Gemba

Literally translated, “gemba” means “the real place”. To experienced practitioners of Lean, this means the place where work is actually being done or value is being created.

NOTE: You may also hear the term as genba, with an “N”.

Those who focus more on the traditional manufacturing roots of Lean commonly use this term synonymously, although slightly incorrectly, with “shop floor”. The shop floor is a gemba, but not all gembas are shop floors.

As Lean has migrated to the office, this restrictive use of the term gemba has been challenged. The “real place” can be in an engineering cubicle, at a cash register in a retail store, or in front of a computer where orders are entered. While it is still not commonplace to hear this term in the Lean office, the principle behind it, specifically gaining firsthand knowledge of a process, is just as strong as on the shop floor.

Gemba-Related Terms

In your Lean travels, you will likely hear two derivative terms.

• Go to gemba: The term means to go and see what is really happening rather than talk about it, read about it, or try to recall it from memory. Nothing short of actually doing the work gives one quite the same perspective on a process as seeing it firsthand. There is a feel to the flow of work that you can’t otherwise experience. This term is most commonly used to get out of a rat hole when problem solving turns to debating.
• Gemba walk: This is a form of management in which leaders walk around the work area to gain firsthand insight into how things are going in a work area. (See: gemba walk)

The principle behind this Lean term is that in order to really understand a process, you have to go to the spot where the work is being done. The concept of gemba is part of a bigger philosophy known as the “3 Reals”.

You have to go to the …

1. real place to observe the
2. real thing to get the
3. real facts and data.

Leadership Presence in Gemba is Critical

“Go to Gemba” is a common refrain that Lean experts use when facilitating events. It is surprising to hear how often people will try to argue one another into believing that what they say is correct, when they are only 50 feet from seeing the answer firsthand.

Lean managers should be out in gemba regularly. They should spend a big chunk of their day out on the shop floor. In fact, there’s another Japanese term for this: genba kanri, which means “shop floor management” in English.

Managers cannot possibly get a feel for what is happening if they are not out in the work areas watching what is going on.

I even go so far as to recommend moving your desk out to the shop floor. You can always use a conference room for phone calls and private meetings.

Being in the real place will help you learn more about processes in your area than any other method. When you see an operation day in and day out, you get familiar with it, and any hiccup you witness begs for attention. If you only pass through intermittently, those same problems won’t call out to you. And if they don’t call out, how will they ever get solved?

Warnings about using the term, ‘gemba‘:

• Be careful not to make decisions in a conference room. You lack the insight that you get from seeing an operation firsthand in gemba.
• Leaders should be careful not to give the impression that their increased presence on the shop floor is to monitor people more. The way to do this is to make sure that processes improve as a direct result of having leaders visiting gemba more often.
• Be careful when introducing Japanese terms to team members. If Lean concepts are not being well received, foreign words can sometimes make matters worse. It highlights the fact that something new and different is coming down the pike. Consider sticking with the term shop floor until Lean gets a foothold. The terms are not exactly the same, but they are close enough to use while creating trust in this new way of thinking.
• Management by walking around and gemba walks are not the same thing. Gemba walks should have more structure to them.

Play a sample of our ‘gemba’ term on MP3…

As managers embrace the concept of solving problems in gemba, you will undoubtedly feel more scrutinized. After all, in the past you were expected to just deal with problems. In an improvement focused organization, though, there are constantly people in your workspace watching and asking questions.

Have patience. While it can be unnerving to be so closely watched, remember that a good manager is really focusing on the process, not on you. If you help her see how things operate and work together, you’ll likely see many of the problems you face start to disappear.

In a nutshell, it is a good thing to be observed. If your boss is spending more time in gemba, she is likely also going to provide the resources to fix the problems she observes.

It is a leader’s responsibility to be present in the areas that he or she is managing. They have to know the nuances of an operation to be able to make good, well-informed decisions. That does not mean they need to know how to do every part of the operation themselves. It just means that they have to have enough familiarity with normal conditions so they can recognize when things seem out of whack. A good leader will get a feel for the rhythm, sounds, and flow of the work areas she is in charge of.

Leaders don’t gain that sort of feel with occasional visits. In fact, I go so far as to recommend that managers have a desk available to them to work in gemba. With modern technology it is a simple matter to forward phone calls and connect a computer wirelessly from anywhere. There is no excuse for a manager who does not have a regular presence at the real place where the process is done.

Keep the following key points about the term ‘gemba‘ in mind…

• Gemba loosely translates to the “real place”. It is one of the “three reals”. To get answers you need to go to the real place to see the real thing and get the real facts and data.
• Good managers spend a lot of their time where the processes they manage are being done. This the only way they will get the intuitive familiarity they need to immediately recognize problems.
• Spending time on the shop floor should not be to focus on catching people doing things wrong. The intent is to identify problems with processes so they can be improved.

Go to gemba. Managers, you should be on the shop floor or walking around your offices every day, a few times a day. Even better, move your desk right into the heart of your area. Nothing beats your presence near your team as a leadership tool.

If you choose not to go that far, create a gemba walk checklist to use when visiting your areas of responsibility. Schedule the time you will be doing the walk the day before (don’t share this time) so you will get in the habit of prioritizing it. This changes your mindset from your gemba walks being something extra in your day to being a core part of your day.

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