1

MEM

Process Engineering and

Continuous Improvement

IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT – 1

Gemba Walks and Spaghetti Diagrams

José António de Sousa Barros Basto

Professor Auxiliar F.E.U.P.

DEGI

10 October 2021
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DMAIC 1 - Define

• The main motivation for the “define phase” is to

identify specific subsystems and to focus
attention on them.
• The main deliverable from the define phase of a
project is the “Project charter”
– Already covered…

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 SIPOC Diagram 3

Pizza Process
DMAIC 1 - Define
• SIPOC
SIPOC Diagram
Suppliers Inputs diagram: high level Outputs
Process flowchart covering
Customers

Dairy Supply
Suppliers – Inputs
• Cheese • Prepare
– Process
• Pizza
– Outputs – Customers
• Dine-in
Corporation • Olives Dough Pizza Process Customers
Vegetable • Peppers • Add Sauce • Take out
Farmers • Dough • Add Cheese Customers
United • SauceSuppliers & Toppings • DeliveryCustomers
Inputs Process Outputs
Prepared • Bake in Customers
Foods • Dairy Supply •oven
Cheese • Prepare • Pizza • Dine-in
Corporation Corporation • Olives Dough Customers
• Vegetable • •Remove
Peppers • Add Sauce • Take out
Farmers • Doughoven
from • Add Cheese Customers
United •&Sauce
serve & Toppings • Delivery
• Prepared • Bake in Customers
Foods oven
Corporation • Remove
from oven
& serve

© Eric R. Dayal

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© Eric R. Dayal
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DMAIC 1 - Define

• Bottleneck subsystems: using Theory of

Constraints methods to find out where to focus
the improvement effort
• VOC : Voice Of the Customer. Talk directly to the
customer to find out what is quality for them and
how the current process is meeting their
expectations.

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Define: Gemba Walks

• Gemba: real place, factory shop-floor where the

real action takes places
• “Go and see” with your own eyes (not reading
reports from others in your computer)
• Promoted by Toyota
• A Gemba Walk is a way to gather information
through observation and interaction with workers.
It is not a time:
– To find fault and call out employees on it
– To try to quickly implement a change on the spot
– To disregard employee input. Getting that input is one of the main
goals of a Gemba Walk

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

From: https://blog.kainexus.com/improvement-
disciplines/lean/gemba-walks/11-steps-to-an-
effective-gemba-walk
1. Prepare the Team
“It is important that the team members who will be observed and
engaged during the walk have a good understanding of what a Gemba
walk is and how it will be useful. They should know that the purpose is
ultimately to remove obstacles that make it more difficult for them to
add the maximum amount of value. Talking about the walk before it
happens will help everyone feel more comfortable and open to the
interaction.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

2. Have a Plan
“Gemba walks should not be confused with Management by Walking
Around (MBWA), a different approach in which leaders simply wander
about and get involved in what employees are doing. A Gemba walk
should have a defined purpose, often associated with a specific
concern related to a KPI.

During a Gemba Walk, the manager asks very in-depth questions

about the process being observed. Who is involved? What materials
are used? What do you do? How do you know what to do? When does
the task take place? What depends on the outcome? MBWA does not
involve that degree of depth, nor does it usually have the same focus
on asking open ended questions.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

3. Follow the Value Stream
“Often, the biggest opportunities for improvement are found where
there are handoffs between processes, departments or people. By
following the flow of value, these areas with a high potential for waste
can be observed and issues uncovered.

It is a good idea to invite employees to suggest processes, shifts, or

work areas that might benefit from a Gemba Walk. Not only will this
potentially point you to opportunities to improve that you may have
missed, but it will also make the process feel like more of a two-way
street. Because they're the ones on the front line doing the work, they
are more likely to have insight into the processes and areas that could
use another set of eyes. Remember, the value you're bringing to the
table is a fresh perspective on old processes. By asking people where
this would be the most helpful, you're engaging them in the process
and making it apparent that you're there to help, not criticize.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

4. Always Focus on Process, Not People
“A Gemba walk is not an employee performance evaluation. The
purpose is to observe, understand, and ultimately improve processes.
The walk should never feel punitive and it is not the right time to
engage in employee task management.

It is helpful to prepare employees at the Gemba by letting them know

that you’ll be asking many questions about how, when, and why things
are done. You should be clear that you aren’t looking for “right”
answers, what you need far more are answers that are honest and
complete. If work isn’t being done according to the Standard, you want
them to say so and not cover it up. They need to understand that your
questions come from a genuine desire to understand and are not
accusatory or confrontational in any way..”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

5. Document Your Observations
“Because there's a lot going on during a Gemba walk and you'll want
to remember it all later, it's important to bring along tools to log your
observations, including:
– A way to log observations – While we risk stating the obvious here,
a way to jot down your observations is essential because the time to
react to what you observe is after your Gemba walk, not during it.
You’ll need a way to remember what you saw and thought.
– A camera – It may be very useful later to browse through a gallery
of images or maybe even a few quick bits of video. Be sure to be
respectful of any people you might photograph. If cameras are not
appropriate for your workplace, some graph paper for sketching out
the layout of people and equipment may be useful.
– An open mind – You don’t want your observations to be tainted by
preconceived notions. For example, don’t assume that work is being
performed to the Standard or that each person performs each task
in the same manner.”
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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

6. Ask Questions
“One of the most difficult things to do on a Gemba walk is to put aside
assumptions about why work is done the way that it is. Don’t assume
that everything is being done according to the standard. Instead, ask
employees why they do things the way they do. Ask about how the
work is documented, how they manage exceptions, and why
operations are performed in a particular order.

The 5 Ws provide an excellent structure for the questions you want to

ask and answer during your Gemba Walk.

Who – Who are the people involved in the processes that you
observe? Who provides input for the processes? Who are the
“customers” of the process? Pro tip: You shouldn't be asking who to
blame for problems...”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

6. Ask Questions - continued

“What – What are the inputs and outputs of the process? What
obstacles inhibit flow or produce waste?

Where – Does the space where the work is performed conform to 5S?
Are necessary materials and equipment conveniently located? Do you
notice the waste of motion?

When – Are process inputs available when needed? Is work from this
process being pulled through by the next, or do outputs sit idle? Is the
waste of waiting observed?

Why - What value does this work add for the customer?”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

7. Don’t Suggest Changes During the Walk

“A Gemba walk is an opportunity for observation, not action. It may be

very tempting to jump straight to solutions or make improvements on
the fly, but changes should be made only after a period of reflection.
And, when leaders throw solutions at people, you undercut their ability
to learn and practice problem solving on their own. An improvement
cycle like DMAIC or PDSA can be helpful in ensuring that any changes
made are the right ones that will eliminate the target issue, and we
make sure the right people are involved (usually meaning those who
are actually doing the work).”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

8. Walk in Teams
“While not every Gemba walk needs to be a team endeavour, bringing
along a leader from a different functional area of the organization can
be a good way to get another point of view. People who are less
familiar with a process might ask a different set of questions that sheds
light on the work in a new way.

Who should come along on a Gemba walk? Consider:

A peer from another department – It is easy to become so

conditioned to problems that we see frequently that we don’t even
notice them. A second set of eyes, less familiar with the processes
and tasks of your team might be very valuable, especially if you take
frequent Gemba walks.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

8. Walk in Teams - continued
“A vendor – If your team uses equipment, consumable products or
software, it might be useful to invite the vendor along on your walk.
They may be able to suggest best practices or notice errors in how the
product is being used. They may even uncover ways that they could
improve the product to better fit your needs.

A customer – This might be controversial, and it certainly isn’t always

a good idea, but today’s customers value transparency and they are
often interested in seeing how the sausage is made, so to speak. They
may also be able to identify things that they value less than you think.

One of your sales representatives – It is important that the people

who pitch your product to customers know how it is created and
understand how every part of the process relates directly to customer
value.”
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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

9. Mix Up the Schedule

“We absolutely encourage leaders to mark time on their calendar for

Gemba walks, but it shouldn’t be a recurring activity that happens at
the same time each month. In order to get a complete sense of what
happens in the process, it is a good idea to do Gemba walks at
different times of the day, days of the week, and parts of the month.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

10. Follow-up with Employees

“Sometimes the results of a Gemba walk will be immediately obvious

as changes are made or an improvement cycle is started, but even if
there will be no immediate action as a result of a particular walk, it is
important to follow-up with employees. Share what you have learned
and communicate what next steps, if any, will occur.

A lot of organizations turn to improvement software to help manage the

follow-up that should occur after the Gemba walk.

Because improvement software lets users capture ideas for

improvement and execute on those ideas in the same platform, more
improvements identified on a Gemba Walk actually get implemented.”

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Define: 11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk

11. Return to the Gemba
“If changes are implemented following a Gemba walk, be sure to return
to the Gemba to observe those changes and verify that the desired
result has been achieved. KPIs can give you some idea of how well
the improvement is working, but nothing is as useful as first-hand
observations.
A big objection to this that a lot of people have is that they're too busy
for regular Gemba walks.
My answer to that is that many of the activities that take up so much
time can be eliminated by Gemba Walks. You don’t need to send
emails back and forth or form a committee to hold a meeting to
address many common process or workspace issues. A first-hand look
can save many hours of reading second or third-hand accounts about
an issue. The human brain processes images way more quickly than
text, after all. Anything that speeds your understanding of what’s
happening on the front lines reduces the amount of time you have to
spend trying to figure it out from afar.”
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Define: Spaghetti Diagrams

From: https://www.allaboutlean.com/spaghetti-diagrams/

“A spaghetti diagram is a quick and easy way to track distances of

parts and people on the shop floor. The name comes from the result
looking like a plate of spaghetti.
• Why Do I Need a Spaghetti Diagram?
– A spaghetti diagram, also known as spaghetti chart, spaghetti
model, or spaghetti plot, is a particular tool for determining the
distance traveled by (usually) man or (in some cases) material.
Hence, a spaghetti diagram can help you if you want to reduce the
distance traveled by either parts or people. Obviously, this works
best for an repetitive environment where the work repeats in the
same or similar style multiple times.
– This allows you to then analyze and optimize the distances. The
benefit can be either faster delivery or the same delivery with less
effort.”
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Define: Spaghetti Diagram for a Person

By Christoph Roser at AllAboutLean.com under the free CC-BY-SA 4.0

license.
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Define: How to Make a Spaghetti Diagram

• “Spaghetti diagrams are most useful for determining the route a person
has traveled by either walking or driving (e.g., with a forklift).
• All you need is a layout, a pen, someone observing, and someone
observed. Other lean sources also suggest a stopwatch and a
measuring wheel, although I am usually fine with my normal watch and
a distance estimate.
• Naturally, you should inform and, if necessary, get consensus of the
people observed and possibly the works council or union
representatives.
• Whom to observe depends on the question and scope of the problem
you want to solve. If you are worried about the efficiency of a machine
operator and noticed that his task includes some walking, you may
observe a typical machine operator for these machines. On the other
hand, if you are more interested in optimizing the material transport,
then you should look at one of the people transporting goods. In sum,
observe the work of people that you want to optimize.”

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Define: How to Make a Spaghetti Diagram

• “During a typical work day, meet with that person and follow him around
on his normal work. When you start, note the start time on the diagram.
While he walks through the factory, mark his route with a pen on a
layout of the factory. I usually use a colored pen on an ideally not
colored layout (just use a gray-scale printer). You can also add arrows
to indicate directions. Whenever I observe him doing something worth
remembering, as, for example, searching, making mistakes, or doing
other types of waste, I also make a quick note on the layout. This can
also include times and will come in handy later on for the improvement.
Do not skip any parts, even if it becomes messy (unless the worker
needs a toilet break).”
• “Theoretically, you could follow the worker all day long. Practically, this
is usually a waste of time. Besides, the worker usually doesn’t want you
to record his toilet break. There is no fixed rule for the duration of a
spaghetti diagram. I usually observe long enough that I feel I have
understood the situation and then add a little more time to see if
something unexpected happens. However, even for highly cyclical work,
following only one round is definitely not enough!”
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Define: How to Make a Spaghetti Diagram

• “After you complete the observation, write down the end time so you
have the interval observed. If you take breaks, note the start and end of
the breaks.”

Spaghetti Diagram for a Part

Similar to following a person, you can also follow a part. This makes
most sense if you have a job shop. If you have a flow shop, you will
end up with something like a straight line. Just follow the part from the
inbound warehouse to the outbound warehouse (or whichever area
you are interested in).
When following people, you have the advantage that they usually don’t
like to wait. Hence, with people you will see a lot of action. Parts, on
the other hand, don’t mind waiting. In fact, parts usually wait quite a
long time in manufacturing. It would be a waste of time to wait along
the part until it is needed often days later.”

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Define: How to Make a Spaghetti Diagram

“There are two ways out of this. You could either follow the next similar
part that leaves the inventory. It won’t be exactly the same part, but it is
the same part type. The resulting diagram will likely be the same, but
with much less effort.
Another option is to simply look up where the part would go next based
on the production plan. Hence you would create a spaghetti diagram
based on available data. In theory, you could make the diagram
while never leaving your desk. That is risky. Being on the shop
floor gives you much more information than what is in the official
data set. In the computer data, you will rarely see all the problems,
confusions, mix-ups, and other issues that you could improve. Hence,
following the data train instead of the physical part is only a last resort
– for example, if you track shipments across a world map.
In any case, following the people doing the work is usually much more
interesting than following the parts that are worked on. After all, since
you want to improve the work, it is much better to observe it directly
than to guess the work based on the path of a part! Overall, a
spaghetti diagram is, even more than other lean projects, a pen-on-
paper exercise!”
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Define: What to Do After You Have the

Spaghetti Diagram
“Analyse Status
Please note that the spaghetti diagram is, by itself, not an optimization
method. It only gives you the current state data of the distances. What
you do with the data afterward will make the difference. To analyze the
situation, it is often helpful to estimate the total distance walked.

You can simply do a rough estimate of the distance walked by taking

the distances on the layout and multiplying it by the number of times
they were walked (counting back and forth separately, of course).

Another option is to use a step counter, also known as pedometer.

Simply give the worker a step counter, reset it at the beginning and
note down the steps at the end. An average step is around 2.5 feet or
70 cm long. The average walking speed is 3.1 miles or 5.0 kilometer
per hour if you also want to calculate the time needed for walking.”
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Define: What to Do After You Have the

Spaghetti Diagram
“Improve Situation
The real money in the whole exercise is of course in improving the
situation. Everything up till now only helped you understand the current
state. While there is, to my knowledge, no strict formal method, there
are lots of common sense ideas. Most of the time common sense is all
you need anyway. You should also definitely ask the people doing the
work; they often have quite a lot of common sense and can give you
lots of ideas. You could do any of the following:
–Move parts closer to where they are needed.
–Arrange machines and processes to be more in sequence or at least
closer to each other (make sure that while you are improving one
workload or part, you are not making it worse for all others).
–Simplify processes. For example, rather than searching for a part on
a shelf, have the part location printed on the request paper (sounds
obvious, but saved a lot of time in a project of one of my employees).”

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Define: What to Do After You Have the

Spaghetti Diagram
“Improve Situation -continued
– Determine if you can do it electronically. Walking across the plant just to
look something up is a waste of time. For example, the first webcam was
installed at the University of Cambridge simply to inform others if there is
still coffee in the coffee pot. I also had great success with changing an
manual valve two floors below the control room with an electrically
operated valve.
– Determine if you arrange it in a better sequence. Don’t be like the roofer
that goes down to pick up every tool he forgot.
– Determine if you have to do it at all. Can it be automated? Can it be
eliminated?
– Distribute the workload differently to reduce walking times.
– Reduce errors, searches, waiting, and other interruptions of the normal
work flow.
– Determine if you can use any type of visual management to make the
process faster or more reliable.”
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Define: What to Do After You Have the

Spaghetti Diagram
“Improve Situation -continued
All of the above can help you reduce the overall distance travelled and the
total time needed to do the work. Please note that reducing the distance is
one thing, but with this observation you also have the possibility of reducing
waiting times and working times, which will also benefit the overall bottom
line.

Verify if New Status Is an Improvement

After you have implemented improvements, definitely do another spaghetti

diagram or step counter measurement to see if you made a difference. This
would be the “check” of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. Nothing
pleases management more than if you can tell them how many dollars
you’ve saved them.”

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Define: Example Spaghetti Diagram

(Restaurant Kitchen)

From: https://www.whatissixsigma.net/spaghetti-diagram/

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Define: Example Spaghetti Diagram

(Revised layout : Restaurant Kitchen)

From: https://www.whatissixsigma.net/spaghetti-diagram/

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