Gemba Walk Checklist: Best Practices for Effective Gemba Walks

Your Gemba Walk Checklist: The Best Practices for Effective Gemba Walks

There are numerous improvement opportunities on the shop floor and one of these involves leveraging Gemba walks. The Gemba Walk process has become extremely popular in lean manufacturing for several reasons. However, some stakeholders might not know what this approach entails.

Let us look at some basic principles before discussing how to create a sure-fire Gemba checklist.

What is a Gemba Walk and Why is it Importance?

Gemba walks are just a handful of ways management can collect valuable information through passive observation on the production floor. One of the main benefits associated with this approach is that it does not require complex calculations or mind-bending statistics to draw powerful conclusions (1).

Essentially, a successful Gemba walk involves monitoring in-house work processes, evaluating how employees tackle real-time projects, and making any appropriate changes later.

Not only is this an excellent way to find the root causes of any potential problems, but it may be used to identify potential value streams (workflows that can be optimized to reduce waste).

What are the Principles of this Approach to Lean Management?

Continuous improvement is arguably the main goal of any Gemba walk. From assessing the environmental impacts of a specific project to determining which employees seem most productive, these analyses can provide a lot of clarity and insight. Here are some of the most relevant principles to remember (2):

To illustrate that management is taking a proactive role in the workplace.
To improve employee motivation and morale.
To increase efficiency and decrease waste.
To streamline operations.
To foster an ecosystem of openness and collaboration.

We are not only referring to the actual work being performed but rather to how any changes will positively impact future operations. As business development consultant Dave Waters once said, “If you aren’t improving, you are getting out of business”(3).

How to Create a Leadership Gemba Walk Checklist

We can now see why preparation is the ultimate key to success. This will often come in the form of a Gemba Walk checklist. What factors should be considered? Creating an insightful template involves the following steps (4):

Identifying areas of focus or concern.
Informing team members of the evaluation.
Analyzing processes in addition to individual performance.
Taking observations.
Drawing relevant conclusions.

Note that any checklist template must also ask questions. Common checklist questions include:

Are workers familiar with their responsibilities?
Have deadlines been met?
Can existing software interfaces (such as a main navigation menu within a POS system) be improved?
Are employees provided with the appropriate resources?
Has the turnover rate increased or decreased?

Remember that an effective Gemba walk aims to ask the right questions in the right place at the right time. So, these will naturally differ depending on the organization itself.

Actions to Take After Completing a Gemba Walk

Let us now assume that the walk has been completed. The next step in process improvement involves evaluating the data itself.

However, it is just as significant to obtain feedback from employees and other relevant stakeholders. This will provide additional insight while showing workers that management cares about their opinions.

Numerous Improvement Opportunities at Your Disposal

Gemba walks are invaluable tools in the modern workplace and should be conducted regularly. The good news is that even those unfamiliar with such an approach should see results within a short period of time. There are also many free checklists that can be accessed to understand the steps outlined above.

The bottom line is that there is always room for improvement. Gemba walks can meet even the loftiest of goals if approached correctly.

Sources:

https://6sigma.com/reasons-why-gemba-walk-is-getting-more-popular/
https://safetyculture.com/topics/gemba-walk/
https://www.supplychaintoday.com/gemba-walk-the-path-to-continuous-improvement/
https://tervene.com/blog/gemba-walk-checklist-questions/

Author
Recent Posts

Harry Freeman

Founder & Chief Editor at Data Center Acceleration

Harry Freeman is the founder and chief editor of Data Center Acceleration, a leading blog dedicated to providing valuable insights, expert advice, and the latest trends in the world of data centers. With a strong focus on data center optimization, security, cloud computing, storage solutions, networking, and infrastructure management.