Lean Value Stream Mapping Research Articles

Smart factory mapping and design: methodological approaches

Several studies show a demand for further transfer of Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies into practice. This paper describes how companies can be supported methodologically to identify individual opportunities for optimization within their future smart factories. Existing methods are screened, recombined, and enhanced to create a sufficient demand-oriented approach, based on the lean value stream mapping and design. The final approach covers a mapping phase of the current state and a design phase of a future state. It follows the general principle of process optimization prior to digitalization. Being a highly visual method, it can be used to explain the needs and the motivation for the identified improvement initiatives to all involved parties, including non-IT-specialists. This paper also presents an exemplary result and several learnings from tests with three companies with discrete manufacturing processes.

Optimization of the Sustainable Distribution Supply Chain Using the Lean Value Stream Mapping 4.0 Tool: A Case Study of the Automotive Wiring Industry

The transformation to Supply Chain (SC) 4.0 promises new opportunities for companies to gain competitiveness. The Lean Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool allows the supervision of all the processes of the entire SC, from which we can identify the different types of waste that hinder the competitiveness of the SC. Following the existing problems detected with the help of a diagnostic, we will propose a new process design by integrating 4.0 technologies to modernize the company. For our case study, we treat the multinational SC of Automotive Wiring Equipment Morocco, where we will focus on the downstream part of the SC composed of the warehouse and the different stages of road and sea transport until the final delivery in Austria. Then, we will consider the opportunities offered by each country in terms of logistics competitiveness. In this research work, we will show how Lean VSM4.0 will contribute to sustainable development by integrating the three pillars economic, environmental, and social. With the Lean VSM 4.0 tool, all logistic processes will be visualized, from which improvements could be obtained, especially the optimization of the lead-time, the cost, the energy consumed, and the follow-up of the products during the whole SC while reducing accidents.

Extending the lean value stream mapping to the context of Industry 4.0: An agent-based technology approach

With the advancement of the 4th industrial revolution and its enabling technologies, researchers and practitioners discuss the mutual relationships and integration of Lean manufacturing with Industry 4.0 to enhance the manufacturing sector’s competitiveness. However, the literature falls short on how Lean principles and practices can support Industry 4.0. To contribute to reducing this research gap, this study explores the integration of the Lean practice value stream mapping (VSM) with hybrid simulation (HS) that combines discrete event and agent-based modelling and simulation. It aims to extend VSM scope to the context of Industry 4.0 to help Industry 4.0 initiatives in manufacturing companies, especially in small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), wherein managerial approaches are still scarce, enabling it to capture the behaviour of more complex entities and distributed production systems. An HS-VSM framework is proposed, and its use is demonstrated through a proof-of-concept case developed in an SME from the furniture and related product manufacturing sector in Quebec, Canada. This study indicates that VSM combined with HS can assist Industry 4.0 roadmap development and help companies understand changes in materials, equipment, processes, and information flows associated with Industry 4.0 application scenarios.

Generic Supply Chain of Lean-Value Stream Mapping in Automotive Industry

Nowadays automobile industry, as manufacturers structure and construct vehicles all-inclusive, their supply chains become progressively perplexing with difficulties in the method of profitability and investor worth value such as excess inventory over the production network and absence of permeability of providers. So as to expand the aggressiveness of the automotive industry with store network, here lean administration idea is incorporated as lean supply chain management (LSCM).The Lean supply chain is utilized to streamline the business forms by wiping out waste and non-value added activities. The association between lean and SCM is one of the techniques for expense and time decrease to improve the viability. The lean supply chain is likewise centered around advancing the procedure of all production network and scanning for rearrangements. This research paper is proposed a lean supply chain managementvalue stream mapping (LSCM-VSM) is utilized to dispense with waste and improved operational methodology and efficiency. It is a procedure of envisioning mapping stream of information and producing the future-state map with better strategies and execution. The exploratory outcomes demonstrate the production lead time (PLT) by executing the proposed LVSM and future more assesses the total cycle time (TCT) and value-added ratio(VA%) of a value stream.

Lean Built-Up Panel Assembly in a Newbuilding Shipyard

The main shipbuilding assembly processes greatly influence the flow of interim products in a newbuilding shipyard. The panel assembly line is a major process located upstream of all the other shipyard assembly processes. In a previous paper, the application of lean principles enabled a balanced and smaller takt time along the workstations and yielded significant savings in man-hours. Although a panel consists of butt-welded steel plates with multiple fillet-welded longitudinal stiffeners, a built-up panel is this same panel fitted with longitudinal and transverse steel elements. Since there are many internal structural elements, the man-hours along a traditional built-up panel assembly line are multiple times greater than that of panel assembly. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze and map built-up panel assembly in an actual newbuilding shipyard. Using value stream mapping along with kaizen principles of continual improvement to determine the transformative steps to make the traditional built-up panel assembly line leaner. This enables significant man-hour reductions of about 60%, which yields remarkable cost savings to the shipyard. 1. Introduction The built-up panel assembly line process is located downstream to the panel assembly process, and in most shipyards, half of all steel panels become built-up panels. It is very labor intensive since there are many steel elements that need to be joined in both longitudinal and transverse directions and there are both fillet and vertical welding jobs to be done. The joining of built-up panels to panels yields large three-dimensional blocks. Although in past papers (Kolich et al. 2017, 2015a) a lean value stream mapping methodology to transform panel assembly was developed, it makes sense to develop a methodology for the more complex and man-hour intensive built-up panel assembly process as well. The transformed built-up panel assembly process will further reduce bottlenecks in the shipyard and improve flow bringing down man-hours, which translates to critical savings for the shipyard.

IMPLEMENTATION OF LEAN MANUFACTURING TO MINIMIZE WASTE IN THE PROCESS OF PLASTIC BOX 260 USING VSM AND AHP METHOD

Abstract one of the national manufacturing industry company engaged in the manufacture of military products with the resulting product is plastic box 260. To minimize the waste that occurs lean manufacturing approach is assisted by one of the tools in the concept of lean value stream mapping (VSM) aims to describe the overall Information from the flow of raw materials to finished products. Waste identification begins with the waste relationship matrix (WRM) and waste assessment questionnaire (WAQ) to determine the percentage of waste with the 3rd largest rank. Further analysis is done by analytical hierarchy process (AHP) aims to know the criteria of weighting from waste that has the highest ranking. The recommendation of improvement based on the analysis of waste with the 3 largest (unccessary inventory, overproduction, motion) and takt time calculation is to apply 5S, to apply forecasting, to add a working facility in the form of cooling room, to do maintenance activities such as preventive maintenance, addition of tools and machine, Setting laser machine, and layout design of production floor layout.

Value Stream Analysis for Complex Processes and Systems

Understanding the current condition of complex systems and systematically improving is a difficult challenge, which many organizations are struggling with. Repeatable success requires the right method in addition to domain expertise. Lean value stream mapping (VSM) is a commonly used method that has been applied successfully in many domains. Despite its success VSM does have short comings when it is used to analyse complex processes where the value produced varies for different stakeholders and is largely intangible. Traditional VSM also lacks a practical way of modelling elements that are present in multiple steps of the value stream and a systematic approach to generating different type of improvement ideas (incremental and step change). This article introduces a value stream analyses method for complex systems, which combines traditional value stream mapping with TRIZ analyses (Ideality, functional world, FAA, perception mapping) and ideation tools (trimming, inventive principles, inventive provocations). The new method is designed to solve the weaknesses of VSM and enable systematic idea generation based on a holistic understanding of the system (including intangible perspectives). The method also integrates practical facilitation practices to ease the learning curve for participants. The article will also present two case studies from an IT company (change management and financial reporting and forecasting processes) and analyse results and benefits of the new hybrid method.

A visual process model for improved technology-based service design

This paper presents a new method for business process modelling in the services sector that integrates the client focus of service blueprints with the operational analytics of lean value stream mapping. The approach incorporates a simple and innovative use of colour to improve the correctness of the models. The conceptual model is analysed using the guidelines of business process modelling and benefits are demonstrated through an illustrative example. The proposed approach provides a mechanism to facilitate the effective design and implementation of technology-based innovations in service delivery by enabling a diverse set of stakeholders to participate in the modelling. This modelling approach is based on best practices from existing business process modelling notations and was developed to support change management and innovation in services. The approach results in intuitive models that can be used by novice modellers for clear communication and technology-infused service design.

Lean healthcare

The case study / report presented describes how processes were improved using Lean Value Stream Mapping tools and Queue Theory tools. Major outcomes were focused on reducing waiting time for patient access to treatment slots and reducing daily waiting time for access to treatment slots. The performance improvement was in the order of 75% total access slots, reducing from two hours to 30 minutes; and access to care waiting time reduced from more than three months to same day access to special cases; and one week waiting time or “planned access” to all other. The process redesign also eliminated up to three hours of overtime daily.

Lean thinking to improving access to cancer patients in a Public General Hospital

Unbalanced treatment scheduling and overcrowding is a common problem for cancer centers in Brazil, with huge access restrictions due to system inefficiencies and poor assistance design. The purpose of this report is to show how lean thinking can be applied to healthcare by using lean methods and production leveling. The case study / report presented was adopted in order to describe the approach, techniques and findings of this project, as part of a lean initiative. Lean Value Stream Mapping tools and leveling tools improved unit performance by increasing unit capacity freeing treatment slots by leveling and decrease of waiting time for cancer treatment .The process redesign also eliminated unnecessary movement and overtime.

Access Improvement using Lean Healthcare for Radiation Treatment in a Public Hospital

Radiation treatment for cancer in Brazil faces huge access restrictions due limited resources and poor assistance design. Radiation treatment access waiting time can be as long as seven months. The purpose of this report is to show how lean thinking can be applied to healthcare by using lean methods. The case study/report presented describes how processes were improved using Lean Value Stream Mapping tools and Queue Theory tools. Major outcomes were focused on reducing waiting time to patient access to radiation treatment and to reducing daily waiting time to access to treatment slots. The performance improvement was in the order of 75% to treatment slots access, reducing from two hours to 30 minutes; and access to care waiting time reduced from more than three months to same day access to special cases; and one week waiting time or “planned access” to all other. The process redesign also eliminated up to three hours of overtime daily.

Process Improvement in a Cancer Outpatient Chemotherapy Unit using Lean Healthcare

The Instituto de Oncologia do Vale Medical Oncology Unit at Hospital Regional do Vale do Paraiba faced significant growth over the last two years. Unbalanced treatment scheduling and overcrowding is a common problem for cancer centers in Brazil, with huge access restrictions due to system inefficiencies and poor assistance design. The purpose of this report is to show how lean thinking can be applied to healthcare by using lean methods and production leveling. The case study/report presented was adopted in order to describe the approach, techniques and findings of this project, as part of a lean initiative. Lean Value Stream Mapping tools and leveling tools improved the unit performance by increasing unit capacity freeing treatment slots by leveling and length of chemotherapy application optimization. The process redesign also eliminated unnecessary movement and overtime.