Gemba walk

Another term coined in Japan, Gemba means "the actual place", and in operations specifically Gemba usually refers to the shop floor or where the service provider interacts directly with the customer.

This concept was popularised thank to the lean manufacturing methodology, with the idea that problems are mostly visible when going to the “Gemba”, and the best improvement ideas will come from spending time where the actual issue is.

In practical terms it means that whenever there is a problem, senior management and they key decision makers must go to where the problem is to understand its full impact, gathering data from all sources.

Only when the problem has been studied “in situ” the team can go away and start working on a solution.

This concept that may seem trivial and common sense is most times undervalued and decisions to problems are being drafted and executed from the head office and regardless of the specific constraints affecting the shop floor.

You cannot expect different results by sitting in your corner office and only attending KPI meetings., instead, you need to see where the real work happens. You need to do Gemba walks.

The Gemba walk, denote the action of going to see the actual process, understand the work, ask questions, and learn, and is an activity that takes staff to the front lines to look for opportunities and practical shop floor improvement.

There are 3 important elements of this lean manufacturing tool:

1.  Go and see. Take regular walks around the shop floor and be involved in finding wasteful activities.

     2. Ask why. The main objective of a Gemba walk is to explore the value stream in detail and locate its problematic parts through active communication.

     3. Respect people. Keep in mind that a Gemba walk is not a “boss walk” or a pointing fingers exercise. You are not there to judge you are there to collaborate with the team and find problems together.

There are 7 suggested steps to follow when you go to a Gemba walk:

1. Pick a theme. This will help you focus all your efforts and be effective. There are different themes you may want to explore, such as productivity, cost efficiency, safety and etc. In order to be as precise as possible, you will also need to prepare a list of questions you are going to ask.

2. Prepare your team. The team that will be observed should be prepared for what is going to happen and have a clear understanding that the Gemba walk is a common process where the final destination is continuous improvement and not an opportunity to excrutinise their job competencies.

3. Linked to the above, focus on the process, not on people. You need to remember that the main purpose is to observe, understand, and improve the process not to evaluate your teams performance.

4. Be where the value stream is. Following the value chain will give you the best opportunities to identify areas with a high potential for waste activities.

5. Record your observations. Write down everything that grabs your attention. In some cases, you will probably be tempted to offer a solution immediately, but this would be wrong. Leave the analysis for later. You will be much more precise after you have all the facts available.

6. An extra pair of eyes. It may be a good idea to invite a colleague from another department. Someone with totally different daily tasks. People who are less familiar with the processes usually have a fresh perspective and ask different questions that you may never ask.

7. Follow-up. Even if you don’t find anything significant during your Gemba walk, you need to share with the team what you have learned or seen. Otherwise, the team will only have the feeling of being watched. If you are going to take action after the walk, inform the team about the upcoming changes and why they are necessary.

As important as the Gemba walk itself it the post-walk analysis to close the loop. Before you take any actions based on your observations, you will need some time to organize your thoughts and notes.

Conduct a meeting after each Gemba walk that may include participants from different departments. The main purpose is to have as many different points of view as possible to make the best decision.