Guide a manager’s walk to where the work happens: what to observe, what to ask and how to follow up.
A gemba walk means going to the place where work is done to see and learn, not to inspect or blame.
Walk regularly, on all shifts, and close the loop on what people raise.
13 items. Use it on screen, or print it and fill it in by hand.
On a night shift walk, a manager sees pickers waiting for pallets because the forklift driver starts 30 minutes later than them. The schedule is changed so the driver starts first.
Watching work where it happens shows the gap between the written standard and real practice, which reports and meetings usually miss. Writing findings with owners and reporting back shows operators that what they say leads to change, which keeps them talking on the next walk.
| Theme | Flow |
|---|---|
| Area and route | Receiving dock to put-away, 2nd shift |
| Time | Thursday, 7:30 to 8:00 pm |
| Standard followed? | Put-away scan skipped on 3 pallets during rush |
| Where work waits | Pallets sit at dock 20 minutes for labels |
| Operator said | Label printer jams when it is cold |
| Action | Move printer inside; owner Grace, by Friday |
Sample for Northstar Distribution in St. Paul, Minnesota. The operator’s own words point to the cold printer as the reason scans were skipped, not carelessness, and only one action is assigned so it actually gets done before the next walk.
The actual place where work happens.
20 to 40 minutes.
No, it is for learning and support.
Managers at every level.
A safety walk looks for hazards to fix, while a gemba walk looks at how work actually flows, including waits, workarounds and problems people have learned to live with. Safety can be a theme, but questions to operators are the main tool.
A few with clear owners beat a long list nobody acts on. Pick one or two to fix before the next walk and tell the team which ones and why.
More for the same job
Use the gemba walk checklist for the record you need today. To see who clocked in, and when, book a demo of EZTime.