From quality control to production monitoring

Gemba Walks can be an invaluable Lean management tool for quality control, if and only if they are carried out correctly.

Veillez à choisir les bonnes personnes pour ce travail, à établir un plan et à prendre le temps de parler aux employés. Pensez aussi à répéter ces tours de manière régulière, cela vous permettra d’établir un véritable suivi des améliorations apportées à vos process de production.

You can be sure that the exercise will be a success and that your Gemba Walks will be productive and useful by taking into account these points and advice on their organisation.

What exactly is the Gemba Walk?

In the manufacturing industry, there is a practice known as Gemba Walk or factory tour. To briefly explain its principle, this practice consists of going to the workshop and checking operations in person.

Many people consider Gemba visits to be an essential part of quality control, and can offer many benefits to companies when they are carried out perfectly. On the other hand, if they are not carried out correctly, they can do more harm than good.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about these plant tours and what’s involved. We’ll also give you a few instructions to guide you through the process.

We hope this information will help you get the most out of this valuable quality control and lean management tool!

With whom and when?

The first step in carrying out a Gemba walk is to select the right people for the job.

The first thing you’ll want to do is choose employees who are familiar with the manufacturing process. Their level of process knowledge should enable them to identify potential problems.

Once you have assembled your team, you will need to decide when to go to the visit. The best time for a Gemba Walk is usually during production, when you can see first-hand how things are done.

Since the aim is to do this exercise every day to monitor operations, you can also schedule these rounds at different times of the day (on different shifts, for example). The best thing is to do it at a fixed time, to get the operators used to it. This way, the people you visit will be prepared with their questions and won’t be surprised.

Prepare your tour to maximise results

To make the most of your Gemba visit, it’s important to have a plan.

Before you visit the factory, take the time to draw up a checklist of the items you want to examine.

Establish a route beforehand and identify potentially critical points. This list should include obvious and hidden areas that could be improved.

Once you’re in the plant, make sure you talk to the operators. They’re the best feedback you’ll get. They know what they’re doing. They’ll be able to tell you about the problems they’re experiencing and offer suggestions for improvement.