Technology, Managment, and Applied Engineering, Copyright 2013 ATMAE 1390 Eisenhower Place Ann Arbor, MI 48108 www.atmae.org VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering OCTOBER 2013 – DECEMBER 2013 William Schwager- man is currently a Senior Process Im- The A3 Lean Management and provement Analyst at the Fike Corpora- tion. Schwagerman Leadership Thought Process has 35 years of con- tinuous manufac- Mr. William C. Schwagerman III, Dr. Jeffrey M. Ulmer turing experience in roles including management and supervision within production, logistics, engineering, and quality assurance hav- ing worked at Prier Brass Manufacturing, ABSTRACT provided the roots that led to the eventual develop- Western Electric, AT&T Technologies, and This research paper will review the Plan-Do- ment of Toyota’s Production System (TPS), or what the Economy Machine Shop. Schwager- Check-Act (PDCA) cycle of process improvement Americans today call lean manufacturing (Sobek & man has also been a state level Baldrige/ and how the PDCA cycle is integrated into the Smalley, 2008). The Japanese and Toyota took the Missouri Quality Award examiner for Toyota Motor Company’s business practices. The basic ideas of Ford and other American quality and 2012 and 2013. In relation to education, Schwagerman completed a Bachelor of paper will also examine the A3 problem-solving manufacturing genius in Deming, Shewhart, and Science in Industrial Technology in 2009, tool and how that tool is embedded in the Toyota Juran and expanded it to what exists today (“Lean Masters of Science in Industrial Manage- culture to promote further learning and continuous Mfg. Strategy,” n.d.). Toyota improved upon these ment in 2012, and earned a Lean Six Sigma improvement. This continuous improvement meth- original American strategies and methodologies. In graduate certificate with the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg Missouri. odology is an employee-driven, fact-based culture contrast, other companies, although applying lean assisted by the appropriate training and mentoring strategies have, not had the same success in manu- in PDCA, Toyota Business Practices (TBP), and facturing efficiency. In 1990, Toyota was one-half A3. The Toyota Motor Company has consistently the size of General Motors (GM) and two-thirds Dr. Jeffrey M. Ul- rated well in production efficiency, design, and the size of Ford. In 2007, Toyota easily grew larger mer is an Associ- sales over the last several decades; much of the suc- than Ford and began to surge past GM to become ate Professor of the largest and most successful industrial enter- Engineering Tech- cess has been attributed to the company’s culture. nology, Technol- Many years of in-plant research, subsequent books, prise in the world (Womack, Jones & Roos, 2007). ogy and Industrial seminars, and other educational resources about It’s relatively common knowledge that Toyota’s Management at Toyota’s methods have assisted companies, but success is pulled from a management philosophy the University of have not yielded the same level of success found at and culture that is grounded in what was originally Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, teaching both Toyota. It’s become ever more evident that it’s not developed by American Walter Shewhart, called undergraduate and graduate students. just about the lean tools such as 5S, Value-Stream Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) which is aligned with Ulmer is an American Society for Quality Mapping (VSM), Kaizen, and Kanban, but also the Toyota Business Practices (TBP) and an A3 Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and a Certi- company culture, the people, how they are taught, report template (Wescott, 2005). The TBP pyramid fied Manager of Quality & Organizational of 4 P’s consists of philosophy, people, process, and Excellence. He is also a trained Lean Six and how they learn. These factors lead to behavior Sigma Black Belt (from the Regal-Beloit patterns which are unique, yet seemingly unattain- the culminating piece to Toyota’s success; problem Corporation) and has worked for 25 able and not explained in company documents. solving. Toyota’s practice of PDCA is the driving years in industry in the areas of product The way Toyota leads and manages its people is at force of the use of lean manufacturing and can be engineering, quality assurance / control, the heart of Toyota’s success. There is a manage- captured in an A3 proposal. and production management. ment tool that helps all employees learn how to The A3 proposal is a problem solving tool with learn for optimum benefit. The PDCA-based tool a solid structure to implement PDCA manage- aligned with the TBP called the A3 problem solving ment. PDCA is a system for continuously improv- process instills continuous improvement. This is ac- ing and managing an organization. Many PDCA complished through a variety of lean methods and loops are going on at any one time, each aligned to by establishing employee and organizational habits achieve Toyota’s overall goals (Sobek and Smal- which become an inherent process of continu- ley, 2008). However, widespread use of the A3 ous improvement. It creates a culture of employee in organizations has allowed additional benefits engagement, empowerment, and embedded PDCA through this standard methodology for innovating, thinking among employees. This is something planning, problem-solving, and building founda- Toyota has developed and mastered over several tional structures integrating larger, more in-depth decades, and continues to do in their never-ending thinking, which in turn produces organizational pursuit of continuous improvement. learning deeply rooted in the actual work (Shook, 2010). This approach leads to successful behavioral patterns which have a significant impact on lean INTRODUCTION company management and leadership of employ- Toyota Motor Corporation’s production system and ees (Rother, 2010). This occurs as their thinking re- its lean activities of manufacturing has received frames any activity as a learning activity at all levels much attention for several decades. However, there of the organization, whether it’s standardized work is a paucity of information regarding how the com- and 5S at the employee level, system kaizen at a pany manages people to achieve operational learn- manager’s level, or strategic decisions at the execu- ing. Henry Ford, with his early 1900’s continuous tive level. This research paper will review Toyota’s assembly line, flow concepts and implementations cultural use of the PDCA cycle and A3 problem The Journal of Technology, 2 Management, and THE A3 LEAN MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP THOUGHT PROCESS Applied Engineering VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering OCTOBER 2013 – DECEMBER 2013 solving tool for manufacturing performance suc- A3 reports fit on one side of an A3-sized sheet of cess. This research contributes to the industries by paper, which is about the same size as 11X17-inch providing insights and guidelines for effectively paper. The A3’s purpose is to document on one applying the A3 problem solving tool following the page the results from the PDCA cycle. The “Plan” examples of TBP. This continuous improvement phase begins the PDCA process by stating the methodology is an employee-driven, fact-based problem clearly and objectively while also giving leadership thought culture assisted by training and some background and context so that everyone mentoring in PDCA, TBP, and A3. The A3 process involved gains a common understanding of the is- has proven valuable and effective not only in manu- sue and root causes identified. The “Do” phase takes facturing, but also the healthcare, and educational the hypothesis and tests it by scientific method. fields (Sobek & Jimmerson, n.d.). If improvements are necessary, things are simply changed and adjusted. During the “Do” phase, accurate data is identified and retrieved from what the Japanese call the “Gemba,” or the place the work PRINCIPLES AND THEORY is being done. The “Check” phase is initiated to study the effects from the “Do” phase. Facts are re- A3 for Problem Solving vealed, analyzed, and discussed to determine what worked and what didn’t work. The fourth phase A3 problem solving began in the 1960’s as the of PDCA is “Act” and is sometimes referred to as problem solving format called Quality Circles. It “analyze” because it is designed to identify what evolved at Toyota and became the standard format worked and what didn’t, and why. If the results were for problem-solving, proposals, plans, and status good, the group will determine how to standard- reviews (Shook, 2010). The A3 Report is intended ize and share the success and eventually go back to be flexible and adaptable to the problem at hand through the PDCA cycle to improve further. If the (Anderson, Morgan, Williams, 2010). An A3 lays results were poor the group would determine how out entire plans or reports, large or small, on one to prepare to repeat the PDCA cycle once again. sheet of paper and tells a story, laid out from the upper left hand side to the lower right, which any- The A3 is a template or tool for addressing root one can understand. It is visual and very concise causes of problems in the workplace in a rigorous (See Figure 1). and systematic way. Imbedded in the methodical FIGURE 1. A3 TEMPLATE SHOWING PDCA OVERLAY The Journal of Technology, 3 Management, and THE A3 LEAN MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP THOUGHT PROCESS Applied Engineering VOLUME 29, NUMBER 4 The Journal of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering OCTOBER 2013 – DECEMBER 2013 steps of the A3 tool is the PDCA cycle of prob- can be described in words or even better, pictori- lem solving.