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5G investigation sheet

The 5G methodology is a problem investigation discipline from the Toyota Production System that confirms five things before anyone proposes a cause: gemba, the actual place where the problem happened; gembutsu, the actual thing; genjitsu, the actual facts; genri, the principles that govern the process; and gensoku, the standard it should follow. The first three are gathered by going to see. The last two are what those facts are compared with, and the gap between them is what the countermeasure has to close. Page 1 of the PDF frames the problem with 5W1H, gives one row per G with four prompts to tick, the findings and the evidence, then the gap type (standard not followed, standard missing or wrong, principle not understood), the countermeasures and the check. Page 2 is the same sheet filled in for leaking pouch seals on a packing line. The Excel version works out the defect rate before, during and after the problem, counts the countermeasures done, and has an investigation log with status, days open, late flags and counts by gap type.

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Page 1 of the 5G investigation sheetFields for area, date, investigators and reference, a 5W1H table for the phenomenon, one row for each of the five G's with four prompts, findings and evidence, then the gap type, countermeasures and the check.
5W1H problem descriptionGemba, gembutsu, genjitsuGenri and gensoku20 prompts to tickGap typeCountermeasures and checkRates before and afterInvestigation log
Filled-in 5G investigation sheet: leaking bottom seals on coffee pouches
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a 5G investigation sheet

  • When a problem leaves physical evidence at the source: a defective part, a failed component, a process that drifts.
  • When a problem comes back after a corrective action, which usually means the first investigation worked from reports instead of facts.
  • Before a 5 Whys or a fishbone session, so the team analyzes confirmed facts rather than opinions.
  • When the standard is in question: to find out whether it was followed, whether it exists and whether it is right.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Describe the problem with 5W1H

    Write the phenomenon in one line, then what, where, when, who and how much, with numbers. No cause and no solution yet. The 5W1H template has more room when the problem is unclear.

  2. 2

    Go to the gemba

    Go where it happened, on the shift and at the time it happens if you can. Watch several cycles before asking questions, and write down what the operators say as what they said.

  3. 3

    Look at the gembutsu

    Hold the defective part itself, not a photo, and put it next to a good one. Note where the defect is, its shape and pattern, and keep labeled samples to test causes against later.

  4. 4

    Get the genjitsu

    Count from records: how many, how often, since when, and whether it follows a shift, machine, lot or time of day. Mark which facts were measured and which were only said.

  5. 5

    Compare with genri and gensoku

    Write how the process is supposed to work and which conditions could produce exactly this defect. Then find the standard and compare the actual conditions with each requirement in it, and tick the gap type.

  6. 6

    Act on the gap and check

    Give each gap at least one countermeasure with an owner and a date, then measure the result the same way as the How much line. The Excel version works out the rates before and after.

What's on the sheet

The 20 prompts on the 5G investigation sheet

Four for each G, in the order the investigation runs. On the sheet each prompt has a box to tick, next to space for what was found and the evidence; the gap against the principle and the standard comes after the five G's.

Gemba

The actual place

  1. 1Go where it happened, on the shift and at the time it happens
  2. 2Watch several cycles before asking questions
  3. 3Note the settings, environment, layout and who was working
  4. 4Ask the operators what they see; write it down as what they said

Gembutsu

The actual thing

  1. 5Hold the defective part itself, not a photo or a report
  2. 6Put a bad one next to a good one and compare them
  3. 7Note where the defect is on the part, its shape, size and pattern
  4. 8Keep labeled samples to test possible causes against

Genjitsu

The actual facts

  1. 9Count how many, how often and since when, from records
  2. 10Pull the production, machine, quality and material records
  3. 11Mark which facts were measured and which were only said
  4. 12Check whether it follows a shift, machine, lot or time of day

Genri

The principles, the theory

  1. 13Write down how the process works: the physics or the method
  2. 14List the conditions that, by that principle, could cause this
  3. 15Test each against the facts: where it happens and where not
  4. 16Ask an engineer or the supplier if nobody knows the principle

Gensoku

The standard, the rules

  1. 17Find the standard: specification, setup sheet, SOP, drawing
  2. 18Compare the actual conditions with each requirement in it
  3. 19Decide whether it was followed, is missing, or is wrong
  4. 20Check the people were trained on the current version

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

The worked example on page 2 of the PDF and in the Excel version (illustrative): leaking bottom seals on 250 g coffee pouches, packing line 2.

The example's reject rate, and the genri behind it

  • Week before: 0.2% rejects
  • 8 to 12 Sep: 3.12% rejects
  • Test 45/min: 0.07% rejects
  • Test 60/min: 2.39% rejects
  • After: 0.08% rejects

Jaw time = 0.30 of each cycle × 60 s ÷ packs a minute

  1. At 45 a minute =0.30 × 60 ÷ 45= 0.40 s
  2. At 60 a minute =0.30 × 60 ÷ 60= 0.30 s, under 0.35 s

Reject rates: 0.20 percent the week before, 3.12 percent from 8 to 12 September, 0.07 percent in a test at 45 packs a minute, 2.39 percent at 60, 0.08 percent after the fix. Jaw time fell from 0.40 to 0.30 seconds, below the 0.35 the film needs.

The speed rise cut the time the jaws are closed below what the film needs, which matches the unfused channels found on the rejects.
  • How much: 412 rejects of 13,200 packed from 8 to 12 September, 3.12%, against 21 of 10,500 (0.20%) the week before. First seen on 8 September, on every shift since.
  • Gemba and genjitsu: the line had been raised from 45 to 60 packs a minute on 8 September to catch up on a backlog. Jaw temperature and pressure were inside the setup sheet and the film lot had not changed.
  • Gembutsu: 30 rejects cut open showed unfused channels across the bottom seal and no coffee trapped in it.
  • Genri: the jaws are closed for 30% of each cycle, so jaw time fell from 0.30 × 60 ÷ 45 = 0.40 s to 0.30 × 60 ÷ 60 = 0.30 s, below the 0.35 s the film maker's data needs at 165 °C.
  • Gensoku: the setup sheet sets 45 packs a minute as the maximum for this film. Gap type: standard not followed. Test runs confirmed it: 2 of 2,700 (0.07%) at 45 a minute, 86 of 3,600 (2.39%) at 60.

Speed back to 45 a minute, the limit locked in the machine recipe and the reason added to the setup sheet. From 11 to 17 September, 9 of 10,800 failed, 0.08%, below the 0.20% of the week before 8 September. A trial of a higher jaw temperature at 55 a minute is planned with the film maker before any speed change.

Common mistakes

  • Naming a cause before the gemba visit

    Once a cause has been said out loud, people look for facts that fit it. Write the problem with 5W1H, then go and see.

  • Treating what people said as fact

    That the machine was running normally is what someone said. The speed log showing 60 a minute since 8 September is a fact. Write the source next to every finding.

  • Stopping after the first three G's

    Gemba, gembutsu and genjitsu tell you what happened. Without the principle and the standard there is nothing to compare it with, and the countermeasure becomes retraining by default.

  • Blaming the operator when the standard is the gap

    A standard that is missing, wrong or does not say why a limit exists will be broken again. The gap type decides whether you fix the work or the standard, so tick it honestly.

Download the template

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Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite a 5G section can be added to any phase of a Kaizen, alongside 5 Whys, 5W1H, 4M1D and fishbone sections, and every action in the project's plan has an owner and a due date.

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FAQ

5G investigation sheet: common questions

  1. A form for investigating a problem with the 5G methodology: a 5W1H description of the problem, then what was found at the gemba, on the gembutsu and in the genjitsu, compared with the genri (the principle) and the gensoku (the standard). The gap between the facts and the principle or the standard is what the countermeasure has to close.

  2. Gemba, the actual place; gembutsu, the actual thing; genjitsu, the actual facts; genri, the principles or theory behind the process; and gensoku, the standard or rules it should follow. The first three are gathered by going to see, and the last two are what the facts are compared with.

  3. 5G is the investigation: it confirms what happened, where, what the evidence shows, which principle applies and which standard was not met. The 5 Whys works through the chain of causes once those facts are confirmed. Do the 5G first, then a 5 Whys or a fishbone from its evidence.

  4. Genchi genbutsu is the principle of going to the source to see for yourself. 5G turns it into a fixed investigation sequence and adds the comparison with the principle and the standard, so the investigation ends in a gap that can be acted on.

  5. Three: the standard was not followed (find out why, then train, make it easier to follow or mistake-proof it), the standard is missing or wrong (write or correct it), or the principle was not understood (learn it, then set the standard from it).

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