A management Gemba walk fails for a simple reason: it turns into an inspection. The team tidies up, the director comments, nobody says what really blocks them. The seven questions below are for listening, not judging, and each leads to something visible.
The seven questions
- “What’s the standard for this workstation, and where is it posted?” If the answer is “on the office computer”, you’ve found the first gap.
- “What cost you time yesterday?” Write the answer down as is, as a gap, without rephrasing it.
- “When you report a problem, what happens next?” If the operator doesn’t know, the loop between the floor and the meeting is broken.
- “Which indicator do you look at in the morning, and why that one?” An indicator nobody looks at is an indicator to delete.
- “Which action is waiting for you this week?” If it has no date, it won’t happen.
- “What have you improved yourself since last month?” This is the question that builds trust: you recognize the team, you never rank the individual.
- “What do you need from me?” And write it down as an action, with your name and a date.
The format
- 30 minutes, one area, two people maximum from management.
- On a phone: a 7-question walk, text and photo answers, a gap created from every answer that warrants one.
- The walk is attached to the next shop floor meeting: its gaps are reviewed there, with the team that raised them.
What we don’t do
- Give the solution on the spot.
- Ask “who did this?”.
- Leave without an action in your own name.
Frequently asked questions
How often?
One area per week for a plant manager, every area at least once a quarter. Regularity matters more than duration.
Does the Gemba walk replace the 5S audit?
No. The 5S audit checks the standard; the Gemba walk listens for what prevents holding it.
How to avoid the “visit” effect?
Don’t announce the exact time, and above all follow up on promised actions: the second visit matters more than the first.
See Daystream on your cases, not on a generic demo
Thirty minutes: a floor walk, a gap, a team meeting on the big screen. A human replies within one business day.
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