What are the best ways to conduct a Gemba walk and observation?

The scope needs to include your purpose, but also define the area of the operation that will be observed as well as a time frame. The observations will be at a completely different level if you are trying to observe a 100,000 sqft facility in 10 minutes vs a 500 sqft work cell in 30 minutes. And there is a purpose for both "levels" of scrutiny.

I have found having a time limit for topics is a good way to keep Gemba following well. If any topic takes more than a minute or two, in my experience it is better to have a subset of the group circle back around after the remainder of the Gemba to perform a deeper dive. The one exception to this is an immediate safety issue or concern, in which case the remainder of the Gemba should be cancelled or anyone who is required to address the issue should be excused from the remainder of the Gemba.

Gemba walk success hinges on clear purpose—waste identification, process observation, employee insights, and problem resolution. Define scope, schedule during active hours, and involve the team. Preparation is crucial—familiarize, formulate questions, ensure safety. Start at Gemba location, observe without disruption, engage employees with open-ended questions. Pinpoint inefficiencies, encourage participation, and emphasize improvement. Utilize information for prioritized improvements, action plans, and ongoing progress monitoring. Post-walk, reflect, leverage insights, and communicate findings for continuous improvement. Recognize Gemba walks as an ongoing process, a dynamic tool for perpetual optimization aligned with Kaizen principles.

One simple way is to gather continuous improvement opportunities from the gemba. Think about the 8 wastes and try to involve your gemba participants in finding them.

In my opinion, the frequency of a gemba walk is very important. Continuous small improvements with standardization are more effective than major changes after a long time.

It is essential to familiarize with the production activities before initiating Gemba walk, for an effective outcome, it is always good to prepare/train CFT member who would observe things from different angle, indeed, CFT to be reinforced with SME`s who also does the walk along side.

1. Prepare with Purpose: - Clearly define objectives and areas to observe during the Gemba walk. 2. Engage with Teams: - Interact with frontline workers, ask questions, and foster open communication. 3. Observe Processes: - Watch workflows and operations in action, noting any inefficiencies or improvements. 4. Take Notes: - Document observations, including details on what works well and areas for enhancement. 5. Encourage Feedback: - Invite input from employees to gather insights on challenges and potential solutions. 6. Prioritize Safety: - Pay attention to safety practices and identify any concerns that need addressing.

Is better not to get involved in the details by finding the root cause on the spot, but rather collect the issues and establish kaizen teams to deal with them and find the root cause in a structured way.

It is good to have a regular schedule with defined windows to stop at Gemba boards. This is a good opportunity for group leaders or some of their team members to present the data on their Gemba board. This presentation fosters deeper understanding for the team members on their metrics and what is driving them. It also keeps them engaged with the identified actions. Daily goal attainment sometimes eclipses work on the action items which in the end will impact long term ability to achieve breakthroughs in performance level. Continuous improvement is not an event, but a daily habit. Good discussions at the Gemba board help to keep that at the forefront. Everyone should be challenging repeat issues or static performance levels.

If you have defined standards you can check conformity to it. If not, ask the operators or people who actually work in the area what is the problem and what they suggest to be changed to improve.

Depending on the purpose of your Gemba Walk, and the audience, it may be beneficial to just focus on a particular area, department or work cell so that you can dive deeper into the process. If this is a regular activity, and your team consists of people already familiar with the operation, you may more actionable results if you focus on a smaller area of the operation. Rather than trying to take in the entire value stream, just focus on the receiving department today. Assembly tomorrow and shipping the following day (just an example).

Try to obtain volunteers to solve the issues during the gemba from the people attending the gemba. If there is none available, make the point with the area manager to find out who would be the best person to lead the improvement initiative.

I believe below steps will work 1. Purposeful Planning: 2. Engage the Team: 3.Active Observation: 4. Ask Open-Ended Questions: 5.Real-Time Problem Solving: 6.Document Findings 7.Feedback and Recognition: