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Guide Gemba
Guide Gemba
to Gemba
Finding the location in your business where value is created
CHAPTERS
1. What is Gemba? . . . . . . . . . 4
7. Lean Manufacturing . . . . . . 14
Creative Safety Supply is a global
supplier of Safety and Lean products
8. The 3 M’s: Muda, Mura, Muri . 17 and manufacturer of leading brands
such as LabelTac® Label & Sign Printers
and SafetyTac® Industrial Floor Tapes.
9. Kaizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Additionally, Creative Safety Supply offers
a wide selection of floor signs, wall signs
and other high visibility signage solutions.
10. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
CSS also bridges the gap between
products and knowledge, offering a range
11. Additional Resources . . . . . 21 of free resources for safety professionals
or employees looking to learn more
about Safety, Lean Manufacturing, GHS,
Continuous Improvement and other topics.
creativesafetysupply.com
or call us at 1-866-777-1360
All contents copyright © 2015 by Creative Safety Supply. All rights reserved. No part of this document or
accompanying files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or otherwise, by any means
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This ebook is presented to you for informational purposes only and is not a substitution for any professional
advice. The contents herein are based on the views and opinions of the author and all associated
contributors.
While every effort has been made by the author and all associated contributors to present accurate and up-
to-date information within this document, it is apparent technologies rapidly change. Therefore, the author
and all associated contributors reserve the right to update the contents and information provided herein as
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responsibility to seek professional advice before taking any action on their part.
Readers’ results will vary based on their skill level and individual perception of the contents herein, and thus
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Gemba IS NOT...
Gemba IS...
Gemba DOES...
Observe with a deep interest and seek to gain understanding while leaving all
assumptions and opinions at the office
4. Improve
4. Improve
THURSDAY
10:00...........................Shipping
Countermeasures:
Over-production • Flow lines
• Pull system
Definition: • Value stream organizations
Producing more than the customer needs • Kanban
right now
Examples: Motion
• Producing product to stock based on
sales forecasts Definition:
• Producing more to avoid set-ups Movement of people that does not add value
• Batch processing resulting in extra output
Examples:
Causes:
• Searching for parts, tools, prints, etc.
• Forecasting • Sorting through materials
• Long set-ups • Reaching for tools
• “Just-in-case” for breakdowns • Lifting boxes of parts
Countermeasures: Causes:
• Pull system scheduling • Workplace disorganization
• Heijunka - level loading • Missing items
• Set-up reduction • Poor workstation design
• TPM • Unsafe work area
Countermeasures:
Transportation • 5S
• Point of use storage
Definition: • Water spider
Movement of product that does not add value • One-piece flow
Examples:
• Moving parts in and out of storage
• Moving materials from one workstation to
another
Countermeasures:
Definition:
• Flow lines
Idle time created when material, information, • One-piece pull
people, or equipment is not ready • Office kaizen
• Lean design
Examples:
• Waiting for parts
• Waiting for prints
• Waiting for inspection
Inventory
• Waiting for machines
• Waiting for information Definition:
• Waiting for machine repair More materials, parts, or products
Causes: Examples:
• Push production • Raw materials
• Work imbalance • Work in progress
• Centralized inspection • Consumable supplies
• Order entry delays • Purchased components
• Lack of priority
• Lack of communication Causes:
• Supplier lead-times
Countermeasures: • Lack of flow
• Downstream pull • Long set-ups
• Takt time production • Long lead-times
• In-process gauging • Paperwork in process
• Jidoka • Lack of ordering process
• Office kaizen
• TPM Countermeasures:
• External kanban
• Supplier development
Processing • One-piece flow lines
• Set-up reduction
Definition: • Internal kanban
Effort that adds no value from the customer’s
viewpoint
Examples:
• Multiple cleaning of parts
• Paperwork
• Over-tight tolerances
• Awkward tool or part design
Causes:
• Delay between processing
• Push system
• Customer voice not understood
Examples:
• Scrap
• Rework
• Defects
• Correction
• Field failure
• Variation
• Missing parts
Causes:
• Process failure
• Mis-loaded part
• Batch process
• Inspection quality
• Incapable machines
Countermeasures:
• Poka-yoke
• One-piece pull
• Built-in quality
• 3P
• Jidoka
Mura - Unevenness in
Elements of Mura
process or production
Mura occurs because of wasteful Bumpy
allocations of materials or people. For
Unlevel Spiky
example, employees might be directed to
work intensely during the morning shift,
which results in a lack of work to do in the Peaks &
afternoon.
Unevenness Up & Down
Valleys
Ask yourself...
When you head out on a gemba walk, What Is Creating Strain (Muri)?
keeping muda, mura, and muri in mind can
provide a useful starting point for looking at
Look for and identify:
your operations. The questions below can
help you determine whether these wastes • Overburdened workers
and misuses of resources are present in your
facility. • Overburdened machinery
• Unbalanced work loads
• Inconsistent output
• Fluctuations in quality
• Stop / Go process
By taking you to “the real place” where the Although you should make note of problems
work is performed, a gemba walk can reveal you see, don’t jump in and try to fix them
many things about your business that you immediately. Doing so can alienate your
might not have otherwise discovered. workers and make them feel like they’re
being blamed for a problem. Instead, ask
Gemba walks allow you to observe any workers for input and then consider what
process and they can even be broken down viable solutions to the problems you could
into smaller walks, allowing managers to implement.
focus on particular parts of the value-creation
process. These walks can help bring Gemba walks are a lean tool that can
inefficiencies and other problems to light that ultimately increase value and improve your
do not add value to the end products you sell company’s lean culture. Prepare for your own
to your customers. walk, and then head out into the workplace to
get started.
Unbiased observation is necessary for a
successful gemba walk, and observing in this
manner is a skill that is developed over time.
New practitioners of the gemba walk should
reflect on their experiences after each walk;
with time, they will become even more adept
observers.
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0/+CreativeSafetySupplyLLCBeaverton/
Informative and
Additional Guides
engaging 30 to 60
minute Podcast
interviews with leaders
in the fields of Safety,
5S, Lean Six Sigma and Was this guide helpful?
Lean Manufacturing.
Approx runtime 30-60 mins Check out our other FREE Industrial
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1-866-777-1360
Introduction to Gemba | creativesafetysupply.com 22