Part of my philosophy of management is to “Go and See” and talk with the people on the frontline to understand the non-conforming issues that they are dealing with. This was true before I ever began studying TPS and being coached on Gemba, and it is still true today. I believe that treating people with respect means telling them the truth, helping them where they need help and holding them accountable, and expecting them to do the same of you.
As the saying goes, “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable” is fundamental to my leadership approach. Running a manufacturing facility using only computer data, prepared reports and posted metrics is naïve at best, self-serving at worst. After all, as a manufacturing executive, I know that money is not made/lost in manufacturing on a daily, monthly, yearly basis, but hour by hour.
To know whether you are winning or losing, you must go and see for yourself.
Some years ago, I began using a Gemba Walk process at each of the plants I worked with. After installing hourly production tracking boards at all major manufacturing areas and finished product cells, I conducted a daily tour of each area with the staff. At every location, the Operator/Team Leader was asked to review the previous shift’s Safety, Actual Production versus Standard, Quality, and Downtime Issues. These reviews were time limited, and focused on reporting and identifying issues and barriers faced by the frontline workers. They were not problem-solving activities, but they were critical in helping us see the problems.
Implementation of this process was usually met with fear, resistance, frustration, and struggle at the start. Perhaps this was the residual of prior command and control “blame the person, not the process” environments.
As the Gemba Walk process got underway, we were confronted with the truth of how we were actually performing, and where our problems were. And without fail, what we thought we knew about how we were performing based on our computer data, prepared reports and posted metrics proved to not match the facts we were presented with on the Gemba.
Over time – something would change. The mood of the walks, which initially may have been fraught with anxiety, would shift. People started to look forward to having the daily opportunity to quickly see what actually was happening in the processes to assure fast resolution on a cross-functional basis. The “face to face” communication with process owners resulted in the reinforcement of personal accountability for them and their teams, and better relationships at all levels of the organization.
Frontline employees began to recognize and appreciate the fact that they were getting support in fixing problems that they needed help to resolve. Their challenges and their ideas were being heard, and they were being given opportunity to improve their processes. They liked the recognition for their teams’ achievement of daily targets and improvements. And process owners on the staff were gaining critical insight into what their true priorities needed to be, and getting the opportunity to sink their teeth into challenging and interesting problems that had real and lasting impact.
Go and See. Pay attention to the facts on the Gemba.
“Respect for People” works.
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