What is a Value Stream Map?
A Value Stream map is a tool commonly used to visualize, understand, and optimize a manufacturing system. By creating the map, you can outline the key information and processes required to turn raw materials into finished goods for the customer, and by recording and analyzing metrics about the material and information flows in the system, you can identify opportunities to shorten lead time, reduce inventory, and optimize for flow through the process. Doing so will help you better understand your system, and help you find ways to maximize profitability of the system.
Key components to the map are as follows:
#Material Flows
The core of the map, highlights the manufacturing processes and cells required to turn inputs into outputs. Each node in the material flows contains data like the process cycle time, changeover time, lot size, yield, process and process uptime, which are then used to process OEE and product lead-time. Each edge in the material flows highlights how much inventory is kept between nodes, and the inventory plan being used (buffer, first-in first-out, kanban, etc.).
#Information Flows
The top of the map, highlights how the value stream is scheduled, and how frequently orders are received from customers, sent to suppliers, and where each node in the value stream gets it’s information to run.
#Lead Time Ladder
When hand-drawn, this is usually at the bottom of the map, and shows the amount of time it takes from start to finish of the Value Stream, including waiting time in inventory buffers (Manufacturing Throughput time), as well as the Processing time for each order. It’s common for throughput time to be significantly longer than processing time due to buffers, and a key objective of the exercise is to reduce this time in order to increase inventory turns and make the value stream more responsive to customer demand.
At Threaded, we help you create your value streams in a systematic way, so we can give you insights into what you need to do to optimize for profitability in your process, and then enable you to create action items to collaboratively achieve the value stream’s potential.
