“gemba walk” (lean thinking term) to go to the actual place where value is added + “walkabout” (Australian aborigine) a short period of wandering bush life engaged as an occasional interruption of regular work
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I was at a very good gemba visit at one of our Network member organizations. We were touring the materials management department and the Director was showing us some A3 accomplishments posted on the wall in the hallway. Behind us on the other wall was a giant banner that said something like, “we appreciate everything you do!” with lots of signatures and notes of thanks (like giant birthday card). I asked what this was all about and the Director said that at a point in time in the past (a few years ago), each department “adopted” another department to show how they appreciated them - to give them recognition and thank them. This was a “love note” from the laboratory. Sounds like a great idea. Sounds like a good example of a system that supports “respect for people”. I asked the Director if the program was still in place, he said he wasn’t sure and he could also not remember which department they had adopted. Uh-oh. I asked what the “we appreciate you banner” had to do with the work on continuous process improvement (A3s) and he said - they weren’t connected. So, I think that’s a problem and an opportunity to use the Shingo model to demonstrate how Respect for People is the necessary foundation for continuous process improvement, and enterprise alignment and achieving results.
