Go to the gemba

August 18th, 2013

Deborah Adler

Gemba is Japanese and translates as “The Real Place,” where the work is done. For a Tokyo reporter, it might be the scene of a crime. For a company like Toyota, it’s the manufacturing floor where the cars are actually built. For a surgeon, it’s the operating room. There are gembas everywhere, the trick is to be there to see what happens. It’s in the gemba we discover what is missing and what needs changing.