Gemba Kaizen: this article explains the concept of 

Gemba Kaizen. After reading

you will understand this Japanese company philosophy and the underlying
factors for successful quality management.

What is Gemba Kaizen? The definition

Gemba Kaizen is Japanese for continuous improvement and is about the approach
to arrive at productivity improvement within an organization.
It is the Japanese company philosophy which aims at the continuous
improvement of employment, production and efficiency. Kaizen is often combined
with Gemba, the Japanese technique to optimize the workplace.

The origins of Gemba Kaizen

Gemba Kaizen originates from the application of the work of various experts such
as Masaaki Imai, Frederick Taylor, Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Walter Andrew Shewhart.
In addition, its origins lie in a partnership programme between the United States
Department of War and established industries after World War II.

Gemba Kaizen is focused on the continuous improvement of quality techniques.

By increasing quality, costs can be reduced. But this Japanese business
philosophy has wider applications.

Kaizen Institute
As we mentioned, Kaizen means ‘improvement’. However, the concept goes
beyond improvement on the shop floor. It means continuous improvement of your
personal life, social life, and professional life. When Kaizen is applied in
workplaces, it means improvement that involves every one.

Over 30 years ago, Masaaki Imai wrote the groundbreaking book Kaizen: The Key
to Japan’s Competitive Success. This book introduced the concept of Kaizen to the
Western world where it was adopted. Today Kaizen is recognised all over the
world as an important pillar of the long-term strategy of an organisation. Since
the introduction of this term, various companies that use Kaizen have achieved
superior results.
The foundation for Kaizen was born. Soon the Kaizen Institute (KI) developed.
Right now the KI is the longest-operating consultancy focused on the
implementation of Kaizen and Lean.
All over the world, the company helps organisations achieve peak performance
by using Kaizen strategies. KI was founded by Masaaki Imai in 1985, one of the
original pioneers who introduced Kaizen, Lean, and the Japanese Manufacturing
Strategies to the West.

Gemba Walk
The Gemba Walk is a popular method in Lean Manufacturing. The point of Gemba
is that issues in various business process are often easily visible, but are hardly
ever noticed.
That’s why it’s important for managers to go to the workplace in person and
assess the condition of the business process. This is called the Gemba Walk.
During a Gemba Walk, the manager must observe, ask questions, and show
respect. It’s expected of the managers, leaders, and supervisors that they can
easily observe and understand the business processes. As part of the Kaizen
methodology, there’s also additional focus on communication, transparency and
trust between different levels of employees and management.

For this reason, a Gemba Walk is not suitable for highlighting employee
inadequacies or mistakes or for enforcing policies.

This would mean management runs the risk that employees throw up barriers
against leadership or completely ignore any type of feedback whatsoever.

Principles and objectives of Gemba Kaizen

In order to realise improvements, the Japanese business philosophy sets a
number of objectives that can apply to any organisation.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is all about reducing and eliminating waste, also
called “Muda’s” (activities that do not add value but lead to costs being incurred.

Just In Time (JIT)

With such deliveries organization can economize on stock-carrying costs. Read
more about Just In Time (JIT).
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)
Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is all about standardization of production
because of which complicated and expensive processes can be avoided.

Zero Defects (ZD)

Zero Defects (ZD): Optimization of quality because of which cost savings can be
realized. The focus of attention is on preventing errors and on adapting the
quality to the requirements of the customer.

Specific objectives of Gemba Kaizen

Gemba Kaizen is a popular method for several reasons. First of all, any business
benefits greatly from conducting Gemba Walks and related activities in order to
implement continuous improvement.

The very effective way to apply incremental improvements leads to elimination of

waste, allowing companies to remain successful. A few specific objectives are
listed below.

Identifying opportunities for improvement

The first advantage of Gemba Kaizen is the finding and gathering of good ideas
on how business processes can be improved.
As is the case for any strategy, it’s possible to find both large and small
opportunities for improvement. They all contribute to making the organisation
successful.

The main reason for a Gemba Walk is finding opportunities for improvement.

Measuring changes
After an improvement has been identified and a change has been made, it’s
important that progress is measured. That’s how the manager knows if the
changes have had the desired result.

A Gemba Walk is a great way to see if the changes do what they’re supposed to
in practice and to conduct necessary measurements. It’s also possible that other
people on the factory floor take these measurements, but first-hand information
tends to be the most accurate.
Improve factory floor safety
Identifying areas of improvements is the main goal of Gemba Kiazen, but the
method can also help to improve workplace safety. Each Gemba Walk is an
opportunity to spot any potential dangers.

It’s important that these are addressed immediately. Safety issues make up a large

portion of the ‘waste’ in any manufacturing facility, so when safety can be
improved, this helps to make continuous improvement possible.

Gather and manage new ideas

Whether the Gemba Walk is conducted to improve safety, implement changes, or
measure specific things, the manager in question can always keep an eye out for
new ideas.

While a Gemba Walk is being conducted, employees can go up to the manager

and speak to him about their ideas or any business process inefficiencies they
have identified. All these ideas can lead to smoother running as a whole. This
type of continuous improvement is at the core of Gemba Kaizen.

Gemba Kaizen and the workplace

This quality management method is a daily activity that’s part of the company
philosophy. The goal goes beyond just improvements.

It’s also aimed at improving workplaces, such as office spaces and factory floors.
A good atmosphere and pleasant (work) environment makes people work more
effectively and efficiently.

Respect
This method is not always applied in the right way, which sometimes results in
dismissals. In Japanese this process is called “Kaiaku” (change for the worse).
Dismissal is absolutely not an objective of Gemba Kaizen.

On the contrary, this continuous improvement method should be carried out with
respect for the people on the shop floor. The employees are especially the
driving force behind the continuous improvements within an organization.
Hierarchy is not important in this. In Gemba Kaizen, employees from all levels of
the organization are involved. If necessary, even external stakeholders could be
involved in this philosophy.

Gemba Kaizen advantages

It’s important to understand the advantages entailed implementingGemba Kaizen
in the workplace. Read the following advantages of Gemba Kaizen, and how
these suit different work environments.

Mechanism for motivation

Applying Gemba Kaizen as a method for improvement isn’t just beneficial for the
company as a whole.

It’s also beneficial for individual employees, customers, and of course the
financial performance of the overall company. This management method can be
applied to almost any type of business.

Kaizen recognises and rewards employee efforts. This makes them feel valued in
the organisation.

Improved teamwork
One of the most important advantages of Gemba Kaizen is the improved
teamwork that occurs when the concept is applied properly.

Gemba Kaizen is a tool for quality improvement that’s driven by collaboration. It’s
not just useful for a select portion of the business, but for everyone involved with
the company process.

As Kaizen teams jointly solve problems, they develop a bond an team spirit.
Employees will work with a fresh, unbiased view of things and without tensions.

Gemba Kaizen also helps to build cross-functional collaborations. As trained

employees from different company divisions implement Kaizen, they can also
hone and train their skills. Usually the best improvement opportunities can be
found where one process transitions into another.

Through cross-functional collaborations, employees with different backgrounds

can learn from each other and address problems together.
Improved leadership skills
Every organisation has leaders. As does every Kaizen team. The team leader is
responsible for guiding and organising the Kaizen team and coordinating the
implementation of continuous improvement opportunities.

The Kaizen team leader will ensure that everyone successfully carries out their
role.

Nevertheless, the leader doesn’t need to have a management role to qualify as

team leader. This is another benefit of Gemba Kaizen: it offers employees
without leadership skills a chance to take on leadership roles and learn them.

Improved efficiency
Another major advantage of Kaizen is improved efficiency and higher service
quality. Kaizen helps companies to implement new process improvements,
increase efficiency, and optimise time management.

Toyota has been using Kaizen in their manufacturing process for years. First,
they use muscle-memory training to train their employees in car assembly.
Muscle-memory training helps them achieve more accurate results. That’s why
their employees work so cleanly and precisely.
Gemba Kaizen is a Japanese concept of continuous improvement designed for
enhancing processes and reducing waste.

What is Gemba Kaizen?

Within a lean context, Gemba simply refers to the location where value is created, while Kaizen
relates to improvements. However, the concept of Gemba Kaizen holds many more meanings than
its literal translation.

According to the Kaizen Institute, an organization which has embraced the concept is constantly
striving to improve its processes, promotes discipline and standardization, and believes the
processes in place for solving problems are more valuable than the solutions themselves.

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Masaaki Imai, founder of the institute, explained "Kaizen is a mindset. Although many lean
practitioners have Kaizen in their toolbox, those who strive to live it each day are the people who are
making a difference in people's lives."

Gemba Kaizen embraces the skills of a whole organization, inviting and rewarding employee
contributions and understanding even the smallest improvements will create greater value over time.
The concept focuses on achieving continuous improvement through activities on the work floor.