GEMBA Walk - Steps and Interview Questionnaire

Description
In business, 'Gemba' refers to the place where value is created and improved. The 'Gemba Walk' is an activity that takes management to the front lines to look for waste (non-value-added activities) and opportunities. The objective of Gemba Walk is to grasp the situation by involving everyone touching the process to understand the Purpose, Process, and People. It is only when the situation is understood that improvement is possible and more likely to succeed.

Process walks are an essential part of a culture of continuous improvement. Leaders and teammates watching the actual people in the actual place doing the actual work is an invaluable opportunity to learn, to standardize, to identify innovations, and to ask “Why?” That's where 5 WHY technique becomes very handy.

Done well, process walks make a strong statement that it is okay to look at the process to see if it can be improved—and that the people doing the work may have the best insights about what works or doesn’t work in the current process.
Process walks are not asking people what they do from the confines of a conference room. When we talk in conference rooms, we get a version of the story, not the truth. We all unintentionally filter as we discuss and describe our work. (Often, the subjects of process walks are themselves surprised to learn everything that goes into some of their processes.) Process walks really walk the process.

If not done well, process walks can feel accusatory. No one likes to feel that they are in a fish bowl, with strangers ogling and critiquing their work.

This editable template provides the framework to conduct a Gemba Floor walk with further details on:-
1. Basics of Gemba Walk
2. Gemba Steps
3. Gemba Rules
4. Gemba Clusters
5. Types of Wastes
6. Gemba Themes
7. Gemba Objectives
8. Detailed Interview Questions list

Benefits of the Document
1. Provides a holistic framework for conducting a Gemba walk.
2. Provides guidelines for conducting a Gemba walk that commands respect
and positive engagement with the people who create value.
3. Provides practical tips that you can easily put to immediate use.