Gemba Walks - Do you practice Gemba Walks in your organizations?

K

kocyk

Hello,

Do you practice Gemba Walks in your organizations? I'm planning on starting the gemba walks in my factory, but before that I would like to know few things and set some kind of routine for them

1. How often do you go for a gemba walk( I know that they supposed to be conducted every day)
2. Who's in the Gemba Walk team?
3. What are the responsibilities?
4. Are there any records from the Gemba Walks? If yes where and how do you display them? Central board or production boards?
5. What are the areas of main interest?( safety, muda, efficiency, standardize work etc.)

That's it for now:) Thank you in advance for all replies.
 

Marc

Fully vaccinated are you?
Leader
A quick "Bump". Can anyone help with this one? Please - Help if you can. My Thanks in advance!
 
K

kocyk

Thanks Marc for bumping, but I guess the subject is to obvious:) although I wanted to know how it looks in other companies. Basically here is my idea how I'm going to do that:
- everyday top management representative will take a walk with production managers to their lines. Over there the foremen will be responsible for presenting all the charts that we are using and that they have to keep up to date. If anything is wrong a qucik memo will posted on the board with a requirement of planning a corrective action according to PDCA cycle. The only I can't decide is whether to conduct gemba walks in different scopes like: safety, muda, quality etc.
 
Hi Kocyk, :bigwave:
Do you practice Gemba Walks in your organizations?
We do, but not under that name, and not to the full intended extent (It's still pretty new, but it does work):

1. How often do you go for a gemba walk( I know that they supposed to be conducted every day)
Our production Mgr makes one "tour" a week (apart from other visits in the workshop, of course). I and several others make a point to roam the grounds at least daily, in a more unofficial manner.
2. Who's in the Gemba Walk team?
It varies depending on the area, but the Production Mgr. always takes part.
3. What are the responsibilities?
After the walk , the participants agree on a summary, actions to be taken and so on.
4. Are there any records from the Gemba Walks? If yes where and how do you display them? Central board or production boards?
There are, and that information goes via the area Mgr in question to the staff at regular meetings (not really as fast as it should, but still...).
5. What are the areas of main interest?( safety, muda, efficiency, standardize work etc.)
All of the above, in roughly that order.
/Claes
 

Jim G

Involved In Discussions
Hi Kocyk
Like you, I am introducing a version of Gemba walks into our facility. As with all PI initiatives you require full cooperation from all levels of management/supervision.
We started with a "Big Gemba Walk" through the core activities of the facility namely:
Product/Process development, Supplier Management, Customer support, Order Fulfillment and Management Attitudes. The outputs from this walk were then published and analysed by the management team.
From there we have decided to concentrate on Safety and Waste Reduction initially at shop level. Each production area is walked weekly with a Team Member, Supervisor & Quality Engineer. A Waste Data collection form is used to identify specific examples of the 7 wastes observed in the area. (Overproduction, Inspection, Transport, Waiting Time, Motion, Processing & Defects/Production Rework. The results are collated and briefed to the operators/inspectors and regular sessions arre then set up to identify corrective actions, solutions and improvements. A Senior Manager attends each Team session and provides support, finance and also monitors actions identified to a satisfactory conclusion.
Hope this helps
Jim
 
K

kocyk

thank you. basically i see that the concept is quite similar, so there's only one more thing left for me- go to gemba and do the 1st official gemba walk;)

maybe micheal jackson's moonwalk style;)
 
B

baby12

it is right if is not good for your company becuase with Gemba you equiped yourself with valuable infromation before the meeting the next monday.

when you gemba you are abler to defend your territory unlike this new managers who like to sit in their offices drinking coffee and reading news papers.

the disadvantage of not doing it is that you end up signing for something thta you have never saw.

once i am the manager of the department i will held my operation managers accountable for not being visible on the floor.

if i maya ask where does the money of the company come from if not from operations

encourage Gemba to take effect so that you can see what is not happening on the floor
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Leader
Admin
It isn't happening where I am, and we could use it.

I was reminded of one of my favorite TV shows, Undercover Boss. In this show we get to see the ultimate Gemba walk, that is the person genuinely experiencing that which others experience. It's effective based on its singular approach of anonymity: the boss is undercover.

We can't all do that, but in an ideal setting I think we should be able to come kind of close - this should extend past a walk in favor of "walking a mile in the other person's shoes." Succeeding would require a lot of trust that blunt truth won't be misinterpreted and the messenger won't be punished.
:2cents:
 
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