Shruti Bhat PhD, MBA, Operations Excellence Expert
  • Home
  • About Shruti
  • Books
  • Insights
  • Operational Excellence
  • Research
    • Innovation Management
    • Leading Research and Development
    • Developer's Diary
  • Case Studies
  • Tools
    • Whitepapers
    • Articles >
      • Business Transformation
      • Process Improvement
      • Business Continuity
      • Change Management
      • Digital Transformation
      • Quality Improvement
    • Checklists and Templates
    • Free eBook
    • Videos
  • Blog
  • Engage Shruti
    • Consulting >
      • Operational Excellence Consulting
      • Business Transformation Consulting
      • Innovation Management Consulting
    • Workshops
  • Contact

Streamline processes and workflows with Gemba Walk

1/23/2021

0 Comments

 
Are you looking for ways to thrive your business after the pandemic-induced crisis? Then, Gemba walk is your infallible tool.
streamline processes and workflows with gemba walk
Gemba in Japanese means site where work happens. It is a popular terminology of Lean Innovation as well as Kaizen based process improvement. 

​Gemba Kaizen philosophy is based on the principle that best process improvement happens when people closest to the process give suggestions for improvement of that process. Moreover, the best place to assemble for the discussion to come up with improvement ideas is the Gemba.
​
In Kaizen, process improvements can be done using multiple tools viz. Visual Management, Kaizen Events etc. Gemba Walk is one such important process improvement tool.

​​Gemba Walk is based on the philosophy- ‘Go and See’ in Gemba.

Gemba Walk is a process of making personal observation of jobs and workflows where work happens (i.e. Gemba) with those who actually do it, as against discussing about the solving the problem in a meeting room. ​It is like, you can’t be an expert in lawn tennis by learning about the sport in a classroom. You learn it best at a tennis court i.e. the Gemba.


This in-person observation allows leaders to see the difference between what they assumed is happening and what is actually happening. 

Gemba Walks may be conducted the traditional way as well as digitized.

Objectives of Gemba Walk:​

​The objective of Gemba Walk is to better understand the value stream, its problems and how to improve upon those problems. 

By closely observing ‘the site where the value is created’ and listening to employees, business leaders and supervisors can get a fresh perspective on the business and new insights into how to make product/ service/ process changes better for their customers. 

​Tip: Note that the purpose of Gemba Walk is not to review results or make superficial comments.

Another objective of Gemba Walk is to identify wastes in a process. By identifying waste, one can save costs as well as increase process efficiency. As much as 40% overhead expenses can be saved by conducting Gemba Walks regularly at your workplace.
​
However, Gemba Walk must be done correctly for it to give desired results. The video below gives important Dos and Don’ts for Gemba Walk; watch on …

Dos and Don’ts of Gemba Walk:​

How to do Gemba Walks?​

​Gemba Walks may be done singly or in a small team of 3 to 4 members.

If a department head plans to go for the Gemba Walk then I would recommend that he/she goes alone (rather than a team), so that they get a chance to have open and frank discussions with the shop floor employees working on that process. The idea is to make your employees comfortable to open up, be creative and give useful suggestions, rather than worry about petty politics.

​You could have one-on-one or many-to-one discussions during the Gemba Walk.
​
Also, leaders doing Gemba Walk must note that the walk is not an exercise for employee performance evaluation. Neither is it a time to engage in employee task management. 

How often should Gemba walks be done?​

​The frequency of Gemba Walk depends on the size of the organization and nature of business. Generally, process owners, supervisors must do Gemba Walk every other day. Managers and Senior Executives can do Gemba Walk once each fortnight.

Post Gemba Walk To-Dos:

​After completing Gemba Walk, make notes to capture your observations. Plan the day so that there is time to write notes and reflect on them. Document key takeaways.
​
Categorize your thoughts, findings, and discussion points, and within a week or so provide feedback to employees on your walks. 
Note that Gemba Walk is a transparent activity and success from the walk is based on the level of trust employees have on that leader.

Conclusion:

​Gemba Walk has a dual purpose- First to observe, understand, and ultimately improve process efficiency. Second, to gain deep knowledge about the process, reflect upon the information and explore opportunities of continuous improvement.

Note that Gemba Walk is not an audit. Audit is done to check compliance to 'documented' procedures. While Gemba Walk focuses on 'process improvement'.

Gemba Walk is a rewarding tool for big and small organizations, especially Startups.

Few key areas of using Gemba Walks may be to improve value quotient of a specific product, or increase productivity of a machine, increase sales, improve area utilization, or identify wastes in a business process and increase its efficiency.
​
When done correctly, Gemba Walk can have a dramatic impact on a company's operational excellence since it entails engaged leadership. Moreover, Gemba Walks can save as much as 40 to 45% of a business’s operating costs. 

Note that, Gemba walk strategy must be appropriately designed (and executed) and customized for each business. Are you planning to initiate Gemba walk for your organization?
Get In Touch
Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

Related reading-

  • How to cut costs strategically using Kaizen
  • ​Leadership Kaizen: How can leaders keep employees happy?
  • ​Continuous Business Improvement with mastermind Shruti Bhat series- What is Gemba Kaizen?​
Keywords and Tags:

​#GembaWalk #GembaKaizen #ContinuousImprovement #ProcessImprovement  #ProcessEfficiencyImprovement #BusinessProcessImprovement #Lean #Kaizen #LeanMethodology #BusinessTransformation  #JapaneseKaizen #KaizenEvents #VisualManagement #KaizenForStartups
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Shruti Bhat, global leader in business turnaround, operational excellence and continuous improvement
    To contact Dr. Shruti Bhat text or WhatsApp at 1.403.969.6219

    New Book Released!

    Revolutionizing Industries with Lean Six Sigma

    Shruti's YouTube Channel ...

    Picture

    Blog Categories

    All
    3D Printing
    Agile
    Artificial Intelligence
    Automation
    Biotechnology
    Books
    Business Continuity
    Business Turnaround
    Case Studies
    Change Management
    Checklists
    Chemical Industry
    Continuous Improvement
    Design Thinking
    Digitalization
    Drug Delivery
    External News Links
    Hall Of Fame
    Healthcare
    Hoshin Kanri
    HR Development
    Innovation
    Insights
    ISO
    Just In Time
    Kaizen
    Leadership
    LEAN
    Lean Six Sigma
    Life Sciences
    Machine Learning
    Manufacturing
    Medical Devices
    Mistake Proofing
    Motivational Cards
    MSMEs
    Nanotechnology
    Operational Excellence
    Packaging
    Patents
    Personal Products
    Process Improvement
    Product Development
    Productivity Increase
    QbD
    Quality Management
    R&D Leadership
    Robotics
    Service Industry
    Six Sigma
    Strategy
    Supply Chain Logistics
    Telecom Industry
    Templates
    TQM
    Videos
    Voice Of Customer
    Whitepaper
    Workshops

    Shruti's books...

    Picture
    top ten strategic decision-making tools for operational excellence
    shruti bhat, business process management, continuous improvement
    kaizen for pharmaceutcials, medical devices and biotech industry book by Dr Shruti Bhat
    Book on Continuous improvement tools by Dr Shruti Bhat
    kaizen for leaders, continuous process improvement tool to increase profit and organizational excellence by shruti bhat
    kaizen, shruti bhat, continuous improvement, quality, operations management
    how to lead a successful business transformation
    leading organizations through crisis
    emotional intelligence
    how to overcome challenges of creating effective teams
    modular kaizen Vs Blitz kaizen
    How to increase employee engagement as a new boss

Connect with Dr. Shruti Bhat at- ​Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn​

© Copyright 1992- 2025 Dr. Shruti Bhat ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
See Terms and Conditions for details on this site usage.
Subscribe to Operational Excellence Academy YouTube Channel
​Subscribe to Operational Excellence Academy YouTube Channel
SHRUTI BHAT, CONTACT
Click to connect.
Created by Macro2Micro Media