LEAN LESSONS Value Stream Mapping—an Introduction

by Tony Manos

alue stream mapping (VSM) process steps from order entry to easy ways to learn a language that can be an extremely powerful delivery. anyone in your organization can V tool, combining material pro- The value stream in VSM is the understand—a key element when cessing steps with information flow as point at which value is actually added communicating with process maps. well as other important related data. to the product or service by changing Building a VSM offers detail that goes VSM is arguably one of the most pow- beyond the amount of information erful lean tools for an organization you can relay with any standard flow- wanting to plan, implement and chart. improve on its lean journey. This tool A tool that combines allows users to create a solid imple- material processing Value Stream Scope mentation plan that will make the Understanding the scope of the most of their available resources. steps, information flow. value stream under examination is an For a lean journey, think of VSM as important place to start the VSM task. the launch pad to begin identifying Think of the scope as the door to door and improving a process family. VSM the market form or function to meet process for a facility level map. A is about sparking change—declutter- the customer’s needs. For example, departmental or interdepartmental ing the process of the nonessential value adding activities can be things practice is considered a process level activities that don’t add value but like: machining, assembly, welding, map. When multiple plants, cus- waste time and resources. drilling, folding, painting and so on. If tomers or suppliers are included, an VSM, as it is known today, stems you are not adding value, you are extended level map is created. from Toyota Motor Co.’s material and probably adding muda, (the Japanese Consider an extended level map as information flow diagrams.1, 2 In its word for waste). the view of the values stream at 60,000 most basic form, VSM shows the Pictorial representations of VSM are feet, the facility level map at 30,000

FIGURE 1 Process Family Matrix Example 1. Quoting 3. Credit review 4. Purchasing preparation 6. Tool 7. Scheduling 12. Cut to length 13. Slitting 17. Press break 18. Stamping Process family 2. Order entry 5. Order review 8. Receiving 9. Perforating 10. Leveling 11. Shearing 14. Radius rolling 15. Punching 16. Embosing 19. Outside service 21. Shipping 20. Packaging Name 150 80,000 lb/mo X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Coil to coil ORM005 80,000 lb/mo X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Coil to coil 020 AI GLD 5,000 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X 2 Ornamental 020 AI Stuco 1,000 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X 2 Ornamental 73518 400 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3 Fab flat Ballast 300,000 lb/mo X X X X X X 4 Ballast Nordham 100 pcs/yr X X X X X X X 5 Pass through 611402401 250 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6 Fab form VT4880 50 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6 Fab form EAW435? 150 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6 Fab form YNG Filter 25 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6 Fab form Gehl 001 150 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 6 Fab form 509566 700 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X 7 Coil to sheet to size 601 250 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X 7 Coil to sheet to size 020 AI MF 8,000 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X 8 Coil to blank Nailor 500 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X 8 Coil to blank 202262 20,000 pcs/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X X Stock Plate 250,000 lb/mo X X X X X X X X X X X X 9 Stock plate

64 I JUNE 2006 I www.asq.org FIGURE 2 Common VSM Icons

Information flow Office Office Hardcopy Department/work center Electronic Software

Warehouse Office/support data box Manufacturing/shop Supplier/Outside processing Material flow P/T = Processing time C/T = Cycle time Dist = Distance Movement Diff = Difficulty (1-5) M/T = Machine time Qty = Quantity C/O = Changeover C/O = Changeover FPY = First pass yield Push A&C = Accurate & Complete FPY = First pass yield OTD = On-time delivery Prior = Prioritize Rel. = Reliability Serv = Service level Customers/ Rel. = Reliability Qty = Quantity per ____ Expd = Expediting costs suppliers Qty = Quantity per ____ = Number of people/shift = Number of people/shift Truck - deliveries/ shipments Q Queue/waiting I Inventory Pe r son

Production (make) Withdrawal ?burst/ Withdrawal (move) improvement Loop Go see Kanban Supermarket Supplier (batching) Kanban Maximum - FIFO - ?arriving in groups (First-in, first-out) Inventory or queue time VA Value added time Heijunka Cycle or (Level loading) process time NVA Nonvalue added time Kanban?route OXOX

feet and the process level map at team and how it can affect decision Finally, never create a map with a 10,000 feet. making and action. A good team size team of one. You will not get enough It is best to start at diagramming a is usually between seven and 10 valuable input or cross functional dia- facility level map before attempting to members. This size makes it easier for logue or the results may be biased for draw a process level map or extended members to conduct interviews and one area, person or department. level map so you do not optimize one “walk the flow,” that is, actually visit- Kaizen Kick-Off area and suboptimize another. This ing each of the work areas affected by column will focus on the facility level the process evaluation and included Once the team is formed, a three map. in the VSM to see firsthand how day kaizen (Japanese for “change for things work or don’t work. the better”) event, as seen in Table 1, Ready a Team for the Event Predictably, the larger the team, the is usually enough time to create the The best—and probably easiest— more difficult it may be to manage. If current state and future state maps, way to create a VSM is to form a cross the team has fewer than seven mem- along with the draft plan (more detail functional team that includes supervi- bers, there may not be enough voices on these deliverables is highlighted sory or managerial level members to provide well-rounded input. later). More time may be needed to from throughout the organization. Representatives from departments like sales, customer service, schedul- TABLE 1 Typical Three-Day VSM Kaizen Event Agenda ing, purchasing, operations, inventory control, maintenance, quality and Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 information technology can be valu- • Introduce VSM. • Draw the current state • Create the future state able contributors to this part of the • Determine process map. map. VSM journey. Even customers or sup- families. • Perform lean concepts • Develop the draft plan. pliers—both internal or external—add •Walk the flow and training. unique perspectives. gather information. Be aware of the actual size of this

QUALITY PROGRESS I JUNE 2006 I 65 LEAN LESSONS

FIGURE 3 VSM Current State Map Example

complete the detailed draft plan and the parts (for example, compo- included in the original matrix. After determine the resources required to nents, stock keeping units, fin- closer examination, the team that implement the lean ideas. It is impor- ished good items or services) your thought its company had only one tant to designate an individual with organization makes or provides. process family actually had nine fami- previous experience in VSM to facili- • Place an X in the corresponding lies. tate this kaizen event. box if the part goes through the After completing this vital step, At the kaizen event, the team must processing step. examine the matrix and look for parts complete four important steps to Many cross functional teams skip that go through similar or the exact progress through VSM: this step in the process. A team may same processing steps. Search for • Determine the process family. decide this step seems unnecessary. items or parts that share about 80% of • Draw the current state map. The team may mistakenly believe it the steps. Look for items or parts that • Determine and draw the future has already identified the value would make sense if they were created state map. streams, or it may consider this step alongside each other in a manufactur- • Draft a plan to arrive at the future too difficult or complicated to per- ing cell. In other words, consider items state. form. or parts that share many of the same I must emphasize this point again: steps and procedures that can be creat- Process Family Do not skip this step. Building a ed together—by the same workers A process family, also known as a process family matrix can save you using similar or related steps—more product family, is a group of products much time in the future and help efficiently in a manufacturing cell. or services that go through the same avert headaches down the line. Taking At this point, the team must select or similar processing steps. To deter- this step will help everyone under- the particular process family it will mine your process family, create a stand the value streams and where concentrate on for the current state matrix similar to the example shown they are in the process. map. in Figure 1 (p. 64). For example, one company claimed Every organization may have a dif- • Along the top row, write all the it had a very simple process and the ferent reason for selecting one process process steps your organization team elected not to perform this step. family over another when deciding performs from a 30,000-foot point There were many process steps the which map to draw first or which of view. team didn’t consider and steps not in order it should map out its value •In the first column, write down the main flow, so these parts were not streams. Here are some criteria the

66 I JUNE 2006 I www.asq.org VSM team may use to decide which etc.)—can answer questions and changes were necessary. You do not process family to draw: clarify any misconceptions or pre- have to wait for perfect data (analysis • Biggest bang for the buck. conceived notions on how tasks paralysis), but wrong or disinforma- • Largest reduction in lead time or are performed. tion needs to be clarified. If you are in inventory. From walking the flow, the team doubt about any of the data, then con- • Biggest impact to the customer. can collect on a worksheet several sider measuring it to verify. • Highest probability for success. types of information, such as: •Most visible to stakeholders. •Cycle time or processing time. Pencil And Paper • New product line. • Changeover time. With the information gathered from •Volume or quantity. • Reliability of equipment. walking the flow and the ensuing • First pass yield. team discussions, it’s now time to Plotting the Current State • Quantities. sharpen the pencil and put the lead to The current state map should illus- •Number of operators and shifts. paper. Any VSM can be drawn using trate how your organization’s process- • Hardcopy information. simple symbols or icons, some of es perform in today’s work envi- • Electronic information. which are shown in Figure 2 (p. 65). ronment. To create a current state map, •Inventory levels. Once the information has been col- collect the data and information by •Queue or waiting times. lected, I recommend drawing the map walking the flow and interviewing the There’s a rule of thumb to help the on 11 by 17 paper (landscape) using people who perform the task. There team: If the information is in the ball- pencil and—probably a large eraser. are two main reasons why walking the park then it can be used to get started. Key areas on the map are: flow is more beneficial to creating the For example, if an operator says her • The upper right corner for cus- map than staying seated at your desk machine breaks down about four tomer information. in front of the computer: hours every week, the team can mark • The upper left corner for supplier • The team will have the opportuni- down 90% for reliability (of equip- information. ty to see the entire process and ment). If it’s discovered later the actu- •The top half of the paper for infor- look for waste. al reliability was 91%, that difference mation flow. •Value-adders—the people who wouldn’t have that much of an • The bottom half for material (or actually perform the work (opera- impact. Ninety percent was bad product) flow. tors, assemblers, technicians, enough for the team to know some • The gutters on top and bottom to

FIGURE 4 VSM Future State Map Example

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FIGURE 5 Example of a VSM Plan

Project: Value Stream Mapping Percentage Status Goals and objectives Location/facility: Promedica - North Campus Lab complete 10% N = Not started 2 20% Process family: Chem Line Automatic Reduce lead-time by 50% I = In-progress 4 40% Value stream manager: Eileen Allott Reduce inventory by 50% C = Closed 4 40% Date reviewed: 30% Improve teamwork 60% Total: 10 NOTE: Update value stream map

ID Description Start date End date Leader Team Comments Loop Effort Status Impact Priority

1 C 1 L H 1 5S kaizen in assembly area XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Tom Improved safety

2 I 1 L L 3 QCO on press #31 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Joanne Waiting for parts

Poka-yoke the assembly 3 C 1 L M 2 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Bob No errors process Create standardize work in Reduce cycle time 4 C 2 L H 1 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX George assembly by three minutes Improved flow, no 5 C 2 M L 3 Redux=ce batch size by 50% XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Ralph late deliveries Eliminate paperwork in order 6 I 3 M M 2 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Jennifer Need help from IT entry Improve FPY on part family SSBB leading 7 I 3 M H 2 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Homer #502 project Perform TPM event to In progress this 8 I 3 H L 3 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Bart improve reliability of WC #12 week

9 N 4 H M 3 Create assembly cell XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX Marge Not started

Set up kanban/supermarket 10 N 5 H H 2 XX/XX/XX XX/XX/XX John Not started pull system

calculate value added and nonval- when drawing your maps, your eraser demand. The formula is the time ue added time. is your best friend. available (per shift) divided by the Calculate the cycle time vs. the demand (per shift). For example: inventory time (in days) for the mater- Future State Map ial and information flow. Every VSM Once the current state map is com- 22,000 seconds (time available) will look slightly different depending plete, the team can set its sights on cre- ÷ 200 pieces (demand) on the exact process, the author who ating the future state map. Make sure = 110 seconds/piece. drew the map and how it was drawn. the team members have some basic See Figure 3 (p. 66) for an example of training on lean principles to develop a • Are there bottlenecks or con- a VSM current state map used for a realistic future state map (see Figure 4, straints? From the data collection metal fabricating company. p. 67). Different authors will suggest during the kaizen, look at the cycle If this is one of your first VSM questions to guide you to a future times or processing times. If any of , have the experienced facilita- state. Be careful to use the questions these are greater than your takt tor draw the map on a large dry-erase appropriate to your type of business. time, you have a candidate for a board and the team members draw Here is a short list of questions with bottleneck or constraint. This may each of their own maps on paper. If common elements that may fit most be causing overproduction waste your team members are more experi- types of business: or work in process (WIP) in some enced, they may gather the data first • What is the ? Takt is the areas or extra processing time, and then draw the map. If they are German word for the baton a con- such as overtime, to meet demand. experts they may just draw the map as ductor uses to control his orches- • Where can inventory (or queue they gather the data. The current state tra’s speed, beat and timing. Takt time) be reduced or supermarkets map is usually completed by the sec- time refers to how frequently a used? Look at raw material, WIP, ond day, but it needs to be refined a part or component must be pro- buffer stock, safety stock and fin- little the next morning. Remember, duced to meet your customers’ ished goods inventories to see

68 I JUNE 2006 I www.asq.org whether these can be reduced. Does plan is the most important part of it make sense to put in a supermar- VSM. Creating the maps can be an ket replenishment system? enlightening experience. But if you do A supermarket is a controlled not execute the plan, you have just QP Goes inventory system—the down- created more muda. stream process removes items During a typical VSM event, it is from the shelf and the process possible to create the draft plan based owners upstream replenish that on the information from the future amount to the supermarket. state map. The plan will need further back to The key is to find ways to reduce refinement—especially in determin- inventory in a logical manner. ing resources required, such as time, basics Also look for opportunities for people and budgets. A good plan, as paperwork to flow and not sit shown in the example in Figure 5, will around, like in batching. include the description of the project, • Where can you improve flow? Is it name of the project leader, possible possible to put materials into a cell team members, a schedule (or Gantt or eliminate materials from stop- chart) of events and deliverables, an ping and waiting? If flow improve- estimate of costs and the impact, goals ment isn’t possible, could a first in, or benefits. first out lane be established VSM can be an effective tool to Do you have a quality tool between processes? build improvements and efficiencies or concept to share? Many • What other improvements are for any organization. For completing required? For instance, does the this part of the lean journey, the pay- of our readers say they need reliability of equipment need to be offs can be immense for any organiza- improved? Are the first pass yield tion. VSM requires a dedicated team inexpensive, concise infor- or quality levels acceptable? Do ready to ask difficult questions and we need to perform training in 5S think beyond the current state—and a mation on the fundamental (workplace organization)? Do we team not afraid to admit error and use concepts and basic tools of need to create a new layout for an that eraser a few times along the way. area? quality to share with co- On the map, place a kaizen burst (see REFERENCES Figure 2, p. 65) around any items to 1. Mike Rother, John Shook and Jim Womack, workers who don’t have Learning to See, Mellon’s Books, 1999. signal improvement is needed. Items 2. Jeffrey Liker, , McGraw-Hill, backgrounds in quality. may include low equipment reliability 2004. or first pass yield, long changeover BIBLIOGRAPHY times, large batches, any waste such as Quality Progress is seeking overproduction, motion, transporta- Keyte, Beau, and Drew Locher, The tion, waiting, defects or adjustments, Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream submissions to its “Back and over or extra processing. Mapping for Administrative and Office If you are not sure whether there Processes, Productivity Press, 2004. to Basics” column, published needs to be an improvement during ANTHONY MANOS every other month. The this timeframe, put a kaizen burst is a catalyst with Profero, Inc., a lean consulting, training and around it anyway. You can determine implementation firm. He is a senior member of columns are limited to one if it will be a priority when you put ASQ, an instructor for ASQ’s course on Lean printed page or 800 words. together your plan. Enterprise and Kaizen and is the current chair From the answers to these and other of the Lean Enterprise Forum. Tony has an Submissions are reviewed questions related to the process, you MBA from the University of Illinois-Chicago. will be able to draw a future state by members of the QP map that reflects how you want your operations to be based in six or 12 Editorial Review Board. months, as shown in the example in Please Figure 4 (p. 67). comment Estimate the amount of inventory Send questions or submis- If you would like to comment on and queue times based on improve- sions to [email protected]. ments that are achievable. Recalculate this article, please post your remarks the value added vs. nonvalue added on the Quality Progress Discussion time on the sawtooth line. Board at www.asq.org, or e-mail them to [email protected]. Draft Plan Creating (and executing) the draft

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