In the industrial sector, Gemba walks are a valuable opportunity for managers to find out about problems encountered by operators on the shop floor and help solve them. This is why ‘seeing for yourself’ is one of the essential principles of lean management.
Where do Gemba walks come from? What do they involve? What are the benefits of factory tours? In this article, we answer these questions, and share our tips for effective Gemba walks thanks to a checklist.
What is a gemba walk ?
In the factory, field visits, also called, “factory tours” or “Gemba walks”, consist of the manager visiting the shop floor to talk with the operators. The concept was originally introduced in the 1950s by Japanese industrial engineer Taiichi Ohno, who is considered the father of the Toyota Production System (or “TPS”). The word “gemba” in Japanese literally means “the real place”, “where things happen”.
In industry, ‘the place where things happen’ is the factory: it is on the shop floor that value takes shape, through the work of the operators responsible for equipment tuning, operation and maintenance.
According to the lean management method, inspired by the Toyota Production System and aimed at continuous improvement (“kaizen” in Japanese), getting out of offices and meeting rooms and going onto the shop floor is essential to :
- Gain a better understanding of the reality on the field by having a clearer view of the shop floor.
- Report problems encountered by operational teams.
- Make the right decisions.
Gemba walk checklist : why tour your factory ?
Taking a walking tour of the production lines gives managers a thorough oversight of the shop floor and an awareness of the real work, as it happens. They ask targeted questions, talk directly to staff members, and find out about their daily routines and methods.
Field tours are a practical and direct approach, enabling managers to see first-hand the employees’ working conditions and the problems they face, and to identify the most common wastage, or ‘mudas’. The aim is to increase productivity and achieve operational excellence.
A tour is the best way to gather information and take note of good ideas, as well as any problems on the shop floor. The key benefits of periodic field trips include:
- Demonstrating management commitment to the work of operators
- Taking a step back from the business and the staff’s needs
- Detecting departures from the fundamental rules and, for example, reminding people of the importance of safety rules on the production lines.
- Identifying potential operational issues, but also best practices that add value.
- Empowering staff and developing their self-reliance.
- Introducing changes that workers can ‘buy into’ more easily.
- Promoting a culture of openness, cooperation, and teamwork.
- Streamlining operations at different levels of the organization, saving time and reducing costs.
The Gemba walk checklist to follow
You can’t ‘just wing’ an effective Gemba walk, there’s no room for improvisation! To be as beneficial as possible, the visit must be planned in advance and carried out in a structured, standard format.
Here is a gemba walk checklist for carrying out your factory tour:
1. Notify the staff
Be careful not to confuse the field trip with an audit. Make sure the operators are available, and share the agenda ahead of time.
2. Identify your target
To avoid getting off track, it is essential to identify up front the part of the factory that will be the focus of your field tour. Your key performance indicators will help you make the right choice.
3. Prepare questions
To save time and improve efficiency, send your questions in advance. This will ‘get people thinking’, and help operators provide more detailed feedback.
4. Measure KPIs
Remember to establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs), so you can make the most of your factory tour.
5. Observe, don’t judge
The whole point of a factory tour is to ask questions, open up dialogue with the operators and encourage discussion and sharing of ideas. The right stance is not to be controlling or judgmental, but rather to observe processes with the aim of making improvements.
6. Document your tour
If possible, take notes, photos and videos to document what is discussed, and help in the decision-making process afterwards. A workshop management solution, especially if it is available on tablets and smartphones and visible to staff on screens, allows you to centralize information and to digitize the field tour, enabling more detailed analysis and better results.
7. Share your feedback
The Gemba walk does not end when you get back to your office after the tour. Schedule a meeting to share your comments, findings and suggestions for improvements. This will confirm that the aim of the exercise is not to monitor staff, but to optimize processes and achieve operational excellence.
If you are unsure about the frequency and duration of your field laps, there are no real standards, but you might consider starting with one per week per sector, lasting between 30 and a maximum of 60 minutes. You’ll always have the option of adjusting the frequency in line with your requirements and initial feedback. In any case, remember to schedule your field tours regularly and over time, because a one-shot visit won’t have the desired effectiveness
Regular tours of the factory floor are a prerequisite for gaining a better oversight of operations. For them to be truly effective, it is important to follow certain guidelines, including:
- Plan the tour ahead of time.
- Measure the right indicators using a dedicated application (such as fabriq 😉).
- Share feedback with your operators.
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