Q 452. Explain the 5G technique for problem solving with a suitable example.

 

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Gen-ba or Gemba means Real Place. It means going to the actual place where the problem has occurred. An interesting article about the difference between Gemba and MBWA (Management by Walking Around) is on the Benchmark Six Sigma Forum. (Link in Reference 1)

Gen-butsu means Real Part. Go to the real place and observe the real part and the real process.

Gen-jitsu means Real Facts. It means collecting the real facts by going to the real place and observing the real part and the real process. This can be compared to the standard or ideal condition. The 4M data, i.e., Man, Machine, Material and Method may be collected.

3G Principles. Genba, Gebbutsu, and Genjitsu form the 3G Principles.

5G Principles. Genri and Gensoku are added to the 3G Principles

Genri means Principles. It means verifying the related theory and/or principles. This helps in Root Cause Analysis

Gensoku means Fundamental Rules. It means checking the Standards, Standard Operating Procedures, parameters, the level of training, motivation, etc.

Example. Optimizing Crew Transportation of an Airline at a Metro City.

ABC Airlines operates International and Domestic flights for their Pilots and Cabin crew from XYZ city. A transport delay generally leads to a flight delay causing both tangible and intangible loss for the airline. The transportation operations are contracted out to a vendor to carry out the operations.

Problem. Increase in Flights being delayed on account of transport. Vendor asking for an increase in the number of cars for the operation.

Application of 5G Principle

Genba. This involved a visit to the airport and observing the operations both secretively, from a distance, and from within the parking lot.

Genbutsu. Here it was observing the real process both for travel from home to airport and vice versa.

Genjitsu. The real facts were collected some of these were, the geolocation of the addresses of all crew to calculate time and distance, flight schedule throughout the day, no of cars actually deployed with their registration numbers, odometer reading of all cars, number of crew in each car per trip, the spatial distance between crew being clubbed together in each trip, flight time – airport droptime on pickup , waiting time on drop, GPS feed, number of vendor supervisors deployed, non-productive trips (one way empty), breakdowns, preventive maintenance, the interaction between vendor supervisor, airline supervisor and crew, etc.

 

Genri. The next step was to verify the related theory/principles.

Timeline. A timeline of the entire operations was drawn out in Excel and peak loads and lean periods were calculated. The operations were balanced by combining the domestic and international operations into one contract. Further peak loads were handled through the hiring of Meru/Ola/Uber Cabs available at the airport.

Geolocation. Geolocations of all crew members were plotted on the map and theoretical distances were calculated. These were compared with the actual odometer readings for corroboration of the facts. Infor Optimization Software, which is designed on various transportation and supply chain optimization theories such as traveling salesman etc., was deployed for optimizing the operations.

Actual Odometer Readings. Actual daily odometer readings for each day of operations obtained from the cars, compared with the GPS readings. Average readings and standard deviations were calculated and the area under the normal curve was used to calculate probabilities of delay.

Non-Productive Trips. Details of non-productive trips were studied and fed into the software which reduced the number of trips.

Stakeholder Analysis. The stakeholders were the management (reduction in cost), crew (improved quality of service), vendor (increase in profit), Unions (political reasons), etc.

Gensoku. The last step was to establish the Fundamental Rules. The number of cars for the operations was theoretically calculated and corroborated with the actual cars on the ground. Service Level Agreements, taking into consideration inputs from all stakeholders, were included as part of the contract. Airline Supervisors were given authority to hire Meru/Ola/Uber cabs on an as-required basis. The SLAs included the number of cars to be deployed during various time periods (peak and lean time periods) of the operations, waiting times (waiting times were increased in lean periods), number of crew to be clubbed in each cab (this was increased during peak operations), clear accountability and distribution of responsibilities between vendor and airline supervisor.

Final Outcome. The above operations led to a reduction in the number of cars being deployed, nil transport delay on account of transport, increased satisfaction by the crew, clear accountability between vendor and airlines supervisor. The same model with a few modifications was applied in other Metros.

The above example has been written after a detailed discussion with the person in charge of optimizing the transport optimization.

References

https://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/forum/topic/35238-gemba/#comment-46468

https://www.nikunjbhoraniya.com/2022/01/5-gen-methodology.html

http://www.sixsigmatrainingfree.com/six-sigma-blog/gemba-gembutsu-genjitsu

 

Gemba

The first “G” is called the Gemba.  “Go to the real place” The Gemba is the place where the event took place /at the source of the problem. It is critical that your team start by jointly going to the Gemba to start your investigation.

 

Genbutsu

The second “G” is known as Genbutsu. “Examine the Object/tool”. While at the Gemba, your team observe the equipment parts and materials that were involved in the equipment failure.  In most cases, the part may have been removed or replaced before the team has assembled.  Hence, your team must keep the failed part handy to perform analysis to see if you can find any evidences to see how the part failed.

Genjitsu

The third “G” is Genjitsu. “Check the real facts”, for this step, your team must gather all the available data about the process, equipment, and materials before and after the equipment failure.   This data will play a key role in link the facts behind the evidence that the team sees and understand what really happened.  

 

Genri

The fourth “G” represents Genri. “Vefiy the Principles” Having the principles of operation available while your team is gathering data about the equipment is key in being able to position the correct movement of the equipment.  This will help your team clearly see how the equipment is different from standard.

 

Gensoku

The fifth “G” is Gensoku. “Check the Process SOPs/Standard practices” There is a chance that the equipment didn’t just fail because it was poorly manufactured.  The team must also have knowledge of the operating procedures that administer the actions of the machine operator and verify that human intervention did not lead to the equipment failure.  You should reference your process SOPs, instruction manual during your investigation

 

Example:

Car accident

Steps			Car Accident
1	Gemba	Go to the real place	Visit the service station where the accident has happened
2	Genbutsu	Examine the Object/tool	Examine the car which met with an accident
3	Genjitsu	Check the real facts	Evaluate the conditions of the car and other facts
4	Genri	Verify the Principles	Verify the driving & highway principles
5	Gensoku	Check the Process SOPs/Standard practices	Check SOP of how the operate the car

 

Both the answers are excellent and very well structured. Hence, both have been declared as winners. Well done!!