Do you find yourself in constant meetings or working on endless Excel spreadsheets meant to provide clarity on what is happening in your business? If so, you’re not alone. This is an issue that exists today throughout many companies and industries.
Leaders are losing perspective on what is actually happening at the most basic level of their business. This is where Gemba walks become crucial.
- What is a Gemba Walk?
- The 6Gs of the Gemba Walk
- Gemba Walk Checklist
- What are the Benefits of a Gemba Walk?
- 15 Tips for a Successful Gemba Walk
- Tip #1 Do a Gemba walk daily
- Tip #2 Ensure all employees understand the purpose and importance of the Gemba walk
- Tip #3 Recruit a cross-functional team to participate in the Gemba walk
- Tip #4 Give each Gemba walk a focused goal
- Tip #5 Keep an eye out for the 8 Wastes in your process
- Tip #6 Follow the entire flow of the value stream
- Tip #7 Ask open-ended questions and listen closely to employee input
- Tip #8 Keep an open mind
- Tip #9 Do not try to implement quick changes on the spot
- Tip #10 Focus on the process, not the people
- Tip #11 Do not criticize employees during the Gemba Walk
- Tip #12 Mix up the time of day that you do the walk
- Tip #13 Track the data and trends with a Gemba board
- Tip #14 Be sure to follow-up and feedback
- Tip #15 Start today
- Conclusion
What is a Gemba Walk?
A Gemba walk in a manufacturing environment is when the management team spends time on the plant floor directly observing the process and speaking to employees. This allows them to gain a deeper understanding of how the process actually operates and to see firsthand any issues that may exist.
This is an essential part of Lean thinking since it forces leaders to have an accurate viewpoint of their business so that any pushes they make towards continuous improvement are actually beneficial for the process.
🤿 DIVE DEEPER: Understanding the principles of Lean manufacturing is extremely important for any business to be successful. Learn more about the 5 principles of Lean in my article here.
The term “Gemba” comes from the Japanese word genba which means “the actual place”. This means that a Gemba walk involves going to where the actual work is done or where the value for the customer is created.
In a manufacturing environment, this means that the management team should spend time on the plant floor, but you can use a Gemba walk no matter what industry you are in. For example, if you own a restaurant chain, you should spend time in the kitchen of those restaurants. If you are a mayor, you should spend time in the different town departments, such as the fire department and waste management.
In this way, a Gemba walk is basically leaders going and seeing how the ground level of their business operates, similar to the show “Undercover Boss”. Therefore, many people also associate the Japanese phrase genchi gembutsu with Gemba walks since this directly translates to “go and see for yourself”.
The 6Gs of the Gemba Walk
There are six basic steps to completing a successful Gemba walk. These are the 6Gs:
Go and See
Get the Facts
Grasp the Entire Situation
Generate Root Causes or Ideas
Guide Corrective Actions
Give Feedback
Gemba Walk Checklist
In order to have a successful Gemba walk, you must consider what you need to do before, during, and after the walk. Here is a checklist that explains the detailed steps for completing a successful Gemba walk from the preparation phase through follow-up after the walk:
BEFORE THE GEMBA WALK
✔️ Determine your focus for the walk
This could be safety improvements, opportunities for 5S, identification of motion waste, etc. Designating a single focus for each walk will make them more manageable and productive.
✔️ Schedule a time for the walk each day
You should plan to spend at least 30 minutes completing the walk, and depending on the focus of your walk, you may need an hour or longer. You may also want to consider mixing up the time of the walk day-to-day. This will allow you to observe any changes in the process throughout the day, such as on different shifts.
✔️ Invite the appropriate parties to the walk
You must ensure that a cross-functional team is present. This could include some combination of supervisors, engineering, quality, maintenance, scheduling, supply chain, etc.
✔️ Let the employees know that you are coming
Letting the employees that work in the area you plan to go and see know when you will be coming and what you plan to accomplish will ensure they do not feel blindsided or confused.
DURING THE GEMBA WALK
✔️ Go to the value stream at the scheduled time
Be sure to follow through with your plan. This is a daily commitment that you should not break.
✔️ Observe the process and ask the employees questions
This is your chance to gain a deep understanding of how the process actually operates and any issues that may exist. Make sure not to criticize the employees during this! Focus on the process, not the people.
✔️ Record your observations
Be careful not to make immediate suggestions. You should only record any observations you have and then complete the analysis later when you have all of the facts.
AFTER THE GEMBA WALK
✔️ Analyze any issues that were brought up.
This should be done after the walk is complete. Make sure that you have all of the information you need to successfully complete the analysis. If you do not, you should follow up on a different Gemba walk.
✔️ Give feedback.
Even if no actions come from a particular walk, you should follow up with employees on what you have observed. If the employees are doing well, compliment them. If you plan to make a change based on an issue you observed, let all employees know beforehand.
What are the Benefits of a Gemba Walk?
Including a Gemba walk in your day can drastically improve your business for many reasons. Some of the benefits of a Gemba walk are that it…
1. Engages leaders
Gemba walks force the leadership team to become more engaged with what is happening on the ground level of their business. This will allow them to make better decisions for the business overall and will make employees feel more heard.
2. Empowers employees
During a Gemba walk, leaders should be spending time listening to the employees who are operating their processes everyday. This empowers these employees to speak up about any issues they have seen or any ideas they have for improvement.
3. Improves overall morale
When employees feel as though the leadership team respects them and wants to hear their opinion on potential improvement ideas, the overall morale within the company will improve. A little respect can go a long way!
4. Promotes a cooperative atmosphere
Gemba walks promote a cooperative atmosphere by bringing everyone who works on a particular process together to discuss issues and potential improvements. It is important to ensure a cross-functional team is present for every walk so that all viewpoints are considered.
5. Drives strategic decision-making
Having a daily Gemba walk also ensures decisions aren’t made in the vacuum of a conference room without any consideration for how it will impact the actual process. Therefore, any changes made to a process should be thoughtfully considered before implementation to ensure they won’t have an unforeseen negative impact.
6. Identifies opportunities
Gemba walks force you to dive deep into exactly how a process functions. This will make it easier to identify potential areas for improvement.
7. Improves safety
Safety improvements are always the primary goal within any process, and Gemba walks provide the perfect avenue for observing potential safety issues. This allows any issues to be corrected before an accident occurs.
8. Encourages a culture of continuous improvement
As the basis of Lean thinking, continuous improvement is what every organization should strive for. Gemba walks give leaders and employees the opportunity to openly discuss issues and areas for improvement on a regular basis which encourages a culture of continuous improvement.
🤿 DIVE DEEPER: Learn more about why continuous improvement is so important in my article here.
15 Tips for a Successful Gemba Walk
Tip #1 Do a Gemba walk daily
A Gemba walk should not be something you do once or even every once in a while. You MUST commit to doing one daily.
Gemba walks are your opportunity to engage with employees and gain a deep understanding of how the process actually functions. Having this knowledge of the process and connection with your employees is the only way you will be able to drive successful improvements in your business. Therefore, Gemba walks are crucial to the success of every organization.
Tip #2 Ensure all employees understand the purpose and importance of the Gemba walk
Before you begin a daily Gemba walk, it is important to ensure that every employee who will be involved understands the purpose and importance of what you are doing.
The Gemba walk is meant to promote collaboration throughout the organization, but if you do not make this clear to everyone, employee’s may feel as though they are just being watched. This could put them on edge which will hurt overall morale and can lead to mistakes or a lack of open communication.
Tip #3 Recruit a cross-functional team to participate in the Gemba walk
When completing a Gemba walk, it is key to ensure that a cross-functional team is involved. A Gemba walk should not just be one individual talking to employees on the production floor. It should include every key stakeholder to the process.
This means that you should typically plan to include a representative from AT LEAST the following departments:
- Engineering
- Supervision
- Quality
- Maintenance
- Scheduling
- Supply chain
It is also important to ensure that upper management is present for the walk. Therefore, everyone who works with a particular process in some way will have a deep understanding of every aspect that goes into it, and all perspectives will be captured when discussing areas for improvement.
Tip #4 Give each Gemba walk a focused goal
It can be helpful to give each Gemba walk a specific goal to focus on. Some examples for different focuses are:
- Safety
- Wasted material or time
- 5S
🤿 DIVE DEEPER: 5S is a critical organizational technique that promotes efficiency and safety. Learn more about 5S, its benefits, and how to implement it in my article here!
Without structure and a goal, it can be difficult to keep the team on task and productive. Also, giving a specific item to look out for in the process can allow the team to identify more improvement opportunities than if they are unfocused and trying to look at the entire process at once.
Tip #5 Keep an eye out for the 8 Wastes in your process
As mentioned in the previous tip, wasted time or material is an excellent focus for any Gemba walk. In most cases, the reduction of waste is the biggest opportunity for improvement in a process.
In particular, waste can be broken down into 8 categories, known as the 8 wastes of Lean. These are:
- Defects
- Overproduction
- Waiting
- Non-Utilized Talent
- Transportation
- Inventory
- Motion
- Excess Processing
I would recommend only choosing one of these waste categories to focus on in a single Gemba walk so that the team can focus all of their attention towards one specific area.
Tip #6 Follow the entire flow of the value stream
One thing that James Womack, the author of the book Gemba Walks and the founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute, recommends is to follow the entire flow of the process in order to identify all opportunities.
The value that a particular business is producing for the customer flows horizontally all the way from when the order is received through production and finally to shipment.
Oftentimes, the biggest opportunities for eliminating wasted time is between hand-offs from one stage of the process to the next. When you take the chance to follow the entire process flow, you will often find more opportunities for improvement.
Tip #7 Ask open-ended questions and listen closely to employee input
The most important thing to remember during the Gemba walk is that it is an opportunity to learn from the people who are working on the production floor everyday.
They are the experts on how the process operates, and you will gain a wealth of knowledge if you give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns on each aspect of the process.
You can use the 5Ws to determine potential questions to ask during a Gemba walk:
Who?
- Who is involved in this process?
- Who is the customer for the product we are producing?
What?
- What variables are involved in this process?
- What is the largest bottleneck in this process?
- What sources of waste can I observe?
Where?
- Where are the necessary materials and equipment for the process located in respect to where they are needed?
- Where is the product moving to after this step of the process is complete?
When?
- When will the material move to the next step in the process?
- When is the material deemed acceptable to send to the customer?
- When are operators receiving support from other departments?
Why?
- Why are we producing this in the first place?
- Why are we performing a certain operation the way we are?
Tip #8 Keep an open mind
During a Gemba walk, it is important that you keep an open mind and do not let your immediate opinions and preconceived notions affect the information that the employee’s are providing.
In some cases, the actual process may differ from what is defined in the SOPs. The purpose of the walk is to gain a deep understanding of the process and areas for improvement. Therefore, it is crucial that you focus on the ACTUAL process, not what you think it should look like.
Tip #9 Do not try to implement quick changes on the spot
Remember, the Gemba walk is an opportunity for you to observe the process and record any observations that you have. It is important that the team is identifying potential areas for improvement, but it is also important to make sure no one tries to implement quick solutions on the spot.
In order to effectively resolve any issues with strategic, well thought-out solutions, you should always discuss them outside of the Gemba walk with a cross-functional team.
Tip #10 Focus on the process, not the people
As I have stated throughout this article, the goal of a Gemba walk is to learn more about the process and exactly how each part of it functions. Therefore, it is key that every Gemba walk focuses on the process itself and not the specific people working throughout the process.
This ensures that no one feels criticized or singled out.
Tip #11 Do not criticize employees during the Gemba Walk
Avoiding criticism towards employees during the Gemba walk is key to the success of the event. Although you may disagree with the way that an employee is completing some steps in the process, it is crucial that you use the Gemba walk only as an opportunity to observe and record the process and areas for improvement without giving any negative feedback.
If you do identify an area where you think an employee should be completing a task in a different way, you should address this outside of the Gemba walk with the involvement of a cross-functional team. This ensures that you are thoroughly thinking through the issue and solution instead of responding in a reactionary way.
Overall, criticizing employees during a Gemba walk will make them view it in a negative manner which will lower morale and make employees less likely to share their thoughts.
Tip #12 Mix up the time of day that you do the walk
You may also want to consider mixing up the time of day that you are doing the walk. That way you can interact with employees that may work on different shifts as well as see if productivity levels or attention-to-detail changes throughout the day.
This will allow you to gain a broader perspective of how the process operates under all conditions.
Tip #13 Track the data and trends with a Gemba board
Once you start to consistently complete a Gemba walk daily, it can be helpful to track your important trends. The best way to do this is by posting charts that clearly show your trends on a board on the production floor. This is commonly referred to as a Gemba board.
To begin doing this, you will need to determine what the KPIs (key performance indicators) are for your process. One of the most common types of Gemba board is an SQDC board. This board focuses on:
- Safety
- Quality
- Delivery
- Cost
You will then need to determine your goal for each of these metrics and determine each day which metrics were met and which were not. Those that were met will be marked as green and those that were not will be marked as red.
This gives a clear visual representation of performance. Any areas that appeared as green should be acknowledged, and those marked as red should be discussed so that the team can identify issues and address them.
Tip #14 Be sure to follow-up and feedback
As I mentioned earlier in these tips, it is critical that you do not try to solve issues on the spot but rather meet with a cross-functional team after the Gemba walk to discuss the best course of action.
Once you have met with the team and determined the best solution, it is also crucial that you provide feedback to the employees about what changes you plan to implement and why you came to that conclusion.
Therefore, the employees will not feel blindsided by any changes, and they will have visibility to the improvements that are coming directly as a result of the Gemba walk. This will keep them motivated to continue providing valuable information and suggestions on future walks.
Tip #15 Start today
Possibly the most crucial tip is to start doing your Gemba walks today!
There is a lot of planning that can go into completing a Gemba walk such as preparing a focused goal, gathering a team, and implementing a Gemba board. All of these aspects are great, but the most important thing is to just get out there and start talking to the employees everyday.
Don’t wait until you have the perfect plan or setup to start. Get out there today and everything else will come together with time!
Conclusion
A daily Gemba walk can sound like a daunting task if you are accustomed to spending all day at your desk or in meetings, but it really can have a positive impact on your organization. By ensuring every employee has a voice in what improvements are made to the process, you will boost collaboration and morale as well as enhance the chances of successful continuous improvement within your business.
Do you currently participate in a daily Gemba walk at your job? Do you plan to start one now? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
