sycat Value Stream

Value stream mapping as a method of reducing waste and non value-adding activities

In the book „Lean Thinking“ of James P. Womak and Daniel T. Jones, authors of the world success „The Machine That Changed The World“, published in 1997, five lean principles are illuminated.

Product Description

During realisation of the five principles within a company wastefulness like corrigible mistakes, surplus production, high warehouse stock, piling of remaining stock, unnecessary process steps and unnecessary transportation are identified and reduction of working costs and lead-time reduction up to 90% can be made possible.

A reduction of work, time, space, costs and mistakes during production

It is a matter of executing the following steps:

1. Evaluation | customer value
   Customer-oriented business processes for orientation towards creation of value
2. Display of the value adding stream | value stream
   Customer-oriented business processes for orientation towards creation of value
3. Application of the flow principle | flow
   Orientation of the design processes towards relevant needs and demands
4. Application of the pull principle | pull thinking
   Customer needs oriented creation of a value stream process to meet the demands
5. Perfection, respectively the zero-defect production | perfection
   On the way to peak performance through an autonomous CIP

The lean approach starts with an exact definition of the added value concerning the specific products with the specific performances, respectively transactions, which are offered to a specific customer at a certain price. The exact definition of values is the crucial first step to lean thinking. The allocation of the wrong goods and services in the right way is wasteful.

The identification of the complete added value stream for all products is the second step to lean thinking. This added value stream consists of all necessary transactions, respectively activities, to fashion or execute the production, production preparation or production development of a certain product or a service. During analysis of the added value stream it is reflected by experience that three types of activities occur:

• Distinct added value in terms of effective output
• Activities which don‘t result in value but which are unavoidable within the actual technologies and production facilities (bogus performances)
• Many unnecessary additional steps which don‘t result in value and can be avoided directly (idle performances)

The added value stream has to be absolutely transparent concerning all steps along the added value. This enables all participants to check whether the other parties involved are in line with the agreed rules. After specification of the added value stream for a certain product and documentation  of the added value stream for a certain product by the lean corporation in step 2 und in doing so all apparently unnecessary steps have been eliminated, the next decisive action follows: to start the flow of the remaining steps.

Especially the production of widely used batch processing (batch fabrication) should be eliminated because this results in always too long delays during production. In this respect it is important to re-tool quickly and to coordinate the capacities of machinery among one another (Right Sizing). The added value must flow continuously.  Therewith the fourth principle, the pull-principle, can be applied.  Now - it is not first production of product (Push) and offer to the customer, but the customer asks for the product. Only at that moment it will be manufactured tailored-to suit for him (Pull).

When an organisation started to exactly specify the term „value“, to identify the complete added value stream, to start the continuous flow of the added value steps for a specific product and to provide the opportunity for the customer to call up these values at the company (Pull), then a perfection - which means a zero-defect-modus - can be achieved.

This means the compliance of a Best-Practise-Standard, which enables a reduction of work, time, space, costs and mistakes during production. The most important incitement of perfection is transparency, the condition where everyone can see how added value is performed. The conversion from a classical, batch sized orientated production to a continuous flow with effective pull through the customer will at least double the working productivity of all participants - the employees, managers and specialised staff. Furthermore work accidents will be reduced as well as time until implementation of new products.

We would be very pleased to give you further information according to your special requirements or to submit an individual offer.

System Requirements