New Forms of Gemba Walks and Their Digital Tools in the Digital Lean Manufacturing World

Abstract

Gemba Walks are an important mean of vertical integration in Lean Manufacturing environments. They ensure that all levels of the company stay connected with the front-line, "the Gemba", where the actual value is created. However, traditionally Gemba Walks have been restricted to one location. This is a shortcoming in production environments characterized by interconnected and often globally dispersed problems where information from several locations is needed simultaneously. In response, this paper explores the emergence of new forms of Gemba Walks enabled by the adoption of new digital technologies. We intend to identify the advantages and disadvantages of using digital technology to support the execution of these new forms of Gemba Walks in more complex, globalized environments and to get a grasp of the extent to which digitalization changes communication characteristics between the parties involved.

The significance of employee behaviours and soft management practices to avoid digital waste during a digital transformation

“…The adoption of digital poka-yoke (mistake proofing) allows recording the actions taken by each operator, producing real-time tutorials, speeding up operations and minimizing errors and the need to redo work. Also, Romero et al (2020) discuss the importance of gemba walks (shop-floor observation) as an important means of vertical integration in LM. Traditional gemba is limited to one location only, whereas adoption of digital technologies expands gemba’s opportunities, allowing gemba to be augmented, advanced virtual, automated guided and human cyber-physical.…”

Lean Tools in the Context of Industry 4.0: Literature Review, Implementation and Trends

“…Another form of rapid learning is by issuing constant feedback from both the machine and people, with the purpose of seeking continuous improvement without offending or criticizing [76]. It is also up to digital leaders to know how to separate and allocate their teams for each appropriate training in order to deal with digital technologies, it is important that the leader also plans training and training in a Lean way for their workers [94]. These, if well trained and integrated into the process, have the ability to solve production line problems and improve the process in a Lean way [36].…”

O Gerenciamento Da Aprendizagem No Contexto Do Lean 4.0

“…O Gemba Kaizen é um método utilizado para os eventos de Kaizens, com o objetivo de promover a melhoria contínua de um fluxo completo de valor ou de um processo individual, de maneira incremental e constante a partir de pequenos passos (SLACK et al, 2002). Romero et al (2020) defende que as organizações atuais estão mais globalizadas tornando-se interdependentes, com processos produtivos e fornecedores localizados em diferentes lugares. A partir desta constatação, técnicas como Gemba Walks necessitam ser adaptadas a este novo contexto, aliando a filosofia do LM às tecnologias da Indústria 4.0 para expandir a visão do seu Gemba, através da coleta de informações de forma 4 digital, bem como o uso da realidade aumentada para conhecer mais a fundo cada processo.…”

“…Ainda segundo o autor, com vistas a facilitar o entendimento e acompanhamento é importante a construção de um fluxo da pesquisa demonstrando as ações do pesquisador.3.5. Procedimentos de Análise de DadosBuscando responder à pergunta de pesquisa deste artigo, e baseado nas discussões do Lean 4.0 de Valamede (2021), que para a implementação da melhoria contínua no Gemba utilizando eventos Kaizen, faz se necessário o treinamento das equipes multidisciplinares.Assim como os autoresRomero et al (2020) também discutem a utilização de tecnologias digitais para aprimorar e integrar o Gemba Walks. Com base nestas discussões, foram definidas as palavras chaves: "learning management", "lean 4.0" e "gemba", com o objetivo de perseguir a evolução do aprendizado no contexto do Lean 4.0, realizando um mapeamento das publicações na literatura existente.…”