Quotes & Sayings About Gemba

The essence of 5S is to follow what has been agreed on. It begins with discarding what we don't need in the gemba (seiri) and then arranging all the necessary items in the gemba in an orderly manner (seiton). Then a clean environment must be sustained so that we can readily identify abnormalities (seiso), and these three steps must be maintained on a continuous basis (shitsuke). — Masaaki Imai

When you are out observing on the gemba, do something to help them. If you do, people will come to expect that you can help them and will look forward to seeing you again on the gemba. — Taiichi Ohno

According to John Shook, "'Go see, ask why, show respect' is the way we turn the philosophy of scientific empiricism into actual behavior." It's an expression he originally learned from Fujio Cho (past president and chairman of Toyota). In an LEI blog, Shook went on to say, "We go observe what is really happening (at the Gemba where the work takes place), while showing respect for the people involved, especially the people who do the real value-creating work of the business. — Michael Bremer

The frequency of leadership going to the gemba is inversely proportional to the number of walls separating them from the gemba. — Jon Miller