Go to the line before you fix the number
Use a gemba walk to verify an operating issue at the place where value is created.
A plant metric tells you where to look; gemba tells you what is really happening. The teach Gemba means the actual place where work happens. In a plant, the number is a signal, not the place to solve the problem. A useful gemba walk moves the manager from conference-room interpretation to direct observation: see the process, ask what should happen, compare it with what is happening, and listen to the people doing the work. The mechanism is evidence before action. Dashboards compress reality into categories; the floor shows sequence, waiting, workarounds, rework, and physical constraints. Good plant managers do not…
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