What Is Gemba? How to Do a Gemba Walk (Shop Floor Walk)
What is Gemba and how is a Gemba Walk done? The steps and tips for a shop floor walk that helps managers learn where value is created.
Gemba is Japanese for “the real place”. In lean thinking, the gemba is where value is created: the production line, the warehouse, the construction site or the place where a service is delivered. A Gemba Walk is when managers go to that place and observe the process on the spot.
The purpose of a Gemba Walk
The purpose is not to inspect but to understand and learn. Reports and figures are only a summary of reality; to see the cause of a problem you have to go to the floor. Taiichi Ohno’s well-known “Ohno circle” is based on the same idea: stand in one spot and observe for a long time.
How is a Gemba Walk done?
First, decide the theme of the walk (safety, quality or flow, for example). On the floor, ask questions respectfully, keep asking “why”, and write down your observations. Talk about processes, not people. At the end of the walk, assign small actions and follow them up on the next walk.
Common mistakes
The most common mistakes are doing it irregularly, imposing solutions, blaming employees and not following up on actions. A Gemba Walk creates value once it becomes a routine.
Link to the shop floor management system
The Gemba Walk is part of daily management and a standard-work culture. With our shop floor management system service we structure the role of your leaders on the floor, and our leadership development program makes this habit permanent.
