Ten Steps To Analyze And Improve A Product Or Service Using A Value Stream Map
Many processes suffer from inefficiency, mistakes, errors, defects, downtime and late delivery due to the waste inherent in them. The waste I’m referring to are: Transportation Inventory Motion Waiting Over-processing Over-production Defects Safety These waste exists because most of the time it’s the way the process has always been done and no one questions it or looks for the...
Read MoreUse Value Stream Maps to Understand Process, Information, and Material Flow
Value stream maps are very useful in analyzing processes because they help identify ways to improve flow and eliminate waste and non-value-added (NVA) activities. Value stream mapping can also help you achieve other objectives: Establish a baseline for improvement Determine where bottlenecks occur in the process Measurement of key metrics, such as cycle time, downtime, yield,...
Read MoreUse Lean to Provide More Value For Your Customer
The value an organization provides can be defined in several different ways. It is the worth place on something and is usually defined as anything your customer is willing to pay for. Customers determine value and although this seems pretty straightforward, understanding how value is created is more difficult. For something to add value it must change the form or function of a product...
Read MoreStriving For Perfection Is The Essence Of Lean Thinking!
Perfection in lean terms means the total elimination of waste in an enterprise so that all activities in a value stream create value. What makes striving for perfection so difficult for most of us is that we live and work in the short term whereas perfection only seems plausible in the long term. There are two paths to perfection, an incremental path, kaizen, and a radical path, kaikaku....
Read MoreOver-Processing Adds Costs to Products and Services For Which You’re Not Getting Paid
Ever stop to think how much you’re spending by over-processing the products and services you provide? If not, its probably because you don’t fully understand what over-processing is all about. Over-processing is defined as all the extra effort people go through in order to deliver the product or service. It’s actually giving something away for no return. Let me give you...
Read MoreProducing Too Much Creates Waste!
More! Sooner! Faster! When these expectations begin to drive processes, companies are likely to slip into overproduction. As a result, they end up with more product than needed. Accumulating inventory before it is needed is an unwise use of resources. It ties up cash that could be used more effectively. It also causes other wastes such as extra transportation and motion. Additional...
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