Guidance Documents for the Aviation,
Space and Defence Organizations
Appendix-4- Procedures for Collecting Proposal
from Gemba (shop floor) 1

Table of contents
1.
2.
3.
4.

Objectives
ScopeTerms
Collecting proposal from Gemba (shop floor)
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Daily communication
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba
4.4 Other processes
4.5 Responses to the collected proposal
4.6 Application of PDCA to the process of receiving
proposal
5. Example
6. Editor’s Note2

1. Objectives•••

In such case as each work task’s dependence on the Gemba (shopfloor), the Gemba being too independent (relying on them too much),there is the possibility that the work will not be performed inaccordance with the work instructions, procedure documents, andSPECs, or the risk that rules such as the work procedures, etc. will bechanged through an original judgment by a Gemba (particularly incases in which it is difficult to perform the work in accordance with therequirements and cases in which work improvements are possible).
In order not to cause such situation, it is important to maintain daily
communication with the Gemba and furthermore to establish
processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba .
The objective of these materials is to provide the guidelines and bestpractices for establishment of processes related to those kinds ofcommunication methods and receiving proposal .

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2. ScopeThis document can be applied to following areas.
•All aspects of organizations in the aviation, space and defence(Note that these materials can be used in other fields as well)•The Gemba (shop floor) manufacturing the products•The offices issuing the procedure documents and instructions4

3. Terms
The definitions of the terms used in this material should be as follows.
• Gemba (shop floor) ... The places manufacturing the products, the offices
issuing the procedure documents, instructions, etc.
• Proposal ... An idea presented regarding the corrections, work
improvements, etc.
• Proposal report ... A document that compiles and reports the proposal
from the Gemba• Correction ... Measures to ensure compliance with blueprints andstandards• Work improvements... Measures implemented to improve work
performance and quality54. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.1 Introduction•Isn’t your organization in this condition?
– You have no confidence regarding whether or not the managers
are managing the Gemba– The managers do not sufficiently understand the status of theGemba– The managers do not know what the Gemba are thinking– The proposal from the Gemba are not received in the related
departments– Proposal from the Gemba are presented, but no measures aretaken by the organization as a whole

Here we present three activities that are effective from
improving such situation(communication, receiving proposal, other processes)
64. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.2 Daily communication
It is necessary for the managers to take care to communicate on a daily
basis, so that each work task is not dependent on the Gemba , and theGemba are not too independent (relied on too much).
Moreover, it is necessary to ascertain• Whether the Gemba are facing any difficulties• What the Gemba are thinking
and respond appropriately.
(For the handling methods, refer to Section 4.5)

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4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.2 Daily communication (continued)
The managers can utilize the following opportunities to work to improve dailycommunication.
✈ Meeting formats such as the morning meeting,afternoon meeting, etc.
✈ Visit to Gemba by managers✈ Opportunities for regular reports such as daily reports,
weekly reports, etc.
✈ Dinner meetings between executives and workers☞

Points when engaging in communication• Hold regular dialogues (people won’t speak up on the firstmeeting)• Directly ask actual workers on Gemba(not involving superiors is also necessary)84. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba
Daily communication is important for ascertaining the conditions in theGemba, but due to the fact that
“It is difficult to say anything directly(face to face)"“It is necessary to record proposal in advance"
etc. different methods are necessary.
It is important for the organization to construct “mechanisms for receiving
the proposal of the Gemba" and ensure that it can listen to the proposalof the Gemba using appropriate methods.

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4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba (continued)
Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba are Processes forreporting the problems that occur on Gemba to the managers/related
departments, and are treated as techniques for reporting events thatcannot be solved by the Gemba alone to the managers/related
departments.

When the proposal from Gemba is NOT confirm sufficiently ...
The proposal from the Gemba arise from the products and aredeeply related to quality. When they are neglected, there is apossibility that this will lead to nonconformity

104. Collecting proposalfrom Gemba (shop floor)
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba (continued)
The work necessary for constructing the processes for receiving proposal
from the Gemba is shown below.
(1) Establishment of proposal report form (correction requests, work
improvement proposals)(2) Clarification of the department in charge of the measures(3) Establish the flow of recommended proposal(4) Establish methods for managing and measuring the collected proposal(5) Establish methods of proposal to the Gemba
The points to be careful about for each task and a sample flow at theGemba manufacturing the products are shown on the next page.

114. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba (continued)

Points for each task and sample flow☞
(5) For the feedbackrefer to Section 4.5

Factory manager• Distinction between corrections and work
improvements• Degree of urgency• Space for a signature• Decided measures (use in feedback)• Recipient of request for measures

Design Engineering department(1) When organization establishes
proposal report form, it is good toinclude the following contents.

Process design department
Manufacturing Engineeringdepartment

Subsection chief /Gemba staff

Foreman/overseer

Group leader /worker

Proposalreport form

Divisionchief(3) Depending on the size of the organization,proposal may be reported directly to themanagers/executives

Sectionchief

Work for construction(1) Establishment of proposal
report form
(2) Clarify responsibledepartment(3) Establish flow of proposal(4) Management of collected
proposal(5) Feedback☞(4) For the management of thecollected proposal refer tosection 4.5(2) It is good to be careful about thefollowing points so that the measures aretaken appropriately in the responsible
department.
• Appoint a full-time employee• Deploy them to the Gemba• Establish the processing period

124. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.3 Processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba (continued)☞

Points when the organization establishes processes
for receiving the proposal of the Gemba• Clarify the types of proposal (categories of corrections and work
improvements)• Send the proposal report to the appropriate responsible department(Manufacturing Engineering /Process Design, Design Engineering
department, etc.)• For organizations with no design work, construct a process leading tothe customer• Signing is desirable from the perspective of feedback as well
• For the measures with respect to the collected proposal, refer to Section
4.5• After establishment of these processes, it is necessary to provide
education to the people involved, so that the processes will function
reliably• Incentives for improvement proposals are effective13

4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.4 Other processes
Even if daily communication is practiced and processes forcollecting proposal are established, there are cases in which
they will not function perfectly for a variety of reasons.
In such cases, it is desirable to construct an internal reporting
system so that the people working
on the Gemba and the people
related to them can present their proposal
regardless of the office organization.

Proposal collected using an internal reporting system...
Sometimes these include proposal that do not affect quality
such as proposal on their treatment in the company andregarding the work environment, etc. There is, however, apossibility that their awareness of compliance will weaken due
to the unfairness/dissatisfaction caused by these factors, soproper responses are necessary

144. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.4 Other processes (continued)
When constructing an internal reporting system, it is necessary to prepare several
suggestion methods like the following, so that internal reporting is easy to do.

 E-mails
 Telephone Documents
 Fax
 Bulletin boards
 Databases

It is also good to handle such a system by organizing a dedicated response group(for example, the Compliance Group).

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4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.4 Other processes (continued)
When constructing an internal reporting system, it is important to build anenvironment in which it is easy to get people to present their proposal.

☞Points when constructing an internal reporting system• For all internal reporting methods including e-mail, telephone,etc., handle proposal /suggestions both signed and unsigned• When preparing telephone lines, prepare both internal lines
and external lines• The suggestion box should be installed in a place that isdifficult to catch the eyes of people when posting asuggestion, such as a passageway, toilet, changing room, etc.
• Even for signed suggestions, it is necessary to take measures
to ensure that the individual cannot be subsequently identified
by a third party, etc.
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4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.5 Responses to the collected proposal
It is necessary for the managers to appropriately handle the proposal collectedusing a variety of methods. If this is not done adequately, the faith from theGemba will be lost and the managers will become unable to collect the proposal.

☞Points when handling the collected proposal• Establish the order of priority and importance• It is also necessary to involve the management team in order to handle thecollected proposal certainly (utilize follow-up involving the management)• Openly declare the standard processing period based on the degree ofimportance• Ensure that the collected proposal are shared not only within the department,
but also in the related departments and can be used for improvements in eachdepartment• It is desirable for the status of the handling of the collected proposal to beshown in lists, etc. so that it can also be understood by the proposal, and thefeedback should be given to the recommender(Disclose the proposal content and answers/processing status)• Respond to all of the presented proposal (refer to page 22)17

4. Collecting proposal
from Gemba (shop floor)
4.6 Application of PDCA to the process of receiving proposal
Even if the methods presented so far have been applied,there are cases in which the proposal are not collected
effectively, and sufficient measures have not beentaken with respect to the collected proposal.
It is necessary for the managers to make improvements by also
applying the PDCA cycle to these processes.
Furthermore, it is good to utilize meeting formats, etc. related to quality
to implement reviews of the effectiveness of the processes.

☞Points to be careful about when applying the PDCA cycle• Check (C) is particularly important• Have the awareness that the fact that proposal report has not been submitted is
not necessarily a good thing• Check by visualizing the processes and their progress.
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5. Example(1) Quality patrol activities(i) Gemba patrol by managers
Managers and Gemba leaders conduct patrol to check quality.
The team is consisted of a few members and look at their own
workplaces and other workplaces. Not only findings but
also actions are decided on the spot.

☞Points when managers patrol Gemba• Do the workers have any problems?
• Is the Gemba in a situation in which it is not possible to comply with inhouse rules and work instructions?
• If there are any problems, summon the related departments and decide
the countermeasures on the shop
• Are there any activities in other workplaces that could serve as areference or example?

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5. Example(1) Quality patrol activities(ii) Gemba patrol centered on workers
Members primarily consisting of the workers at the Gemba
patrol each workplace. The workers themselves aim to raise
their own quality awareness by looking at other workplaces.

☞Points when workers patrol Gemba• It is good if specific themes is established and a checklist is prepared(Examples)• Control of tools... Has the calibration been done, have no tools been lost, have notools been damaged, are the tools tidy and well-ordered? etc.
• Control of issued documents... Are they consistent with the ledgers, is the work
being performed using the current version ? etc.
• Production records... Are there any omissions in the records, are qualified people
doing the work, is the work being done in accordance with the process sequence?
etc.
• Are there any activities in other workplaces that could serve as a reference orexample?

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5. Example(1) Quality patrol activities(iii) Gemba patrol by the quality management department
The quality management department implements patrol on
specific days established in advance (for example, days witha “9” [pronounced “kyu” in Japanese like “Q” for quality]
such as the 9th, the 19th, and the 29th).
They aim to raise quality awareness in each workplace through the patrol.

☞Points when the quality management department patrols Gemba• Confirm (ask) if the work is being implemented in accordance withestablished rules• Confirm (ask) if the work is being implemented normally• Raise and establish quality awareness in each workplace by notifying them
about the patrol in advance• It is good to implement the patrol in conjunction with events such as quality
month, etc.
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5. Example(2) Dialogue activities(i) Everyone’s voice
Regularly solicit corrections and improvement proposals frommanagers, workers, and related departments belonging to theorganization through suggestion boxes and e-mail. Disclose
the answers, and share the solutions to problems / status ofmeasures.

☞Points at time of implementation• Respond to all of the presented proposal (Even in the case that
information is insufficient and a detailed investigation is difficult,disclose such situation as an answer)

225. Example(2) Dialogue activities(ii) Quality examination meeting
The quality management department establishes forumsfor each factory and workplace to discuss quality.
They report the quality status and report the lessons
learned from instances of nonconformity.

☞Points of implementation• Not only the quality management department but also themanagers, workers, and related departments belonging to theorganization participate• It is easier to increase motivation if awards are given todepartments with outstanding quality statuses• It is easier to increase awareness of quality if the representativesof the Gemba also participate23

5. Example(2) Dialogue activities(iii) Round-table conferences on quality
The organization’s executives hold luncheons and tea parties withworkers and get them to present problems, dissatisfactions, andimprovement proposals, and immediately decide the policies. The
organization’s executives give instructions for improvements directly to
the workplaces and aim for early solutions to the problems.

☞Points of implementation• Be careful not to put any workers at a disadvantage

245. Example(2) Dialogue activities(iv) Interviews at the Gemba by the design engineers, manufacturing
engineers, and process designers
The design engineers, manufacturing engineers and process designers visit
Gemba and directly receive proposal from workers on sites.

☞Points of implementation• Produce improvements in the their activities by directly asking
about the workers’ evaluations on the blueprints of drawings andprocesses being planned.

255. Example(2) Dialogue activities(v) Interviews at the Gemba by third parties unrelated to the office organization
Third parties unrelated to the office organization (personnel in a position in which
they are able to coordinate with the related departments, including consultants,
sub-contractors, etc.) visit the Gemba and interview the workers.

☞Points of implementation• Continue to talk to the Gemba and ask them what the problems
are on the Gemba , and what they want from other departments

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6. Editor’s Note
• Higher quality and safety are required in the products manufactured for the aerospace industry, and an
essential condition in development and production is that all of the workers are honest to their work all ofthe time. This means that the workers perform their work correctly in accordance with regulations andprocedures, and correctly record the work they have done. Moreover, we believe that in the case thatproblems occur even though the work was done in accordance with the regulations and procedures, andin the case that the work cannot be done in accordance with the regulations and procedures, it isnecessary for the workers to stop the work and acknowledge the problem.
• In this guidance document, we have complied the guidelines for handling the case that problems occur
even though the work was done in accordance with the regulations and procedures, and the case thatthe work cannot be done in accordance with the regulations and procedures, and have recorded therelated best practices. However, what we would like our readers to be aware of at all times is that
establishment of the processes for receiving proposal from the Gemba as described in this document isvery important, but the foundation of establishment of the processes is daily communication in particular,
and is nothing other than relationships of trust between the Gemba and the managers. We believe thatno matter how much the managers intend to communicate, and no matter how many mechanisms areconstructed for collecting proposal from the Gemba , if there are no relationships of trust between theGemba and the managers, then it will be difficult for those processes to function adequately. In addition,although we have not discussed this point in detail in this document, we believe that confirming the status
and ascertaining the status through daily, open communication in the Gemba makes a large contribution
to both proactive prevention of problems and prevention of recurrence of problems. Constructing thesekinds of relationships is difficult to do overnight and probably will take a long time sometimes. We hopereaders will understand the several points presented in this guidance document to be points in thebuilding of this trust and will utilize them effectively for that purpose.
• In conclusion, we would like our readers to think that when it appears that the manufacturing is relying
too much on the Gemba , imposing a large burden on them, then it is necessary to not turn away fromthe problems but to face the problems on the Gemba , respond sincerely to them, and ensure thecontinuation of honest manufacturing at all times.
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