What the checks found
The checks look for gaps in the sheet: missing facts, an unconfirmed root cause, countermeasures with no owner, date or independent check, a result that was not measured, and a close-out that skipped a step. They cannot tell whether the root cause is right or the countermeasures will work.
What an A3 is
An A3 is a one-page record of a problem being solved, named after the paper size. It makes the thinking visible so someone else can challenge it. The layout follows plan, do, check, act. Boxes 1 to 4 are plan, box 5 is do, box 6 is check and box 7 is act.
The seven boxes
- 1 Background. Why this problem matters now, in terms of customers, safety, cost or delivery.
- 2 Current condition. What is happening, where, since when, and how big. Facts and measures, not blame and not a solution.
- 3 Goal. A measure with a baseline, a target and a date.
- 4 Root cause analysis. A chain of whys, each marked with how you know. Then the root cause, and how it was confirmed.
- 5 Countermeasures. What will be done about the root cause, who owns each, and by when. They should change the process, not only remind people.
- 6 Follow-up. The result, measured against the goal, on a date after the countermeasures were checked.
- 7 Standardise and learn. What now changes in the standard work, and what you learned.
What the checks look for
- Blame wording, such as "careless" or "human error", anywhere on the sheet. A cause that stops at a person is not yet a root cause.
- A current condition that reads like a solution rather than a fact.
- A goal with no baseline, no target, or a target that is not better than the baseline.
- Fewer than three whys, or whys resting on an assumption.
- Countermeasures planned before the root cause is confirmed.
- A countermeasure with no owner or date, an overdue one, or one marked done with no check by someone other than its owner.
- A countermeasure set made up only of procedure, training or reminders.
- A result not measured, or measured before the countermeasures were checked.
- A closed sheet with the target missed and no explanation, the change not standardised, or signed off by its own owner.
Printing
Print this sheet sets the page to A3 landscape. On an A4 printer choose "fit to page" in the print dialogue. The printed sheet carries its own gap count so the page is not mistaken for a finished one.
Related tools
Work the whys first in the 5 Whys Tool and copy them across. For a serious event use the Causal Tree Builder. Follow countermeasures in the Corrective Action Tracker. Problems raised at the board come from the Daily Management Board.
Limits
No gaps found does not mean the root cause is right or the problem is solved. Confirm the cause by testing it, and measure the result over long enough to be sure. This is decision support only.