We would then align the products by workflow. For example, in one manufacturing facility, we stopped grouping products by type, e.g., \u201chips,\u201d \u201cknees,\u201d and \u201cshoulders.\u201d Instead, we grouped them by process flows, e.g., \u201cLathe-Vertical Mill-Vertical Mill,\u201d or \u201cLathe-Mill\/Turn-Mill,\u201d or \u201cLaser Etch- Non-sterile Packaging \u2013 Labeling.\u201d The products might have been apples vs. oranges vs. pears in appearance, but if they all used the same flow, that was our starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After grouping the products by workflow, we could start identifying the volume, takt time, and capacity required for each flow. Sometimes this meant grouping products A, C, and X together, even though they look nothing alike, and we traditionally considered them to be unrelated to each other. Grouping products by flow created smaller individualized value streams within the overall organizational value stream \u2014 some with 300 products, others with 50, and others with just one or two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once we understood this, we knew how many manufacturing \u201cunits\u201d (e.g., machines, secondary processing, labor, etc.) we would need for each value stream. This information fed our capacity planning. Ultimately, our VSM looked something like the following image:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This overall strategic-planning work allows you to determine where to start value-stream mapping and what percentage of your business each flow represents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, more critically, you can leverage your map for strategic advantage by adding current margins and variance reporting (if you have the data) of the combined value stream and detail by each smaller product family within the stream. So, for example, you could start making intelligent choices on which VSM will probably yield more significant wins for the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We added that data, which caused us to focus on one combined value stream representing several hundred products. As a result, we reduced the average\u00a0changeover\u00a0time within the critical value stream from 10 hours to 30 minutes. While that\u2019s not a single-minute changeover, it reduced wasted time between orders by 95%. And that reduction meant the difference between losing money and making a decent profit on the entire range of products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We started seeing significant growth once we had defined and improved value streams representing 50% of our revenue using this strategy. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We started seeing significant growth once we had defined and improved value streams representing 50% of our revenue using this strategy. We targeted one year for this initial part of the transformation after figuring out how many \u201cevents\u201d we would need to get these changes done and<\/em> get a large percentage of our staff involved in the cultural change. And things only got better from there. Once we improved value streams representing 80% of our revenue, the sky was the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I challenge you to put aside some time to intentionally consider your organization\u2019s value streams \u2014 or your product families if you don\u2019t group products by value stream \u2014 and map your process flows. You might find hidden opportunities within your current assumptions, or you\u2019ll find a starting point for transforming your LVHM business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor\u2019s Note: <\/strong>This <\/em>Lean Post is an updated version of an article published on <\/em>October 27, 2015, one of the most popular posts about this vital lean practice.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here’s how one LVHM company mapped its complex value streams \u2014 and discovered the path to next-level productivity that enabled it to transform the business for an entire range of products, from losing money to making a decent profit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"12549,11564,12196,12176,11694,5205","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[27],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Low-Volume_High-Mix_Value-Stream_Map.jpg\")
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