{"id":4346,"date":"2023-01-20T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:10003\/the-lean-post\/articles\/how-to-go-to-the-gemba-go-see-ask-why-show-respect\/"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:00:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T18:00:06","slug":"how-to-go-to-the-gemba-go-see-ask-why-show-respect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/the-lean-post\/articles\/how-to-go-to-the-gemba-go-see-ask-why-show-respect\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Go to the Gemba: Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everyone who has caught the lean bug shares at least one symptom: We love to observe work. We love to go to the gemba and watch the value-creating work, the real work of the business. But when leaders “go to the gemba,” they go for a reason: To help discover how to improve the work processes. Still, I’m often asked: \u201cWhat do you look for\u2026?\u201d So here are some guidelines I use when doing a gemba walk as an outside advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go See, Ask Why, Show Respect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The words of Toyota Chairman Fujio Cho, “Go see, ask why, show respect,” are now famous as basic lean principles. I first heard Mr. Cho speak those words when I was deputy general manager during the early 1990s start-up of the Toyota Supplier Support Center in the U.S. Each week began with a meeting with Mr. Cho, who was my advisor, to discuss activities, progress, problems, and plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go see, ask why, show respect is the way we turn the philosophy of scientific empiricism into actual behavior. We go observe what is really happening (at the gemba where the work takes place) while showing respect to the people involved, especially those who do the real value-creating work of the business. So now let’s do a job breakdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go See<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It starts with “go see,” so how<\/em> do you go see? What do you look for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to understand every gemba from the standpoints of Purpose<\/em>, Process<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>and People<\/em>. Asked most simply and directly: Is management working to align people and processes to achieve a purpose? Are processes designed to enable people to work toward achieving organizational purpose? Here are some questions to dig deeper into this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. What is the purpose of this gemba and the broader organization? Are they aligned? Can you see<\/em> that alignment in the process and the people?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Are processes designed consistently to achieve the purpose?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Are people engaged in working to achieve the purpose, and are they supported in this work by the processes?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Although purpose ostensibly comes first, I usually focus on process when walking a gemba. Still, I often begin by asking just a few simple, direct questions about purpose. What is the organization or individual trying to accomplish \u2014 objectives and problems \u2014 in general and\/or today? After this, we begin our walk, observing and asking questions that focus on the process. Later, I always circle back to ask more in-depth questions about purpose, objectives, and problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Observing the process and people dimensions means seeking to understand the gemba (whether the specific work site you\u2019re visiting or the broader organization) as a socio-technical system. I like to try to understand the technical side first, though I observe both dimensions in parallel. If I can understand what this gemba is trying to accomplish technically, then I can easily conceive the best questions to ask to help them better understand where their real problems are and what they need to do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Based on the current situation of your gemba, I can begin to consider exactly what this gemba and these people need to learn. Then, I can think of how I can help them learn it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ask Why<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Having gone to see, now standing at the gemba, how do we go about understanding or analyzing the technical or process side of understanding the gemba-as-system? First, a thought question for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What did you look for last time you went to the gemba? What do you look for whenever you go to the gemba?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here are four ways people view work through very different “lean lenses”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Solution view\n
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      1. Look for opportunities to use lean tools\n