Don’t go on the weird name it simply refers to “go and see for yourself” or “actual place and actual thing.”

It is used for the site, location, or whatever task you are going to do.

If you want to understand the real cause of any problem,

you should directly visit the work location and observe the workplace, you should spend time with workers to know them better.

History

Genchi genbutsu phrase is tossed by “Taiichi Ohno” ( the father of the Toyota Production System).

Due to its successful implication at any organisational level, it has also become part of Toyota’s way philosophy.

Why?

The real essence that Ohno wants to describe through this phrase is that,

One must go and see (observe) where the actual work is taking place to better understand the problem and possibilities.

The top level should involve at the base level to collect real facts and data,

by visiting the actual workplace sites so that they can help the organization to grow better.

Read – Why do we need to practice Genchi Genbutsu? by kanban zone to know more.

Example

Suppose you are a production manager at x ltd.,

from past few years a sudden decline in sales is being observed by you.

With the help of technology, you understand where the problem may be.

You find that company is unable to meet its customer demand on time.

And then you did what a person does who knows genchi genbutsu.

You visited the factory where all the production happens,

you spend time with workers and machines, observe things and tried to understand problems.

And as per your observation,

You discover that sometimes raw materials is being late coming into a production house, which caused late production and delay in supply.

You go to the raw material vendor, he describes that he is facing payment issues from the company for the past few years.

After meeting with the finance manager you decide to give all payments of raw material in advance.

And then after some time, the company came back on track.

Answer me,

If you hadn’t visited the factory, the problem could have been bigger, you know it well.

Think “genchi genbutsu” by yourself.🤔