Go And See - Go To Gemba Observe a running process, preferably a real, industrial process, such as a fast-food kitchen or on-going road construction or shipping/receiving or inspection or any manufacturing process that can be observed safely. You may consider a service process as well - a supermarket check-out line, or oil-change/car service, warehouse operation, etc. If you are currently working, and have permission, try this exercise at your workplace. You MUST observe the process running in person. Alternate - not preferred - but "ok" if you take it seriously. If you can't access any workplace or feel genuinely uncomfortable observing a public process (Subway, Tim Hortons, etc) but live with room-mates, you can do this same exercise while someone is cooking or cleaning. Make the same observations. Look at how they travel, time spent looking for materials or supplies, value-add vs non-value add activities. Name the process. Be as specific as possible - rather than "road construction" describe the specific process you are observing such as "repairing 3 potholes at the edge of College St" Take a "selfie" of you in Gemba. You really need to "be there" to do this properly. Watch the process run - See. Describe the "value add" goal for the process. In other words, what is the customer or employer "paying for." For example "filling in an existing pot-hole to make the road-way level" or "Making a submarine sandwich." Everything else (travel to site, unloading tools, searching for a shovel) should be considered non-value added activity.

2. Describe the basic process steps, as you see them. Do NOT describe what should be happening - describe exactly what you see happening. Eg; Worker talks to customer. Asks what they want. Selects from menu buttons. Ask if anything else wanted. Can't hear custoemr so asks to repeat. Enters order. Rings up total and asks for payment. Customer wants to scan for reward points. Customer tries to scan q-code. Won't scan, so worker picks up scanner and waves in front of customers phone. Won't scan. Takes client phone and enters number manually. Etc... Eg; worker retrieves tool x. Travels to place y. Does action b. Returns to y to retrieve more of g. Returns to place a and does b again. Waits for b to finish (15 seconds).
4. Make a note of the time - when did the process start, and note some times during your observations. You don't need a timestamp for every single observation, but at least for the major steps. (We sometimes use a video camera with a running timestamp for process observations like this - but that's beyond the scope of this assignment.)
6. Classify every observed action as Value Adding (VA) or NOT VA (NVA) - best to do this in a table, with a column to indicate VA or NVA

Ask Why / Show Respect

1. Pick any 4 of the NVA (Non value adding actions you observed) For each of these 4, "ask why" - Ideally, you would ask the worker, with respect. - For this exercise, you may ask yourself - try to look and understand "why" - or come up with your best guess. - Please tell me if you asked, or guessed!

Take Action

1. Make a reasonable and specific suggestion of how each of these 4 non value-adding steps/actions could be reduced or eliminated. Be as specific as possible. Try not to add cost to the process - for example, adding another person is not generally an acceptable solution. Consider relocating items, improving procedures, introducing Poke Yoke, 5S, etc.