Adopted by Toyota years ago, value stream mapping (VSM) is a technique that plays a vital role in lean manufacturing. Essentially a flowchart method, it demonstrates, studies, and enhances the steps that go into delivering a product to the end user.
In other words, from origin to delivery, VSM reviews the flow of information and materials. And for that, it leverages different standard symbols. Also known widely as a process mapping tool, VSM is particularly effective in spotting and getting rid of waste (muda). In fact, it helps map items based on which ones add value and which ones don’t, from the customer’s perspective.
Let’s explore value stream mapping in more detail and delve into its benefits and implementation.
What is Value Stream Mapping (VSM) in Lean?
As explained above, VSM is among those lean manufacturing tools that document every process step via a flowchart. Besides identifying and eliminating waste, it improves processes and lowers their cycle times. Why is this important?
This is because what really matters to customers is the product’s value, not the production efforts. And VSM aids in aligning your manufacturing ecosystem with that. Moreover, value stream mapping drives better communication and collaboration.
Hence, in manufacturing, where many processes involve repetitive steps and multiple handoffs, VSM ensures production flow optimization. Say, during a vehicle assembly, factory workers realize that physical components are creating congestion somewhere in the assembly line. They can then pause and resolve the issue before continuing.
Also, since VSM works on product as well as consumer delivery flows, it achieves two goals simultaneously – product completion and customer satisfaction.
Benefits of Value Stream Mapping for Manufacturers
VSM is not just necessary for process improvement, but for the overall sustainability of a business. These benefits are especially noteworthy:
- By minimizing or removing waste, VSM helps strengthen your business’s profitability and bottom line. Additionally, you get to visualize a process’s present state and identify the waste’s source or root cause, such as downtime, process delays, or inventory mismanagement.
- Through the identification of wasteful handoffs, you can make positive changes in areas like interaction, collaboration, culture, and behavior across various teams. In the long run, this will translate into an environment of continuous improvement.
- Implementing VSM also helps teams prioritize actions and processes based on the standpoint of the end user. They refrain from looking at the production ecosystem through the lens of individual opinion.
- VSM also allows manufacturers to offer customers the maximum value possible in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. Hence, your company can effectively compete in a dynamic market and even create better value in terms of improved product quality or lowered price.
Key Steps: Conduct a Value Stream Mapping Session
Here’s what to be mindful of when creating a VSM for attaining operational excellence and more:
Identify Product
The first step is to zero in on the product that requires analysis or improvement. And based on the initiative’s magnitude, you need to set up a team that will map and analyze the same. In case the team lacks enough experience, you might have to impart VSM training as well. Also, in case of big enterprises, it is common to have a value stream manager leading the initiative.
Obtain Leaders’ Support
Since developing a lean value stream requires a certain level of investment, get leaders on board or in line with the initiative early on. Often, you might have to kick-start with a modest value stream map, prove that it has improvement potential, and then obtain leadership’s support to go big.
Figure Out the Issue
From a consumer’s perspective, determine the value stream’s problem for the product identified in step 1. Leveraging A3 analysis is often helpful in narrowing down to the root cause behind the issue.
Ensure there is no doubt when it comes to comprehending the customer’s concerns, since these will ultimately define value. For instance, customers might be flocking to competitors because of production delays or higher prices on your side.
Bound the Process
Deciding on the scope or limits of the value stream map is essential for lean manufacturing. For instance, ask yourself if you wish to start from one particular aspect of the value stream that is problematic? Or do you want to begin with raw materials and continue through to final product delivery?
Conduct the VSM Walk
This is an integral part of process mapping. During a VSM walk, you get to directly observe and understand the flow of information and process steps required for delivering a product. Step numbers 6 to 11 will illustrate this in detail.
Also note that you might have to go on these walks more than once to collect adequate information and bridge any gaps. Those with extensive experience in value stream mapping often prefer reverse walks too, which start with end customers.
Define Steps of the Process
Account for the above-defined boundaries while conducting VSM walks. Remember that it is not unusual for all the steps to revolve around just one location, say a point that handles inventory entry and exit. And your focus should be on studying information flows and activities that either generate value or don’t for customers.
That’s not all. Rather than depending on the information relayed by workers, make a note of the observations you make firsthand. Make sure every step that contributes to value creation is documented clearly.
Gather Process Data
The road to process improvement through the assessment of every step’s performance begins here. For example, you might evaluate process cycle time, number of workers, inventory type, machinery downtime, working hours, and so on. Then, on the value stream map, fill in the data boxes with the process data collected. This will help you reduce waste and detect efficiencies later.
Assess Process Steps
For every step of a process, your objective should be to know if it is:
- Valuable: Whether it offers value from the consumer perspective
- Capable: Extent to which a high-grade outcome is obtained every time
- Available: Extent of availability of the process step when required
- Adequate: Extent to which capacity is present for meeting customer demand
- Flexible: Extent to which a step can quickly and affordably switch over from one product to another (in the same family)
Map Information and Product Movement
Here are three things to look into:
- Flow vs. Stagnation: Ideally, the product shouldn’t stop moving ever and measuring inventory levels can help ensure the same.
- Push vs. Pull: This indicates the nature of handling product-related information. In an ideal scenario, only a signal at the value stream’s top is necessary for making the next product. However, different parts of the stream show disconnects in reality. It is possible to address this by ensuring that different steps alert one another about imminent requirements.
- Level vs. Erratic: This indicates the extent to which a process has undergone smoothing for improved efficiency. In other words, it deals with unevenness (mura), muri (value stream overburdening), and muda or waste – all lean manufacturing concepts.
Understanding the overall communication and information flow along the value stream is crucial as well. And you must focus on communication touchpoints to produce a truly valuable product.
Count Inventory
Waste often stems from excess production and inventory. Also, you might find inventory scattered haphazardly.
Prepare Timeline
Mapping out your inventory’s lead and process times is essential at this stage. And at each step, you can track the level of inventory to spot items that don’t add value to the production or reveal inefficiencies.
Ponder the Value Stream Map
Watch out for anything that you might have missed at first. Study the timeline as well as the details in data boxes to zero in on the waste. Excessive downtime, quality issues, and high inventory levels are some common problems.
Create (Future) Ideal State Value Stream Map
When sketching the ideal state map, elaborate on the objectives for the items that contribute to a lean process. Make sure leaders are also on the same page regarding this. Moreover, remember that value stream maps guide and communicate. Hence, use ‘good change’ or ‘Kaizen burst’ symbols on the current state map to indicate upcoming improvements clearly. You might have to create several future maps before arriving at the ideal map.
Implement the Ideal Map
Implement the future ideal map to confirm if it offers more value to customers and solves the original problem. For the sake of further tweaks (if required) and continuous improvement, monitor the key metrics consistently and study trends for insights.
Level Up Value Stream Mapping with Digital Tools
Value stream mapping is much more than detecting and removing waste from manufacturing processes. It leads to process improvement, increased efficiencies, better communication, higher customer satisfaction, and a stronger bottom line. Put simply, VSM is the portal to a culture of continuous improvement within the lean manufacturing ecosystem.
And with cutting-edge digital solutions, creating and implementing an ideal value stream map is easier than ever. Fabriq’s tools, for instance, not only simplify the creation of detailed maps, but also ensure maximum accuracy and ease of collaboration. From analyzing data in real time and leveraging templates to save time to gaining more visibility into processes and making data-backed improvement decisions, there’s much you can do.
Take the next step toward lean excellence. See how fabriq simplifies value stream mapping with real-time data, collaboration, and actionable insights.
