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The toolkit explains why Gemba walks matter: managers observe the current work flow, engage with employees, understand value creation for patients or service users, and identify continuous improvement opportunities. It clarifies when to use Gemba through “go and see,” “ask why,” and “respect people,” supported by tools such as 5 Whys, TIMWOODS, and PDSA for structured problem solving.",{"@graph":63,"@context":119},[64,80,102],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/improvement-cymru-academy-toolkit-guide-gemba-what-is-a-gemba-how-to-use/239358/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/improvement-cymru-academy-toolkit-guide-gemba-what-is-a-gemba-how-to-use/239358.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"WPS_1786070896","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-01","2026-09-11",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":101},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":103,"mainEntity":104},"FAQPage",[105,111,115],{"name":106,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":108},"What does “Gemba” mean in Lean management, and where is the “real place” in practice?","Question",{"text":109,"@type":110},"“Gemba” means “the real place.” In Lean, it is where the real work happens; for example, in a hospital it can be the wards or departments where nurses work.","Answer",{"name":112,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":113},"Why do teams conduct a Gemba walk, and what should leaders do during it?",{"text":114,"@type":110},"A Gemba walk helps leaders observe the actual work process, engage with employees, learn how work is performed, and find opportunities for continuous improvement. Leaders should focus on understanding the process, not judging people.",{"name":116,"@type":107,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What are the key steps for using Gemba and what should be done after the walk?",{"text":118,"@type":110},"Use a chosen theme, prepare the team, focus on the process, record observations without suggesting solutions during the walk, and follow the value stream and value chain. Afterward, share learning with the team, collaborate on improvements, and follow up, potentially using tools like TIMWOODS, Fishbone, and process mapping.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":121,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":123,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":125,"site_id":56},239358,1791740762,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":128},{"doc_id":125,"user_id":129,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":130,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":131,"file_id":132,"file_url":133,"file_type":134,"file_size":135,"view_count":101,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":136,"language":137,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":138,"faqs":139,"seo_title":140,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":141,"read_time":73},549768072016,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Improvement Cymru Academy  \nToolkit Guide  \nGemba  \nWhat is a Gemba?  \nThe term “Gemba” comes from Japanese, meaning “the real place”. In Lean management,“Gemba” is the most important place for a team as it is the place where the real work happens. As an example, quite simple the “Gemba” for nurses working in a hospital are the wards or departments they work in.  \nRationale  \nThe Gemba walk is an essential part of the lean management philosophy. Its’ initial purpose is to allow managers and leaders to observe the actual work process, engage with employees, gain knowledge about the work process and explore opportunities for continuous improvement.  \nWhen to use Gemba?  \nThere are 3 important elements of this tool:  \n1. Go and see. The main idea of the Gemba walk is for managers and leaders to take regular walks around the working environment and to be involved in finding wasteful activities , such as walking from one ward to another to print off essential information. (TIMWOODS is a useful tool to identify waste, please see Academy TIMWOODS toolkit guide)  \n2. Ask why. A Gemba walk's main objective is to explore the value stream , which is the set of actions that take place to add value to a customer from the initial request through realisation of value by the customer which is a set of actions that take place to add value for the patient / service user from the initial request through realisation of value by the patient / service user. The concept of value focusses on how much your product or service is valued as perceived by the patient/service user.  \n3. Respect people. Keep in mind that a Gemba walk is not a “boss walk”.  \nPointing fingers and blaming people is not the right thing to do. You are not there to judge and review results but to understand and engage with the people working on the process or task , to create opportunities for improvement. You are there to collaborate with the team and find problems together. Try to focus on finding the weak spots of the process, not on the people.  \nOne of the tools that can be helpful to identify problematic parts of the process is ‘5 Whys’which is a simple improvement tool which can help identify the source of an issue or the root cause of a problem, without statistical analysis. It is an iterative method that repeatedly asks the question ‘why?’,(please see Academy 5 WHY toolkit guide for further info) .  \nHow to use?  \nThere are 7 helpful steps to use for the Gemba process  \n1.When you use Gemba, you must choose a theme. This will help you focus all your efforts and be effective. There are different themes you may want to explore, such as productivity, cost efficiency, patient safety etc. To be as precise as possible,  \nyou will also need to prepare a list of questions you are going to ask. (Please see checklist in Figure 1)  \n2. The team to be observed should be prepared in advance. All team members need to have a clear understanding that the Gemba walk is a common process where the final destination is continuous improvement. This way, employees or colleagues  \nwill feel much more comfortable and willing to collaborate.  \nPrepare your team  \nPick a theme  \nFocus on the process not the people  \n3. You need to remember that a Gemba walk is not the right time to evaluate performance of the team. The main purpose is to observe, understand, and improve the process. If you focus on people’s personal abilities, you will only face resistance.  \nBe where the value stream is  \nRecord your observations. Don’t make suggestions during the walk.  \n4. Following the value chain will give you the best opportunities to identify areas with a high potential for wasteful activities. Eliminating those activities will help you improve the overall performance of the process.  \n5. Write down everything that grabs your attention or even record it with your smartphone or notepad. In some cases, you will probably be tempted to offer a solution immediately, but this would be wrong. Leave the analysis fo","cbCaivw0KghJAxv9","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivw0KghJAxv9","pdf",338968,6,"English","# What is a Gemba?\n## Rationale\n## When to use Gemba?\n## How to use?\n## What next?\n## Helpful tips\n## Additional resources","[{\"question\":\"What does “Gemba” mean in Lean management, and where is the “real place” in practice?\",\"answer\":\"“Gemba” means “the real place.” In Lean, it is where the real work happens; for example, in a hospital it can be the wards or departments where nurses work.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do teams conduct a Gemba walk, and what should leaders do during it?\",\"answer\":\"A Gemba walk helps leaders observe the actual work process, engage with employees, learn how work is performed, and find opportunities for continuous improvement. Leaders should focus on understanding the process, not judging people.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the key steps for using Gemba and what should be done after the walk?\",\"answer\":\"Use a chosen theme, prepare the team, focus on the process, record observations without suggesting solutions during the walk, and follow the value stream and value chain. Afterward, share learning with the team, collaborate on improvements, and follow up, potentially using tools like TIMWOODS, Fishbone, and process mapping.\"}]","Improvement Cymru Academy Toolkit Guide - Gemba - What is a Gemba - How to use | PDF",1789147611]