The Toyota model of management has been proven to be so
successful that manufacturing companies all over the world have adopted
it with similar results. The Gemba walk is a management technique that
has been found to be especially effective since it brings management in
direct contact with the shop floor, thereby providing many opportunities
for improvement.
The Gemba walk is unfortunately misunderstood very often. Most people think of it as just another name for 'Management By Walking Around'. Management does have to walk around a lot here, but in a structured manner that brings out the best results. Merely walking on the shop floor will not be effective for anything more than building rapport with employees. In fact, management might actually disrupt work flow by wandering around the shop floor.
If you are planning to use Gemba then you need to make sure that you also do the following:
1. Organize workers into groups or working teams, each of which has its own leader. This will ensure that there is a certain level of accountability for quality processes.
2. Go with a proper checklist so that you know what to look for. Look for the condition of equipment in use. Check whether workers are sticking to certain pre-set standards. Enquire whether the work status is as per schedule.
3. Look for areas where safety is compromised so that they can be rectified immediately. Ideally, the shop floor should be well maintained so that accidents are prevented.
4. Compare results of each Gemba walk with those of the previous ones. You should always look for continuous improvement. Any areas that do not show progress should be addressed immediately.
5. Encourage workers to understand the cause of a problem and to arrive at a solution based upon that. The main thing to be stressed here is that the right solution will be found only if the correct process is followed. It is not advisable for you to provide the solutions directly.
Your company will benefit greatly from this management technique as long as you do it exactly right and don't waste your employees' time with questions that are not relevant to the job. Productivity will increase and wastage will come down. There will also be a dramatic improvement in employee morale as a result of increased safety. If you are not sure about how to adopt this management technique then it's a good idea to get the necessary training.
The Gemba walk is unfortunately misunderstood very often. Most people think of it as just another name for 'Management By Walking Around'. Management does have to walk around a lot here, but in a structured manner that brings out the best results. Merely walking on the shop floor will not be effective for anything more than building rapport with employees. In fact, management might actually disrupt work flow by wandering around the shop floor.
If you are planning to use Gemba then you need to make sure that you also do the following:
1. Organize workers into groups or working teams, each of which has its own leader. This will ensure that there is a certain level of accountability for quality processes.
2. Go with a proper checklist so that you know what to look for. Look for the condition of equipment in use. Check whether workers are sticking to certain pre-set standards. Enquire whether the work status is as per schedule.
3. Look for areas where safety is compromised so that they can be rectified immediately. Ideally, the shop floor should be well maintained so that accidents are prevented.
4. Compare results of each Gemba walk with those of the previous ones. You should always look for continuous improvement. Any areas that do not show progress should be addressed immediately.
5. Encourage workers to understand the cause of a problem and to arrive at a solution based upon that. The main thing to be stressed here is that the right solution will be found only if the correct process is followed. It is not advisable for you to provide the solutions directly.
Your company will benefit greatly from this management technique as long as you do it exactly right and don't waste your employees' time with questions that are not relevant to the job. Productivity will increase and wastage will come down. There will also be a dramatic improvement in employee morale as a result of increased safety. If you are not sure about how to adopt this management technique then it's a good idea to get the necessary training.
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