How Do You Make A Value Stream Map?

Using value stream mapping is a great way to help you understand how your materials go from a raw good to a completed product. It is a "map" of the product so you can see where you need to make changes to things in order to create better products for the company. Using value stream mapping you will also be able to understand where you have wastes that need to be eliminated along with understanding how you can offer better things to your employees so they can become more productive. Some of the things that you can identify with value stream mapping include the following:

- Overproduction
- Transportation
- Inventories
- Processing
- Defects
- Improper Work Ethics

So how can you create a value stream map for your company? You need to look at your overall production line and to be able to understand how all the things are communicated together and to understand how they flow in the right way. Here is a simple guide that will help you in being able to create a value stream map:
1. Identify the product. Your first step will involve identifying the product so you can watch it through the entire manufacturing process.
2. Collect data. Now that you have a product identified that you want to work with your next step will involve gathering some data about that product. You will need to watch the process of how the materials become a finished product and you will need to collect the data on your own versus using old numbers. The goal is to use your own information as you may have different expectations on how you want to tweak the product changes.
3. Proper communication. For value stream mapping to work effectively you need to focus on the flow of communication through the company. Are you able to talk to your employees about what their job duties and responsibilities are? You need to have communication that flows within the company in the right manner or you will not be able to use value stream mapping properly.
4. Understand things that change the map such as inventory overhead, economic woes, and a handful of other things that can increase or decrease production. You need to be able to watch the overall process and to focus on how you can improve the process flow.
5. The proper thing to do with value stream mapping is to use symbol in order to identify the various areas. This is a great way to help you out as it makes it easier for you to be able to make edits here and there but it really allows you to be able to see the entire process as a whole instead of just little sections at a time.
6. Update the map often. You want to have current data to work with as this will give you the best information to work with. You can identify the areas that need to be changed and the areas that are in need of adjustments to provide you with the correct outputs. Are there changes that you can make that will be able to give you stronger outputs? Can you focus on reducing wastes and finding ways to implement new value stream maps for things in the future?
7. Work on efficiency. You need to always look for ways in which you can work on improving your company as you want to become efficient in a number of different things. It is important that you have meetings and other things that will help your staff to stay on the right page with value stream mapping and to remain focused on progress.