Most superintendents spend a significant amount of time walking the project, reviewing progress, verifying quality and checking on worker safety. This is natural for most of us as we have progressed from field positions into positions of leadership and spending time in the field is where we feel most comfortable.

How we use this time varies greatly, is there a way to use this time to improve our project and the project teams? Can we utilize the time we spend in the field by focusing in on the actions of specific trades, how they interact with each other and the work by asking questions and listening to our most valuable asset – the craftsmen.

The Gemba Walk does just that, derived from the Japanese word “Gemba” or “Genchi Gembutsu” means where the work happens, “the actual place” or “Go, Look, See” These walks are important because leaders are encouraged to see what is happening on the project, ask questions and implement change that can have a lasting impact. It is this continuous improvement we should be striving for every day. This is one of the Lean Principles that should be practiced by Lean Leaders.

So how does this look in practice, I believe this walk should be focused: you can perform Gemba walks on Safety, Productivity, Cost Efficiencies among others, so a walk on Logistics may entail the following items, we should initially be observing, looking for logistics bottle necks, seeing how and where materials are stored in relationship to where the work is happening and listening to the employees as to what ideas they may have to improve quality, production or worker safety.

At this time we are not looking to make any drastic change, this is an opportunity to observe, listen, take notes and provide positive feedback. The team should be aware these walks are occurring so as not to feel they are being criticized and they should understand you are looking for process improvement, not to single out an individual. Having Superintendents or Project Managers from other projects join the walk may be helpful as their insight may lend a fresh set of eyes on problems that are being overlooked.

Things that should be noted include what work is currently being performed, what established process are being utilized, were any problems noted and what is the root cause and who identified the issue in the event a follow up needs to happen. Then a review should be performed with follow up documented so everyone can be kept in the loop as to changes that may occur as a result of this walk and plan for next steps.

So the next time you are heading out the door to walk the site, maybe you will consider implementing the Gemba Walk and taking advantage of one the key Lean Tools for continuous improvement.

I hope I have provided a few helpful ideas on performing a effective Gemba Walk – if you have any additional ideas or trick you use to implement a successful Gemba Walk I would appreciate you listing them in the comments section below.

Superintendent

J. Hughes