Resources on Hoshin practice
Articles and free tools for running a Hoshin plan
Plain articles on running a Hoshin plan, and free tools you can use without a login.
We drafted these articles with AI tools, and they name no author. Their worked example is one fictional metal parts maker. To check a claim, follow the sources at the end of an article, or read it against your own experience.
On this page
Free tools
X-matrix builder
Put your plan on one page, mark how each part links to the next, and see what has no link.
A3 builder
Work one problem through eight steps, from the gap to the new standard, then print it.
- 1 Define the problem and the gap
Line 2 scraps 48 parts a week. We want 24 or fewer a week by March 31.
- 2 Break it down with data
Of the 48, 31 are bend-angle defects. Of those 31, 26 happen in the first hour after a changeover.
- 3 Set a target against the opportunities
The target is to take out those 26, which leaves 22 a week.
- 4 Prioritized problem and point of occurrence: why it happens
Line 2 press brake, first hour after a changeover. The setup sheet has no gauge or depth values, and nobody owns the sheets.
- 5 Countermeasures, ranked
Start with the setup sheet. It removes the cause at why 3. The first-piece check only catches the error, so use it as a stop-gap.
- 6 Plan: put them in place
Start now on the setup sheets and the first-piece check. Expect results by the end of February.
- 7 Check the process and the results
Are operators using the sheet at each changeover? Is the weekly count moving?
- 8 Standardize and share
Add the setup sheet to new-operator training. Share it with first shift and Line 3.
Articles
Start here
- What is Hoshin kanri?
Hoshin kanri is a management system that carries a company's long-range goals down to daily work and back up. Learn how it works, with a worked example.
- Common Hoshin failures and how to spot them
Hoshin plans tend to fail in a few known ways. Learn the signs of each failure, a check you can run this week and what to do about what you find.
- Status rolls up, substance stays put
Managers fear that a Hoshin plan becomes surveillance. The roll-up rule answers that fear. Learn what travels up, what stays with the owner and why it matters.
Run the meetings
- How to run catchball
Catchball is the two-way talk in which a manager receives a goal, tests it and answers back. Learn the five tests and follow a worked example.
- One-on-ones that follow the plan
A one-on-one can carry your Hoshin plan if each sitting opens on what changed. Use this agenda, these questions and a worked example from a metal parts plant.
- How to run a monthly Hoshin review
A monthly Hoshin review checks the gap between the plan and what happened, then decides what to do next. Use this agenda and worked example.
The forms
- How to read an X-matrix
An X-matrix shows a whole Hoshin plan on one page. Learn the order to read it in, what the marks mean and how to spot the gaps, with a worked example.
- How to write an A3
An A3 works one problem through a single sheet, from the gap to the new standard. Learn the eight steps and follow a worked example from a press brake line.
- Bowling charts and red items
A bowling chart tracks target and actual for each period, with a named owner. Learn how to build one, what to do with a red item and when to change a target.
See the app these articles describe
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