Gemba Walk

A Gemba walk is an organized visit to the actual location where work is done. Participants pinpoint places along the value stream where product or process problems are more likely to lurk or where problems have already been identified. The Gemba walk is not where identified issues are solved “on the spot.” Instead, it’s an opportunity to gather observations, collect data, and speak to front-line workers, then unpack those data points later in hopes that insights may lead to product or process improvement.

Engaging in process improvement means having a solutions-oriented mindset and working to solve problems wherever they are in your organization’s value stream. And the first, and potentially the most critical, step to solving problems is understanding them in detail - and that’s where one of the most powerful tools of Lean Six Sigma comes into play: the Gemba walk.

A variation on the Japanese word genba, which means “the actual place,” Gemba represents the physical or virtual places where work goes on to bring a product or service to the customer. Going to Gemba affords an opportunity to identify where “waste,” or inefficiency, can be hiding and contributing to lost productivity, bottlenecks, or defects. In a manufacturing setting, “Gemba” often means the plant floor or assembly line. In transactional services, this can represent any number of software programs or other digital tools that employees interact with on their computers. While problem-solving may occur in a conference room, architects of process improvement methodology have long insisted it’s crucial to leave those spaces and head to the “front lines” to make lasting change happen.

Preparing for a Gemba Walk

Any place where value-added work occurs for a product or service is a candidate for a Gemba walk. Since that criteria can quickly escalate to limitless options, whittle down possible Gemba walk locations by starting with areas where defects are more likely - and more consequential and working downstream. It’s best to gather a cross-functional team representing key areas of the value stream to serve as the critical “eyes” for the walk. While employees who interface directly with areas identified for the Gemba walk should be involved, their perspective will be enhanced by the observations of others whose work connects upstream or downstream.

Once locations have been identified, it’s helpful to anticipate possible challenges in getting a comprehensive picture of the work going on. This is particularly important in transactional settings where a lot of work happens virtually. What software programs and systems might cause access issues during the Gemba walk? What advanced legwork can be done to make these visible when the time comes? While this work will involve communication, it’s best not to broadcast the upcoming Gemba walk. The goal is to see the process as close to its day-to-day operations as possible so problems can be identified more easily. Normal behavior is less likely to happen with a heads-up.

Gemba walk-ing: An example

Scenario

1. Leaders at an original equipment manufacturer have recently reviewed data showing that product defects and throughput time have increased over the last six months. This, they believe, suggests that cracks may be showing in changes instituted as part of a major continuous improvement initiative launched more than a year ago.
2. The company’s top operations leader contacts one of the organization's Master Black Belts and asks if her team could look into potential problem areas in the value stream.
3. The Master Black Belt decides a Gemba walk is a good place to start.

Preparation

1. Weeks before the Gemba walk is scheduled, the continuous improvement team contacts several different departments at the company - supply chain, finance, maintenance, and more - to elect a representative to participate in the Gemba walk and schedule the half-day task.
2. Roughly a week before the Gemba walk, continuous improvement team members contact leaders at three key areas along the value stream that they plan to visit. The request: To not notify front-line workers of the upcoming Gemba walk and to brainstorm and problem-solve around manufacturing operations that might not be as accessible to Gemba walk attendees. The goal: Increase visibility on the day of the visit while maintaining safety protocols and not interrupting production.
3. A few days before, the cross-functional team assembles for a “crash course” on the experience for those new to the Gemba walk, including key “do's" and “don’ts.” Leaders emphasize the importance of making observations, however small, without rushing to judgment or into problem-solving mode.

Execution

Gemba walk members spend a half-day moving downstream through the areas identified weeks prior, taking notes, photographs, and video to document what they see. Crucially, they also keep notes on open-ended questions they ask front-line employees about the nature of their standard work and any issues they’ve noticed on the floor. 

Debrief

1. The Gemba walk team spends the second half of the day unpacking their observations, starting simply by sharing highlights of what they noticed as well as key comments gathered from front-line employees. This careful, neutral process helps sketch a “current state” of operations that can later serve as the foundation of continuous improvement work.
2. After constructing a picture of the “current state,” debrief leaders guide Gemba walk team members through discussions about waste or inefficiencies they noticed or heard about during their informal interviews with front-line employees. When possible, team members connect inferences about on-site problems to observations they gathered.
3. Team members collectively decide on a few key problems that could advance to a formal DMAIC problem-solving cycle led by the continuous improvement team.

Key Elements of The Gemba Walk

There’s perhaps no better encapsulation of the Gemba walk process than a saying that originated at Toyota: “Go see, ask why, show respect.”

Go see. During a Gemba walk, no detail is too small. However, simply observing without leaping into problem-solving mode can be a challenge, especially for employees and leaders with rigorous training in solving problems. On a Gemba walk, though, it’s crucial to slowly and carefully gather details by watching how front-line employees do their work. In a setting involving digital processes, this could be as granular as watching where an employee’s eyes move on a computer screen. Gather data now; interpret it later.

Ask why, show respect. The first sign of respect for those on the front lines of an organization is recognizing that they are the experts at their part of the value stream. Treating them as such - by asking questions about process steps and seeking to understand - both honors the work they do and creates opportunities to gather important data that can be used later to effectively diagnose and solve problems.

After walking the process, it’s important to debrief as soon as possible. Start with questions that echo the Gemba walk itself: What did you see? “Unpacking” the simple observations first will eventually lead to tougher questions such as:

• What can be better?
• What waste did you see?
• Where did we fall short of our standards?

It is crucial to note that this conversation should represent a space where the leader is coaching team members to conduct the analytical work, not do it for them.

Why “Gemba” Matters

Gemba walks allow us to see processes as they actually occur, not how we think they do or how we want them to, especially when involving team members from across the value stream. When solving problems, a fresh set of eyes asking questions on processes that others see all the time can make the difference between “putting a band-aid” on problem symptoms and striking to the core of a problem’s root cause.