Adoption of the word gemba has lagged behind adoption of the

kaizen concept in the world. This is unfortunate but

understandable; being present on the gemba can be a greater

mind-set and behavior change than simply doing kaizen.

The Cambridge Business English Dictionary is one of a few

sources, as of November 2011, to give the definition of gemba

as an English word:

gemba

/'gemb/ noun

in Japanese business theory, the place where things happen

in manufacturing, used to say that people whose job is to

manufacture products are in a good place to make

improvements in the manufacturing process

This definition captures the spirit of gemba as it pertains to

kaizen, but we must first understand gemba in its broader

context beyond manufacturing.

The meaning of Gemba is "real place" in Japanese language,

which is actually a place which is known to host real action.

This word is extensively used in spoken Japanese language. So,

in live TV reporting for an earthquake this word is used when

the reporting is meant to be telecasted from the scene itself.

Hence, all sorts of crime scene, film location, workplace,

excavation site, meeting place etc. etc. can all be referred to as

Gemba - a place where facts and evidences can be found. But

from business perspective, the customer satisfaction derived out

of the value added services is the ones which are referred to

as Gemba. So, in Japan, Gemba is as popular a word as

Kaizen is. Not only that, experts of Japanese business sector

opioned that both these words have greater significance in

business parlance as well, so much so that important business

decisions are taken based on the understanding of a manager's

respective Gemba. Any business operation practices three

activities to maximize their profit, without which they don't exist

and they are to develop, produce and sell. And in braoder

sense, Gemba forms the common ground of all these three

major activities, wherein they occur.

In this present project, we will use the word in this narrower

context because these sites have been one of the business

arenas most neglected by management. Managers seem to

overlook the workplace as a means to generate revenue, and

they usually place far more emphasis on such sectors as

financial management, marketing and sales, and product

development. When management focuses on the gemba, or

work sites, they discover opportunities for making the company

far more successful and profitable.

In many service sectors, the gemba is where the customers

come into contact with the services offered. In the hotel

business, for instance, gemba is everywhere: in the lobby, the

dining room, guest rooms, the reception desk, the check-in

counters, and the concierge station. At banks, the tellers are

working in the gemba, as are the loan officers receiving

applicants. Most departments in these service companies have

internal customers with whom they have interdepartmental

activity, which also represents the gemba. A telephone call to a

general manager, production manager, or quality manager at a

Japanese plant is likely to get a response from the manager's

assistant to the effect that "He is out at the gemba."