Gemba

Genba (現場; also romanized as gemba) is a Japanese term used in business for the location where value is created, such as a factory floor, construction site, or sales floor. In lean manufacturing, the most valuable ideas for improvement are thought to occur at the genba where problems are visible. Management teams may go on a gemba walk to look for opportunities to improve the practical shop floor (known as the genba kaizen). Unlike the similar strategy of management by walking around, gemba walks are typically not done randomly, but with a clear frequency, goal, and structure. Glenn Mazur introduced this term into Quality Function Deployment (QFD, a quality system for new products before manufacturing has begun) to mean the customer's place of business or lifestyle. The idea is that to be customer-driven, one must go to the customer's gemba to understand their problems and opportunities, using all one's senses to gather and process data.