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Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota's PDCA Management System | 
 enlarge | Authors: Durward K. Sobek Ii., Art Smalley
Publisher: Productivity Press
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $27.72
You Save: $12.23 (31%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 17326
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 184
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 1563273608
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.20685
EAN: 9781563273605
ASIN: 1563273608
Publication Date: March 7, 2008
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Product Description
Notably flexible and brief, the A3 report has proven to be a key tool In Toyota’s successful move toward organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and improvement, especially within its engineering and R&D organizations. The power of the A3 report, however, derives not from the report itself, but rather from the development of the culture and mindset required for the implementation of the A3 system. In other words, A3 reports are not just an end product but are evidence of a powerful set of dynamics that is referred to as A3 Thinking. In Understanding A3 Thinking, the authors first show that the A3 report is an effective tool when it is implemented in conjunction with a PDCA-based management philosophy. Toyota views A3 Reports as just one piece in their PDCA management approach. Second, the authors show that the process leading to the development and management of A3 reports is at least as important as the reports themselves, because of the deep learning and professional development that occurs in the process. And finally, the authors provide a number of examples as well as some very practical advice on how to write and review A3 reports.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Problem Solving Guide December 23, 2008
It is a very good way to understand how to solve problems in an easy way and how to share information about an X situation when there is not time to review hard reports. It is an easy way to solve "potential" problems or ideas of improvement. If a company implement it all across departments at all levels it will give a big reinbursment and the knowledge will growth very fast. An excelt way to save money.
Great guideline November 4, 2008
This book is very simple to understand, it focuses in the core concepts to comprehend the PDCA cycle y how Toyota applies it.
It is this kind of books that make you feel sure about its content because teh author is a real practitioner.
They suggest you how to start with the application of A3 thinking throught the use of simple formats y the most important thing is that they guide you about the central issues in each of its components and how you can guide others to understand them
Excellent workbook, one of the best investment for my personal library.
A3 for Purist's June 13, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Practical and informative, this will prepare you to implement structure and visibility of your process improvement transformation
Excellent Summary of A3 Thinking May 11, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I finally got my copy of this book in the mail last week. I guess it is sold out and hard to obtain at any site. I'm glad to finally have mine. Given some of the comments above I'm guessing there was either a delay at the publishers or they simply did not anticipate all the demand. I did finally get mine however...
Regardless I am please to note that this book is an excellent summary of A3 Thinking. I've had some exposure to the topic in the past and always been left wanting more. This finally gets at a lot of questions I had about the concept. If you have ever wanted to learn what an A3 report is and more importantly the thought process behind one then this is the best place to start that I know of. The print is a little small and the text is 164 pages I think the 184 page figure comes from including the other pages in the foreword, acknowledgements, and introduction sections etc. However there is no shortage of good information inside. I zipped through it over the weekend and got some great insights right away.
The contents of the book include the following eight chapters. Each is roughly about 20 pages in length.
1.A Basis for Managerial Effectiveness
2.A3 Thinking - the Seven Elements
3.The Problem Solving A3 Report
4.The Proposal A3 Report
5.The Status A3 Report
6.Notes on Form and Style
7.Supporting Structures
8.Conclusion
I thought the second chapter on the seven elements A3 Thinking was particularly insightful and appreciated the advice on the different types of examples as well. The book is both a good "what is" summary of the topic and contains some very practical advice about "how to" write different types. Equally importantly for me at least it included some insight on how to critique A3's as well. I give the work five stars as it fills a void in the lean literature in a very readable manner.
A3 Thinking, Sobek and Smalley hit it right on the head when they state that it's all about the substance over form, May 7, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Having begun a career as a engineer in the early 80's, everything I heard Deming talking about the PDCA Cycle made sense, but it was often hard to move it into action. Back then it was much harder (for many reasons) to find good reference resources (and leaders) with the focus and depth of knowledge about deployment that is presented in this book. This is a nice fast read that helps you think through the thinking process, provides the basic framework and guides you through examples.
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