ABSTRACT
How Do We Find Waste? Go and See Once we know the definitions of waste, we have to take action. We have to “go and see” (genchi genbutsu, in Japanese), as Toyota would tell us. Ohno was famous for training engineers and managers to look for waste by chalk drawing what came to be known as an “Ohno circle” on the floor.1 „e trainee was told to stand in the circle (just a few feet in diameter) and watch the process for hours, looking for waste. „at is an extreme method and not one that is commonly used, but there are lessons to be drawn from it. First, you have to go and see with your own eyes, as meeting in a conference room to discuss the process is not as effective. Leaders at all levels have to go to the gemba (the place where work is actually done) to see what really happens.
