Lean Corner

Why digitize your Gemba Walk?

What is Gemba Walk?
Reasons to digitize Gemba Walks
A practical guide to successfully digitizing Gemba Walks

In the industrial sector, as we know, operational efficiency is paramount. To achieve this efficiency, it’s necessary to improve processes, which means understanding the root causes of problems.
The solution? Gemba Walks. Stemming from the lean philosophy, they have become an essential tool for managers wishing to keep in touch with the field and understand the “real causes”. In this article, we explore why and how to digitize Gemba Walks, while preserving their essence: human contact with operational teams.

What is Gemba Walk?

“Gemba” comes from Japanese and means “where things happen”. In the industrial context, a Gemba Walk is a tour of the field or workshop carried out by an operational team manager. The aim is to enable the managers to immerse themselves in the day-to-day life of their teams.

This exercise should be seen not simply as an inspection, but as an opportunity to observe, listen and learn. During these tours, the manager can:

Analyze processes in depth
Identify deviations from established standards
Identify best practices worth sharing
Detect operational problems that are holding back productivity
Strengthen links with teams and stimulate their autonomy

A well-conducted Gemba Walk always concludes with a constructive exchange between the manager and the teams concerned. It’s an opportunity to share observations, validate perceptions and initiate improvement actions.
I invite you to read about the best practices of Gemba Walks.
Now that we’ve got the basics right, let’s take a look at why and how to digitize the Gemba.

Reasons to digitize Gemba Walks

When I say “digitize”, I mean using IT tools to transcribe what the manager is going to observe/analyze. In this section, I’ll give you the reasons for digitizing these Gemba Walks:

Optimizing collaboration and communication

In a context with several plants and several managers, Gemba Walks provide a lot of information. How do you collect it all and pass on the various pieces of information collected? By Digitizing it. Using a digital solution makes it much easier to share information. Everyone involved in a project can access the same data in real-time.

Data accessibility and archiving

One of the major advantages of digitalization is the ability to keep a detailed history of Gemba Walks. This traceability not only provides an overview of how processes are evolving, but also enables action plans to be adjusted more precisely and efficiently.
For sectors subject to frequent regulatory audits, such as the agri-food or aeronautics industries, this digital archiving can prove particularly valuable.

Exploiting Gemba Walks data

Recording data from routines enables us to directly calculate the performance indicators (KPIs) we wish to track, which can then be monitored via dashboards. You can then easily update the status, progress or score of audits and field tours daily.
What’s more, you can export the history of responses given during routines performed by your teams, for customized analyses.

Improve team responsiveness and involvement

Digital tools enable you to set up real-time notification systems. This means that if an anomaly is detected during a Gemba Walk, the teams concerned can be immediately alerted and react promptly. This increased responsiveness means that the people in charge of ensuring smooth operation can respond quickly.

Increased team autonomy

Digitizing Gemba Walks and other related processes (5S audits, performance meetings) empowers employees to better manage their day-to-day work. They can easily access relevant information, track the progress of corrective actions and take informed initiatives.

In-depth analysis and informed decision-making

Digital tools offer analysis capabilities that paper cannot match. The data collected during Gemba Walks can then be processed and cross-referenced with other performance indicators, enabling a more detailed understanding of the issues at stake and more pertinent decision-making.

The digitalization of Gemba Walks is not intended to replace human contact, but to enrich it and make it more effective. It enables us to take full advantage of this essential lean practice while adapting it to the demands of the modern industrial world.

A practical guide to successfully digitizing Gemba Walks

As we have seen, digitizing Gemba Walks can bring many benefits. The idea now is to look at the “keys to success” in digitizing Gemba Walks. Here is a list of the 7 most important elements to remember:

Ease of use

The tool you choose must be intuitive and easy to use. I recommend a “user-friendly” interface, to encourage adoption by all teams, including those less familiar with digital tools.

Efficient reporting of problems in the field

A good tool for digitizing Gemba Walks should enable problems to be reported in real time, without interrupting the flow of the routine.
An interesting feature: The ability to create a ticket directly from the application, linked to the routine in progress, greatly facilitates the follow-up and resolution of identified problems.

Traceability and action tracking

The tool must offer clear visibility of the history of information entered in the system. This traceability makes it possible to track the evolution of problems and the history of data.

Integration with other performance management tools

The aim is to be able to use/export these data to other tools. We want to link this data to the dashboards and visual management used during Short Interval Events (SIEs). This integration will allow consolidation of information, prioritizing actions, and reacting rapidly to performance gaps.

Visualization of key indicators

A good digitizing tool should offer a clear overview of performance indicators linked to routines (scores, statuses, completion rates). The tool must be able to offer basic templates to help managers create these initial dashboards.

Flexibility and customization

Every company is different. The tool chosen must therefore be sufficiently flexible to adapt to the company’s wishes. A good tool will offer different templates, but these can also be customized.

Training and support

In addition to the tool itself, make sure that the supplier provides adequate support for implementation and team training. Good adoption is the key to successful digitalization.
By following these 7 “keys to success”, you’ll be able to digitize your Gemba Walks effectively, while preserving the very essence of this practice: direct contact with the field and operational teams.

Digitizing Gemba Walks is a natural and necessary evolution in today’s industrial context. Far from distorting this essential lean management practice, it enriches it.
By choosing your tools wisely and involving your teams in this transition, you can not only optimize your processes but also reinforce the culture of continuous improvement within your organization.
The key to success lies in the balance between technology and human contact.

Lean Corner