Unlike regular inspections, Gemba walks require dialogue to help management learn the challenges workers regularly encounter. We’ve listed 10 Gemba walk training courses designed to help managers conduct Gemba walks that foster solutions to appreciate, protect, and support those on the production line.
This Gemba walk training course contains fundamental knowledge that can set your team up for a successful Gemba walk. Lessons on the core principles of a Gemba walk and its role in continuous improvement can get your team in the right mindset as they execute their next program.
On top of this, SC Training also discusses two of the key elements of a successful Gemba walk: leadership and employee engagement. As they go through this course, your team will understand how these elements enhance the Gemba walk experience with insights built on trust and transparency.
The course also covers the step-by-step process of observing and identifying inefficiencies during a Gemba walk. It keeps your team aware of the common challenges they might encounter during their Gemba walks and shares the best practices to help overcome them.
Teams on a Premium plan will have access to Discussions, giving workers a better chance to get involved. It’s a great way to find out what’s currently happening to get better insights out of your team’s Gemba walks.
Created by: SC Training (formerly EdApp)
Length: 5-10 minutes per lesson (self-paced)
Certificate: Available (for completion)
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Gemba Academy draws the line between the five types of Gemba walks to help your facilitators set the right goals before visiting the manufacturing plant. It has a dedicated lesson that presents Gemba walk examples, depending on what your team wants to focus on.
Other lessons in the course are meant to equip your managers with the right skills and knowledge to properly perform a Gemba walk. It explains what a Gemba walk is and its importance. Plus, it gives your managers and leaders helpful tips and techniques to get the most value out of their Gemba walk.
This 2-day workshop by Tonex will guide your Gemba walk facilitators from preparation to process optimization. It helps them set goals to address the manufacturing industry challenges they want their Gemba walk to highlight and overcome. It also teaches them how to create a checklist that best measures their goals.
Other lessons in the workshop build essential skills that can enhance your leaders’ Gemba walk programs. This includes interacting with frontliners, identifying and eliminating waste, and optimizing current processes.
This lean process improvement course features a dedicated chapter on different continuous improvement techniques. One of the techniques it unpacks is Gemba walk, explaining the principles behind it and how it contributes to the continuous improvement of daily manufacturing operations.
While it doesn’t focus on Gemba walk topics alone, it emphasizes key principles of continuous improvement that support the purpose behind Gemba walks. It reinforces the idea of optimizing processes for safety, quality, and other manufacturing goals that your managers can utilize as they conduct their Gemba walk program.
Safety Gemba walks typically involve an observation of safety practices in real-time. By interacting with workers, they can assess how effective these protocols are in identifying manufacturing hazards and preventing accidents.
In this course, SC Training teaches managers how to check if current safety measures are effective and find solutions that address the root causes of workplace accidents. These skills can support them in gathering valuable insights from their Gemba walk that could be used to improve your manufacturing team’s safety.
SC Training also makes it easier to check how well your managers understand the proper evaluation of safety protocols with Rapid Refresh. Filling out a simple spreadsheet generates a quiz your managers and team leads can take to track their performance or refresh their knowledge.
Created by: SC Training
Length: 5 to 10 minutes per lesson (self-paced)
Certificate: Available (for completion)
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Managers need foundational safety knowledge to make meaningful observations during a Gemba walk. Without the skill to properly identify hazards on the shop floor, they’re likely to miss potential threats to the team’s safety. This makes the Gemba walk ineffective and impractical.
Luckily, Safety in the Workplace is packed with lessons to help your managers identify hazards, assess risks, and implement corresponding control methods. It explores slips, trips, and falls and the best way to eliminate or minimize the risk they pose. It also goes over particular safety practices like protective equipment and safe lifting procedures.
SC Training’s reporting and analytics make it easy to track if anyone hasn’t completed their safety training prior to a Gemba safety walk. With this, you can make sure your managers are well-equipped to complete a productive Gemba walk program.
Created by: SC Training
Length: 5 to 10 minutes per lesson (self-paced)
Certificate: Available (for completion)
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
This training course is a good starter course to get your team leaders to understand how Gemba walks work and their importance in lean improvement. It includes lessons on the critical aspects of a Gemba walk program, like observation, inquiry and dialogue, and meaningful improvements.
Created by: American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Length: 30 minutes
Certificate: Available
Cost: 40 USD (expires after a year)
SureQual Services Limited focuses on putting your management in the shoes of frontliners so they can initiate effective improvements to operations. It trains them to conduct Gemba walks that encourage engagement and collaboration with frontline workers so they can fully understand what daily operations look like.
The course shares practical tips your Gemba walk facilitators can take home and implement on their next program. Plus, it also teaches them how to identify waste or inefficiencies in current processes and develop corresponding optimizations.
Created by: SureQual Services Limited
Length: 1 day (hybrid)
Certificate: Contact to confirm
Cost: Contact for pricing
Opacity’s training course breaks down the key elements of an ideal Gemba walk, giving your managers a concrete target to aim for as they develop their own program. It also familiarizes them with Gemba walk principles and the role they play in lean production.
The course also presents information gathering tools like the One Point Lesson, Lesson Learned Card, and the Kaizen Card to help understand what daily operations are like. These tools can also give additional insights into what could be improved in the overall manufacturing process.
Without a structured process, your managers can easily get distracted and miss critical safety flaws when they visit the shop floor. This is why most managers and supervisors use a checklist to make sure they cover everything.
This SC Training course discusses tools and techniques to structure the Gemba walk process on top of a checklist. It lists information gathering methods that can organize the process of hazard identification. It also helps them implement the best control measures for the situation using the hierarchy of controls.
SC Training offers a free Gemba walk checklist that your managers, supervisors, and team leads can use upon signing up. Using this checklist after completing the course makes sure your Gemba walk facilitators spot even the less obvious risks and implement the appropriate control measures.
Created by: SC Training
Length: 5-10 minutes per lesson (self-paced)
Certificate: Available (for completion)
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
Gemba walk training helps higher-level management, like directors and team leaders, witness what daily production looks like first-hand. The training is meant to teach them the principles behind Gemba walks and guide them through the proper way to conduct them in their own manufacturing plants.
Gemba walk training makes sure team managers, supervisors, directors, and other higher-level members of the team can administer a Gemba walk effectively. It covers key topics that can enhance your Gemba walks in the following ways:
Many training courses will teach your managers the best practices to help them complete a productive Gemba walk. We’ve listed five key steps that can make sure your managers get the most out of their next visit:
Before they set foot on the shop floor, they must decide what they want to look for. Are they focusing on safety, quality, teamwork, or a specific problem area? Knowing the goal helps them stay on track.
The word “Gemba” is a Japanese word that stands for “the real place,” and it’s used to pertain to where all the work happens. Visiting the site and witnessing everything in person can help your managers and supervisors see the bigger picture instead of relying on reports.
Make sure your managers keep judgment out, observing production as if it were their first time in the plant. Unlike what’s taught in process audit training, Gemba walks are more about pure observation and less about proving assumptions.
One of the things that sets Gemba walks apart from other programs like plant inspection training is that your managers are taught to interact with the workers. Workers know the job best, and their answers can show what’s actually working and what could be improved. It gives honest information you can’t find in reports or observation alone.
Managers must review their observations and discuss them with the team. Make sure they reflect on what went well and where there’s room for improvement. They should also follow up on action items so workers can see their feedback turn into real changes.
Gemba walks are more effective when your managers can pinpoint relevant observations and initiate the right conversations with workers to build trust. Gemba walk facilitators equipped with key leadership skills can encourage workers to speak up on issues and share valuable input.
SC Training has a large library of courses that can build your managers’ leadership skills. From building trust with workers on the production line to developing the right observation skills, SC Training can give your managers an edge as they complete their Gemba walk training.
Help your managers build the right skills for their next Gemba walk. Join SC Training today.