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{{Short description|Japanese term meaning "the actual place"}}
{{about|a Japanese word|a Japanese politician|Kōichirō Gemba|the Japanese animation studio|GEMBA (studio)}}
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{{lead extra info|date=March 2022}}
{{tone|date=August 2013}}
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{{Italic title}}{{nihongo|'''''Genba'''''|現場||also [[Romanization of Japanese|romanized]] as '''''gemba'''''}} is a term used in business for the location where value is created, such as a factory floor, construction site, or sales floor.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Imai |first=Masaaki |title=Gemba kaizen: a commonsense low-cost approach to management |publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional |location=New York |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-07-031446-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/gembakaizencommo00imai/page/13 13] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gembakaizencommo00imai/page/13 }}</ref>
In [[lean manufacturing]], the most valuable ideas for improvement are thought to occur at the genba where problems are visible. Management teams may go on a gemba walk to look for opportunities to improve the practical shop floor (known as the ''genba [[kaizen]]''). Unlike the similar strategy of [[management by walking around]], gemba walks are typically not done randomly, but with a clear frequency, goal, and structure.<ref>{{cite book |last=Womack |first=Jim |title=Gemba Walks |publisher=Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-934109-15-1 |page=348}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delisle |first1=Dennis R. |date=July 2012 |title=Book Review: Gemba Walks, by Jim Womack |journal=American Journal of Medical Quality |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=352 |doi=10.1177/1062860611434364 |s2cid=74508872}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mann |first1=David |date=Fall 2009 |title=The Missing Link: Lean Leadership |journal=Frontiers of Health Services Management |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=15–26 |doi=10.1097/01974520-200907000-00003 |pmid=19791484 |id={{ProQuest|203892154}}}}</ref>
Glenn Mazur<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daetz |first1=Doug |title=Quality function deployment: a process for translating customers' needs into a better product and profit |date=1990 |publisher=GOAL/QPC |oclc=25351789 }}{{rs|date=May 2022}}{{pn|date=May 2022}}{{psc|date=May 2022}}</ref> introduced this term into [[Quality function deployment|Quality Function Deployment]] (QFD, a quality system for new products where manufacturing has not begun) to mean the customer's place of business or [[lifestyle (sociology)|lifestyle]].  The idea is that to be customer-driven, one must go to the customer's ''gemba'' to understand his problems and opportunities, using all one's senses to gather and process data.
== Etymology ==
The word ''genba'' is a [[Japanese language|Japanese]] term meaning "the actual place" and is used non-business contexts to refer to [[crime scene|crime scenes]] or topical locations where TV may report. In a movie set, ''gemba'' refers to the practice of shooting a scene at the actual location rather than a studio.<ref>{{cite web |title=Daily Walking Is a Healthy Activity in Lean Plants |url=https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/94291-daily-walking-is-a-healthy-activity-in-lean-plants |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526121823/https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/94291-daily-walking-is-a-healthy-activity-in-lean-plants |archive-date=26 May 2023 |access-date=26 May 2023}}</ref>
==Gemba walk==
Toyota executive [[Taiichi Ohno]] developed the gemba walk as a way for staff to stand back from day-to-day tasks and walk the floor of their workplace to identify wasteful activities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Castle |first1=Andrew |last2=Harvey |first2=Rachel |title=Lean information management: the use of observational data in health care |journal=International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management |date=6 March 2009 |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=280–299 |doi=10.1108/17410400910938878 }}</ref> The objective of gemba walk is to understand the value stream and its problems rather than review results or make superficial comments.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Womack |first1=James |title=Getting Over Gemba-phobia |url=https://www.lean.org/the-lean-post/articles/getting-over-gemba-phobia/ |work=Lean Enterprise Institute |date=22 July 2011 |access-date=4 May 2022 |archive-date=22 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822184207/https://www.lean.org/the-lean-post/articles/getting-over-gemba-phobia/ |url-status=live }}{{self-published inline|date=May 2022}}</ref> Along with [[Gembutsu|Genchi Genbutsu]] or "Go, Look, See", gemba walk is one of the 5 [[Lean Six Sigma|Lean]] guiding principles that should be practiced by Lean leaders on a daily basis. The gemba walk, is an activity that takes management to the front lines to look for waste and opportunities to practice ''gemba [[kaizen]],'' or practical shopfloor improvement.<ref name="auto" />
== Variations ==
[[W. Edwards Deming]] suggested a similar idea of looking at the system from suppliers, through the entire organization, and to customers. Deming shared the idea during a 1950 visit to Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deming.org/speech-by-dr-deming-to-japanese-business-leaders-in-1950/|title=Speech by Dr. Deming to Japanese Business Leaders in 1950 - The W. Edwards Deming Institute|website=deming.org/|access-date=2021-10-16|archive-date=2024-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822184208/https://deming.org/speech-by-dr-deming-to-japanese-business-leaders-in-1950/|url-status=live}}</ref> The commonly used models of production associated with lean, such as "[[value-stream mapping]]," do not extend to include suppliers, customers, or include a feedback loop to foster continual improvement of the system.{{cn|date=July 2024}}
==See also==
* [[Genchi Genbutsu]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Quality management]]
[[Category:Manufacturing in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese business terms]]
[[Category:Toyota Production System]]