Gemba walks are an excellent business improvement strategy. I’ve witnessed their impact on operations in various industries. When leaders watch processes in person, they uncover helpful insights to eliminate efficiency constraints and safety hazards.
You’ll find ways to make the workflow more efficient and lower costs. Additionally, gemba walks build employee engagement and a culture of continuous improvement.
Understanding Gemba Walks
At its core, a Gemba walk involves a manager leaving their office and going to see the work. This is a key departure from how traditional management operates. Rather than making decisions based on reports and data, executives go see the work and understand the process themselves.
Key principles of a Gemba walk include:
- Direct observation
- Respect for the worker
- Focus on the process (not the person)
- A mindset of continuous improvement
- The purpose of the Gemba walk isn’t to catch people doing things wrong. It’s to understand the process, identify waste and work together to improve it.
Many executives struggle with this concept when introduced to it. It’s challenging because they’re trained to think of a “walk” as an inspection or audit. And while you might identify some things that are wrong during a Gemba walk, that shouldn’t be your purpose for going. It’s about learning, not judging.
In fact, in Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 1982 book “Out of the Crisis,” he says, “‘Management by walking around’ is hardly ever effective. The reason is that someone in management, walking around, has little idea about what questions to ask, and usually does not pause long enough at any spot to get the right answer.”
This is an important note about effective Gemba walks. You should not just show up without any idea of what you’re trying to accomplish. And you shouldn’t walk around and talk to people without asking specific questions.
To make the Gemba walk effective, make sure to prepare the questions, listen effectively and ask good questions.
The Importance of Gemba Walks in Continuous Improvement
Gemba walks are one of the best opportunities to find improvement ideas. You’re watching processes happen in real time, and that direct observation often uncovers inefficiencies that you’d miss from a report or a meeting.
They help you make data-driven decisions. You’re essentially capturing qualitative data through observation and conversation. This is important because it adds the qualitative color to your quantitative operation metrics.
Gemba walks also dramatically improve employee engagement. When managers take the time to understand a frontline worker’s challenges, that worker feels much more connected to the broader mission of the team. This open dialogue also fosters trust and teamwork.
The impact on organizational culture is substantial. When leaders do Gemba walks, it sends the message that the organization is always trying to get a little bit better. It shows that the leadership team is humble, curious, and respectful of all employees.
I’ve seen businesses transform as a result of executives doing regular walks. Silos start to break down. Problem-solving becomes a more collaborative effort. Employees feel more valued and take more ownership in the business’s success.
The ideal frequency is once per week per department for about 45 minutes. If you do it much more infrequently than that, you won’t really see the process evolution and build the personal relationship with the employee you’re analyzing.
The key is not to think of Gemba walks as a source of quick wins. It’s actually a chance to establish a culture of continuous improvement. You’re making a long-term investment in the innovation and success of your operation.
How To Conduct A Effective Walk
Planning is essential to a successful Gemba walk. Decide which area you’ll visit and which processes you’ll observe. Check relevant data and/or past observations. This step is important to maximize your time on the floor.
Steps to take during a Gemba walk:
- Introduce yourself to employees and tell them why you’re there.
- Watch processes without disturbing them.
- Ask open-ended questions.
- Actively listen to employees.
- Take notes on your observations and ideas.
- Thank employees for their time and insights.
Observation techniques are critical. Watch for bottlenecks, unnecessary motion, and signs of people feeling frustrated. Similarly, look at how information passes between employees.
Asking the right questions will reveal good insight. “What’s the hardest part of this job for you?” is a great open-ended question that will likely give you a long answer. Another one is, “If you could change one thing about this process, what would it be?”
Documentation is important. Take notes during the walk, or immediately after. Write down what you learned and ideas for how to improve it. These insights and suggestions are the raw material that you’ll use in the next steps.
OSHA estimates that businesses spend $170 billion annually on costs related to workplace injury/illness, a cost you can indirectly reduce on Gemba walks by seeing opportunities to make the workplace safer. I’ve seen company’s accident rates dramatically decrease through ideas from the backlog of regular Gemba walks.
The real magic happens in the follow-up. Review your notes, look for patterns, and figure out what recommendations are most important. Then, tell the team.
Best Practices To Follow
Scheduling regular Gemba walks is important. Regularity helps integrate this practice into your company’s culture of continuous improvement. To get started, aim for Gemba walks each department or area once per week.
Select the right attendees. Managers, supervisors, subject matter experts, and occasionally cross-departmental team members are ideal attendees. Through this diversity of mindset, you’ll often gain a wider set of insights.
Ensure it feels like a safe environment. Communicate that the goal is not to criticize but to learn and improve. Foster an open dialogue, and thank employees for their feedback.
Don’t make it about the people. You’re evaluating the process. This approach reduces the employees’ instinct to defend their co-workers, and instead, they’ll provide honest feedback.
Decide what you want to see, but remain open to unplanned insights. Some of the most powerful takeaways occur inadvertently.
Plan Gemba walks that take roughly 15 to 45 minutes per unit or department. This provides enough time to make meaningful observations about the process without significantly disrupting a day’s work.
The most effective Gemba walks are both planned and slightly unstructured. They’re walking a predetermined path, but not on a regimented timeline.
The purpose is to improve continuously. Each walk should inform your next set of processes to improve, creating a cycle of continuous learning and improvement.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Confusing Gemba walks with inspections/audits: If employees feel you’re walking the floor with an inspection or audit mindset, it creates tension and can make employees defensive. Instead, use it with a mindset of curiosity and a genuine desire to learn.
Failing to involve employees on the walk: If you walk through the process without engaging employees, you miss a huge opportunity. Ask them for their input and what can be improved. They’re usually the best source of ideas for process improvement.
Rushing to solutions without a thorough analysis: If you rush to solutions without giving them the proper analysis they deserve, you may implement ineffective changes as a result. Take the time to analyze your observations, bring in other experts for their take, and consider different perspectives before making a change.
Failing to make changes based on your observations from the walk: If you aren’t taking action and making improvements based on the walks, it’s a surefire way to ruin the practice. Be sure to communicate what changes you made and what improvements you made based on their input.
Not being consistent with your walks: If you aren’t consistent and don’t do the walks every day, you lose credibility with employees. Additionally, you won’t be able to track progress. It’s also not an item employees can count on if you’re sporadic with something else takes priority.
I’ve seen all of these mistakes at companies, and for some, it was an easy fix. For example, a manufacturing plant I worked with struggled to get employees to engage during Gemba walks. instead of management talking and telling, they forced themselves to only ask questions.
Lean Innovation is an excellent framework to incorporate with your Gemba walk strategy, as Lean Innovation is all about continuous improvement and efficiency.
How to Measure Impact
Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) allows you to measure the impact of Gemba walks. Some KPIs you may find helpful include:
- Process cycle time
- Defect rates
- Employee engagement scores
- Safety incidents
- Cost savings from improvements made
The way to quantify improvements is by performing before and after comparisons. Measure the KPIs of concern before making changes identified during a Gemba walk. Then, measure the same KPIs after changes have been made to see if they’ve improved.
Another approach is to look at trends and patterns. Do you notice that the same KPIs seem to dip after identifying a specific solution and implementing it? Additionally, do you notice key patterns in your qualitative feedback from team members? It means that implementing that solution could be a focus area from future Gemba walks.
It’s also essential to communicate your results to stakeholders and leadership. Create a regular Gemba walk report to communicate the improvements made, cost savings, and employee feedback. You should be prepared to show both quantitative dollars saved as a result of walking and qualitative stories.
I’ve seen organizations make significant improvements thanks to consistent Gemba walks. Within six months of rolling out regular walking, one organization decreased its production lead time by 30%, and another organization decreased safety incidents by 50% within a year.
Keep in mind that some of the benefits of Gemba walks are challenging to quantify because they improve team communication and employee engagement. However, these changes may be the most important of all.
Gemba Walks Across Different Industries
Adapting Gemba walks to manufacturing is often centered around the production line and machinery efficiency. You’ll likely look at material flow, machine utilization, and quality control steps.
Implementing Gemba walks in a service industry requires a different view. The “Gemba” could be a call center, the sales floor of a retailer, the customer service desk of a software company, etc. In this instance, you should look at information flow, customer interactions, and service delivery steps.
Gemba walks in technology and software can involve watching a team practice coding techniques, how they collaborate, or how they execute project management steps. You might watch a stand-up meeting or pair programming session.
Using the principles of Gemba in a non-traditional location will require some creativity. In healthcare, it might be observing patient flow through the emergency department. In education, it might be sitting in a class or checking out some of the administrative processes.
I’ve done Gemba walks in several different industries. Each time, it required a slightly different approach, but the core concepts remained the same: go to where the work takes place, observe it, and talk to the people doing the work.
The trick is figuring out how to make Gemba work in your setting while keeping the core idea of Gemba in place: observing the work and showing respect for the people doing the work. If you do this consistently and thoughtfully, It will certainly add value in any industry.
Closing out
Gemba Walks are an excellent continuous improvement tool. It’s a structured method to observe processes and talk with employees. I’ve seen it work in various industries. When done right, Gemba Walks can dramatically improve efficiency, quality, and safety.
Don’t analyze the people – analyze the process. Approach your walks with an open mind and curiosity. With time, you’ll train your brain to see waste. The real trick is consistency and executing on your intuition. Begin with a few walks and transform your business into a Gemba Walk organization.
