The Development of Continuous Improvement in SMEs and the Supportive Role of the A3 Tool

Abstract

This paper focuses on the supportive role of the A3 tool in the development of continuous improvement in SMEs. We performed two case studies at companies where already several students used the A3 tool in improvement projects. Both companies embraced the concept of the A3-method and extended its’ use to all improvement projects in the company. Furthermore, both companies developed hoshin kanri to align the various improvement projects. In this paper, we describe what the key elements were of the continuous improvement journey of the two companies. Next, we indicate how principles of the A3 tool supported these elements.