In high-risk industries like rail, infrastructure, and utilities, non-compliance doesn’t just cost lives, it costs money. Whether it’s project delays, rework, downtime, or regulatory fines, the commercial impact of poor visibility on site is huge.

That’s where Gemba Walks come in. Originally part of Lean methodology, they’re now gaining traction across modern infrastructure projects as a way to reduce operational risk, identify process waste, and tighten safety performance, all in a single move.

But do they actually deliver ROI?

The ROI of a Gemba Walk

Let’s look at what’s actually measurable:

1. Reduced rework and waste

Industry average cost of rework is between 2 and 20% of total construction project values
Source: Construction Industry Institute

On-site observations frequently reveal workarounds, sequencing issues, or process bottlenecks that never make it into risk registers. Gemba Walks uncover these early, before errors cascade downstream.

ROI impact: A single walkthrough can prevent thousands in remedial costs.

2. Lower incident rates and safety-related downtime

A 2024 HSE report highlights that each non-fatal injury can cost just under £12,000. Identifying and fixing unsafe behaviours before they become incidents not only protects your people, it keeps your projects running on schedule. Near-miss prevention is one of the most under-leveraged sources of savings in compliance-heavy sectors. (HSE Report)

ROI impact: Proactive safety = fewer disruptions, fewer claims, and better contractor confidence.

3. Stronger workforce engagement = better performance

Companies with high engagement typically have lower absenteeism rates and improved safety performance

Workers who feel seen and supported are more likely to follow procedures, raise issues early, and take responsibility. Gemba Walks show teams that leadership is listening, not just measuring.

ROI impact: Trust boosts compliance, quality, and productivity.

4. Better compliance and audit readiness‍

Instead of scrambling before an audit, Gemba Walks surface daily reality. You spot expired certs, broken signage, and incorrect PPE use, these are the small things that often trigger big audit failures.

ROI impact: Reduced audit prep time, fewer audit failures (NCs), better client confidence.

How to make it measurable

To track the real business impact of your Gemba Walks:

• Log findings digitally — don't rely on scribbled notes
• Assign actions with deadlines and owners
• Report on close-out rate and time to resolution
• Track before/after metrics (e.g. incident frequency, rework rate)

This is where platforms like Visibly can help. Field insights turn into actions, tracked across projects with clear ownership. That means real-time progress, not just post-walk paperwork.

Final thought

You wouldn’t try to run a project without visiting the site. Why run safety or compliance that way?

The cost of a Gemba Walk is a couple of hours. The cost of not doing one? Days of delay. Missed tenders. Reputational damage. A worker getting hurt.

If your job is to reduce risk and improve delivery, this is your lowest-cost, highest-yield move.

Would you like to step-change your safety procedures? Book a call with the Visibly team.