Also called gemba walk, go and see, genchi genbutsu
What is gemba?
The place where the work actually happens, and the instruction to go and look at it before deciding anything.
What else it is called
- Other names
- gemba walk, go and see, genchi genbutsu
- In French
- le terrain
Related entries
Understanding gemba
The instruction behind the word is simple: go and watch. Decisions about a process get made in offices using reports, and reports are a summary of what the system was told, which is not always what happened. Standing at the machine for twenty minutes routinely surfaces things no report contains, usually a workaround somebody invented years ago and never mentioned because nobody asked.
A gemba walk is a manager doing that on a schedule, asking what gets in the way rather than why the numbers are down. The distinction matters. If the walk is experienced as an inspection, people prepare for it, and you are back to being shown a presentation.
In practice
If the area is cleaner on the day you walk than the day before, the walk has become an audit and has stopped telling you anything.
Frequently asked
What should I ask on a gemba walk?
Ask what makes the job harder than it needs to be, what they have to work around, and what they would change if it were up to them. Avoid asking why a number moved, which turns the walk into a performance review.