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What Are Gemba Walks?
A Gemba Walk is a structured workplace walkthrough. Its goal is to continuously improve within a company by walking to the place where the work is happening, hence its name (Gemba in Japanese translates to “the actual place").
Regular Gemba Walks are end-to-end, meaning that they follow the complete process. The manager observes work at each stage to better understand it and hence, come up with improvements.
The Benefits of Gemba Walks in Lean Manufacturing
Gemba Walks offer many benefits that align with the goals of Lean Manufacturing, which is primarily focused on efficiency. Thanks to a deeper understanding of the process, companies can achieve higher productivity, eliminating bottlenecks and finding new opportunities to reduce waste. Let’s look at all the benefits in more detail.
Enhanced Process Understanding
One of the most significant benefits of Gemba Walks is the deep understanding of processes that leaders and managers gain. By observing operations in real-time, leaders can identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and waste that might not be apparent through data analysis alone. This hands-on insight is invaluable for making informed decisions about process improvements and embracing the principles of Lean Manufacturing.
Improved Communication
Gemba Walks facilitate open communication between management and frontline workers. By engaging directly with employees, leaders can gain valuable feedback and insights—often ones that they wouldn’t be able to acquire through any other channel. This dialogue helps bridge the gap between management and the workforce and also discovers new ways to improve procedures—you can kill two birds with one stone.
Empowered Workforce
When employees see that their input is valued and that management is actively involved in understanding their work, they are more likely to feel empowered and engaged. With this extra motivation, they take ownership of their actions and look for ways to improve efficiency even further. A motivated employee is a productive, valuable member of a team; hence, you shouldn’t underestimate this particular effect of Gemba walks.
Faster Problem Resolution
By observing processes firsthand, leaders can quickly identify and address problems before they escalate. They know the process inside out, so they don’t need to consult their decisions if the problem requires a solution ASAP. This helps reduce waste and minimize downtime.
How to Implement Gemba Walks?
In general, there are two ways of implementing Gemba Walks: traditional or virtual. The first option will be better in terms of contact and building relationships with the employees since the managers will meet them face to face. However, due to logistics, it will also be more costly and difficult to conduct.
Virtual Gemba Walks, on the other hand, might be a little bit less effective in terms of building relations with the on-site personnel, but this will pay off in the ease of conducting them. After all, since you’ll only need someone with a 360° video camera, you can increase their frequency and make up for the lack of direct contact. For most applications a hybrid strategy, combining frequent virtual gemba walks with occasional in-person visits, will deliver the best results.
The Takeaway
As you can see, Gemba Walks play a crucial role in Lean Manufacturing, as they help improve managers' reactions to critical and problematic situations. With a better understanding of the whole production chain, a good relationship with the employees, and a motivated workforce, your leadership team will be able not only to solve issues more effectively, but also to increase efficiency when everything works as intended. Hence, we recommend using Gemba Walks in your organization.
You might also read: Developing a Hybrid Gemba Walk Practice
