Digital Gemba Board: What It Is and How to Use It
A gemba board is where a team sees how the work is going – at the place where the work happens. A digital gemba board keeps the same idea but adds live data, action tracking and escalation. Here is how it works.
Quick answer: A digital gemba board is an electronic version of the lean gemba board – a visual board at the workplace that shows safety, quality, delivery, inventory and productivity (SQDIP) and the actions to fix problems. It is used in daily huddles and tiered meetings and can be updated from production systems or by phone.
1. Key Takeaways
- Gemba means “the actual place” – where the work happens.
- A digital gemba board shows SQDIP metrics and the actions to fix problems.
- It replaces handwritten whiteboards with live data and trackable action cards.
- Tiered meetings escalate problems from team to plant level.
- A good huddle takes 10 minutes and focuses on red items only.
2. What Is a Digital Gemba Board?
A digital gemba board is a screen-based board at or near the workplace that shows the team’s key metrics and open actions so problems are seen and solved quickly.
3. Paper vs Digital Gemba Board
A digital gemba board keeps actions and history, updates automatically and can be seen by managers in other locations.
4. Tiered Meetings Around the Gemba Board
Problems the team cannot solve move up through tiered meetings – from team to area, plant and site.
Take the problem up a tier
Colour-coded lists, cards with images, checklists and due dates – on Android, iPhone, tablet and desktop.
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5. How to Run a Gemba Board Huddle
Stand at the board, review SQDIP, discuss only the red items, create action cards and escalate what the team cannot fix.
6. Digital Gemba Board Examples
Here are three digital gemba boards built in PlanBoards.
Digital gemba board – Line 3 (SQDIP)
Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory and Productivity as columns – with the SQDIP dashboard as an image.
Gemba walk – actions
Observed, Root Cause, Action (WIP 3) and Verified – with a 5 Whys card and a 5S shadow board.
Tier 2 huddle – plant escalations
From Tier 1, Owner Assigned, In Progress and Closed.
7. How to Set Up a Digital Gemba Board
Pick five metrics, set targets, add an action column, place the screen at the line and hold a huddle every shift.
- Choose your metrics. Usually SQDIP: safety, quality, delivery, inventory, productivity.
- Set targets. Green/red thresholds for each metric.
- Add an action flow. Observed → Root Cause → Action → Verified.
- Place it at the gemba. A screen or tablet where the team works.
- Hold short huddles. 10 minutes every shift.
- Escalate. Move cards to the Tier 2 board when needed.
8. FAQ
These are the questions people ask about digital gemba boards.
What is a digital gemba board?
An electronic visual board at the workplace that shows key metrics such as SQDIP and the actions to fix problems.
What does gemba mean?
Gemba is Japanese for “the actual place” – where value is created, such as the shop floor.
What is SQDIP?
Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory and Productivity – the usual metrics on a gemba board.
What is the difference between a gemba board and a Kanban board?
A gemba board shows performance and problems; a Kanban board shows work items flowing through steps. Many teams use both.
How long should a gemba huddle take?
About 10 minutes, standing at the board, focusing on red items.
What are tiered meetings?
A chain of short daily meetings – team, area, plant – that escalate problems the level below cannot solve.
Can PlanBoards be used as a digital gemba board?
Yes – one column per metric and an action flow with owners and due dates, free to use.
9. Sources and Further Reading
These are the sources behind this guide.
- Wikipedia: Gemba
- Wikipedia: Visual control
- Lean Enterprise Institute. Gemba (lexicon).
- Wikipedia: Lean manufacturing
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