However, the true problem I discovered on my Gemba walk was not a damaged box in a warehouse. Yes, the mess was a problem and yes, the mess got cleaned up which is the proper initial action. Well, that depends on your idea of the problem and your definition of solved. Once the mess gets straightened out, the problem is solved and we get back to manufacturing our products.

Most employees will promptly get help to salvage the parts and clean up the mess as soon as possible. While I have heard all of these responses, in one form or another, many times before in my manufacturing experience, answer c is the most common response. More than likely, he was also little angry however he did not show any of it to me.ДЄ) вЂњI didnвЂ™t do it, it must have happened on second shift.вЂќД«) вЂњIвЂ™ll find out who did it and fire the !вЂќД¬) вЂњI am so sorry, IвЂ™ll get it cleaned up immediatelyвЂќД) вЂњIt happens all the time, but itвЂ™s not a big problem.вЂќ He looked at me with mixed emotions that I took for a combination of mainly embarrassment (since I found something wrong in his area), a bit of grief (hereвЂ™s another problem to deal with first thing in the morning) and a dose of frustration (this was not a planned action item on todayвЂ™s To-Do list). After I noticed a damaged box with components spilled on the floor, I called the first employee I saw, a Warehouse Team Leader, to show him. Here is a problem I discovered on my Gemba walk.

Clean up on isle 5