Mobile Gemba: How We Automated Inspections for Sberbank
Mobile app for Gemba walks reduced problem identification time from 3 days to 15 minutes.
About the Project
For Sberbank (Russia's largest bank), we designed and developed Mobile Gemba — a mobile inspection system based on Japanese lean manufacturing methodology.
What is Gemba?
Gemba (Japanese: 現場) is a Lean methodology requiring managers to personally visit problem sites, gather facts, and make decisions on location. Traditionally, this involves paper checklists, manual data entry, and lengthy approvals.
Client's Problem
A bank with thousands of branches across Russia faced typical challenges:
- Slow data collection — paper reports took 2-3 days to process
- Information loss — up to 15% of observations were lost in transmission
- No unified picture — management couldn't see problems in real-time
- Complex routing — Service Desk tickets were handled manually
Cost of the Problem
With 14,000+ branches and 100+ daily inspections:
- Losses from inefficient processes: ~$2.1M/year
- Lost revenue from slow decisions: ~$800K/year
Our Solution
We developed a comprehensive system:
Mobile Applications (iOS + Android)
- Convenient checklists with photo/video capture
- Offline mode for working without internet
- GPS location tagging
- Automatic problem categorization
Server Infrastructure
- Secure data storage (regulatory compliant)
- Integration gateway with related systems
- Automatic routing to Service Desk
- Real-time dashboards for management
Notification System
- Push notifications to assignees
- Escalation on overdue items
- Reports for managers
Implementation Results
| Metric | Before | After | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem processing time | 2-3 days | 15 min | -99% |
| Lost observations | 15% | <1% | -93% |
| Report completion time | 45 min | 8 min | -82% |
| Decision-making speed | 5 days | 4 hours | -97% |
Financial Impact (Estimate)
- Loss reduction: $1.8M/year
- Payroll savings: $340K/year (routine automation)
- Customer satisfaction increase: +12% NPS
- Total impact: ~$2.5M/year
Technologies
- Native iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin)
- Encrypted secure backend
- Corporate AD integration
- Service Desk API integration
- Custom analytics
Productization
Based on this project, we created Mobile Gemba — a ready-made solution for any company implementing lean manufacturing.
Implementing Lean/Kaizen? Let's discuss automation for your inspections.