Genba Genbutsu Genjitsu (3Gs), (Go to the Genba & see for yourself!)
Last updated: October 20, 2025 Read in fullscreen view
Recommended for you
- 01 Apr 2022
Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram in software project management 2949 - 09 Sep 2022 Kaizen, Kaikaku and Kakushin – what’s the difference? 2768
- 10 Nov 2021 5S methodology - the SECRET to Japanese SUCCESS 1568
- 02 Feb 2022 Yokoten: Best Practice Sharing from a success 1227
- 08 Dec 2021 What Are The 4 Types of Maintenance Strategies? 973
- 13 May 2022 IT Training and Development: The most effective options for upskilling IT staff 967
- 02 Dec 2022 3 Levels of Quality in KANO Analysis Model 951
- 03 Jan 2024 What is the Ringi process? 836
- 17 Mar 2023 Reduce waste in software development with 3M model: Muda, Mura, Muri 807
- 09 Sep 2022 What is 5 Whys (Five Whys)? 806
- 01 Dec 2023 What is Amoeba Management? 791
- 10 Dec 2021 What is a Kano Analysis? 779
- 13 Jul 2022 Applying the business mantra "HORENSO" to Achieve 360-degree Communication 772
- 03 Nov 2022 Questions and answers about Kano Model 764
- 29 Aug 2022 Difference between Kaizen and Innovation 750
- 27 Aug 2022 Kaizen - Culture of Continuous Improvement and Lean Thinking 658
- 13 Oct 2021 What is Bug Convergence? Why is it important for User Acceptance Testing (UAT)? 651
- 01 Mar 2022 The Toyota Way Management Principles 638
- 19 Oct 2021 Software development life cycles 626
- 15 Jul 2022 Hansei Methodology: Continuously Engaging People in Improvement 614
- 15 Apr 2022 Total Quality Management (TQM) - Japanese-style management approach to quality improvement. 583
- 28 Jul 2022 POC, Prototypes, Pilots and MVP: What Are the Differences? 577
- 01 Jan 2023 How To Use Poka-Yoke (Mistake Proofing) Technique To Improve Software Quality 567
- 14 Oct 2021 Stream Story - Low land stream or fast moving stream? 556
- 10 Nov 2021 Automated QA Outsourcing – Hire a Professional Software Testing Team 505
- 18 Jul 2021 How To Ramp Up An Offshore Software Development Team Quickly 503
- 02 Nov 2023 Unlocking Success with The Amoeba Management Model: Key Lessons, Pros & Cons, and Finding the Perfect Fit 495
- 28 Oct 2023 The GOLDEN Rules of Software Engineering 484
- 12 Oct 2022 14 Common Reasons Software Projects Fail (And How To Avoid Them) 474
- 06 Jun 2022 HEIJUNKA: The art of leveling production 458
- 19 Sep 2022 Jidoka in Software Development and Odoo ERP/MRP 445
- 29 Nov 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Partnership Agreements 436
- 13 Oct 2021 Outsourcing Software Development: MVP, Proof of Concept (POC) and Prototyping. Which is better? 405
- 28 Oct 2022 Build Operate Transfer (B.O.T) Model in Software Outsourcing 358
- 12 Dec 2021 Zero Sum Games Agile vs. Waterfall Project Management Methods 355
- 04 Mar 2024 Tree Ring Management: Take the Long Term View and Grow Your Business Slowly 331
- 05 Mar 2021 How do you minimize risks when you outsource software development? 310
- 01 Oct 2020 Handling tight project deadlines as a business analyst 307
- 04 Oct 2021 Product Validation: The Key to Developing the Best Product Possible 291
- 20 Dec 2021 What is Hybrid Mobile App Development? 284
- 05 May 2021 TIGO Magic Scale - PoC tool for you to apply dichotomous thinking before submitting RFP 282
- 01 Jun 2020 Japan Business Review (JBR) 265
- 11 Oct 2021 10 Myths About Low-End Project Management Software 265
- 04 Oct 2022 Which ERP implementation strategy is right for your business? 256
- 12 Mar 2022 The u-Japan concept 230
- 01 Dec 2023 Laws of Project Management 226
- 31 Aug 2022 What are the best practices for software contract negotiations? 208
- 02 Apr 2022 Productivity vs. Efficiency – What Are the Differences? 194
- 07 Dec 2023 The Myths Of Requirements 190
- 01 May 2024 Warren Buffett’s Golden Rule for Digital Transformation: Avoiding Tech Overload 183
- 05 Sep 2023 The Cold Start Problem: How to Start and Scale Network Effects 157
- 07 Nov 2022 Why Design Thinking can save the outsourcing industry 153
- 06 Mar 2024 [SemRush] What Are LSI Keywords & Why They Don‘t Matter 121
- 06 Dec 2024 Steps For Integrating Sustainable Practices Into Business Operations 102
- 12 Aug 2024 Understanding Google Analytics in Mumbai: A Beginner's Guide 78
- 07 Mar 2023 Japan’s Unusual Farming Strategy: Renting Land and Leaving It Fallow for 5 Years — Here’s the Truth… 29
- 07 Oct 2025 Case Study: Using the “Messaging House” Framework to Build a Digital Transformation Roadmap 23
What is Genba Genbutsu Genjitsu (3Gs)?
- Genba - Gemba (現場) is the Japanese term for “actual place,” often used for the shop floor or any place where value-creating work actually occurs. It is also spelled genba. This is where work takes place and value is created for the customers. Note that work and value are not always aligned.
- Genbutsu - "The actual thing". This could be a piece of equipment, a product, etc. It is the target of one's focus for improvement.
- Genjitsu - "The actual situation (facts)". What is happening in the area of kaizen, a workcell, etc.
One very key aspect related to these three terms is "genchi genbutsu" or "Go Observe". This means that one would go observe an area of opportunity or where a problem might be occurring. By doing this, we gain first-hand and not anecdotal or second hand information that might have been filtered for us.
Taiichi Ohno, creator of the Toyota Production System is credited, perhaps apocryphally, with taking new graduates to the shopfloor and drawing a chalk circle on the floor. The graduate would be told to stand in the circle, observe and note what he saw. When Ohno returned he would check; if the graduate had not seen enough he would be asked to keep observing. Ohno was trying to imprint upon his future engineers that the only way to truly understand what happens on the shop floor was to go there. It was where the value was added and waste could be observed.
Genchi genbutsu – Go See Approach
The term Genchi Genbutsu comes from the word Gemba meaning the ‘actual place’. Japanese detectives call the crime scene Gemba/Gemba, and Japanese TV reporters refer to themselves as reporting from Gemba or in modern terms “Ground Zero” (not literally in terms of violent / bomb activity but where something has happened). Therefore, to understand exactly what the situation is - “Go & physically see for yourself to the place where it happened.”
Genchi Genbutsu is sometimes referred to as "Getcha boots on" (and go out and see what is happening) due to its similar cadence and meaning. It has been compared to Peters and Waterman's idea of "Management By Wandering Around".
Run your non-Toyota business, the Toyota way...
Genchi Genbutsu is NOT an aimless, purposeless walk around the block...!!!
Wikipedia says: Genchi Genbutsu (現地現物 ?) means "go and see" and it is a key principle of the Toyota Production System. It suggests that in order to truly understand a situation one needs to go to gemba (現場) or, the 'real place' - where work is done.
Broadly speaking, it also means “go, see, hear, smell, touch, feel and try-out” for yourself. It also means "not to solely rely on the reports", as;
1) Reports are not real-time and
2) Reports may not be quite objective!
- This is closely tied to the Gemba (Genba), where the action is, where the value is created. (Gen is the actuality and the reality in Japanese but translated into English, it has somehow changed to Gem!)
- Butsu means "the condition of..." Genbutsu, therefore, means how the actuality of the Gemba (Genba) is...
- Gen-Jitsu simply means the status & situation of the Gemba (Genba) and the gap between where things are & where they ideally should be...
- “Lean” encourages upper management to get into the day-to-day work and get their hands dirty, so they can determine the health of their organization. These are basically the ways one can conduct an effective & intelligible Genchi-Genbutsu:
1. Observation
One of the most important, perhaps the most important ways to collect viable & pertinent data, is through personal Observation. In my opinion, each supervisor and/or a manager must intimately know ALL the processes and operations within his/her department; a.) To know what to watch & monitor as the CSFs (Critical Success Factors), b.) To be able to improve them further and c.) To avoid being snowed by the others!
For "Observation" to take place, one should be a good detective (have the right set of glasses on) and also the Gemba (Genba) must be easily discernible! (Visual workplace)
2. Interviews
Next, is by asking people (Team Members), who do the work. That will provide good data. Knowing what to ask them (right questions). Asking open-ended questions, which are done with tact & sincerity to learn, will do wonders! 5Ws (Who, Why, What, Where & When) and 1H (How) are your best friends, when it comes to getting people to talk so you can collect the necessary data!
3. Surveys
Although this may not be as accurate or as timely as the first two, it can offer some data with some degree of confidence. Designing a survey is a job and has to be done with care & knowledge, otherwise it will not provide the desired results!
4. Hands-on
This is the best way to correctly analyze real-time, accurate and relevant data. Hands-on methods will also provide an “emotional content", something quite valuable that the other approaches cannot offer! By actually doing the process, one can also be made aware of the Muri (overburden) and Mura (inconsistency) that are present within the process!
5. Reports & Paper Research
The other method to collect data is Paper Research, where we will have to depend on the reports, findings and previous problem-solving activities. This can definitely shed light on collecting data, provided we consider all the similarities as well as the differences among the many different factors in the environment, time, people & etc.
6. Historical data
The next method is referring to the historical data, from the past to help determine the trend & predict the future behavior! Historical data, although scientific, but it's not a certain predictive methodology! It's not total Muda, either! It can illustrate the way a given phenomenon has occurred in the past, thereby anticipating its future behavior!
Wrapping-Up
Walking around the Genba is NOT the same as conducting a thoughtful, purposeful & intentional Genchi-Genbutsu-Genjitsu, where certain areas are observed, certain questions are asked and certain notes are taken based on the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of any organization. This way, only pertinent Kaizen (Improvements) are initiated, which are directly in-line with & related to the Goals & Objectives of the place!
Explore more on these topics
Guest Blogging: The Definitive Guide
Top Trending Topics
Share This
Link copied!
Recently Updated News
