EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The
relevant business for this project is one with continuous, repetitive
operations - such as a manufacturing line or distribution center - without
frequent, large variation. This type of
business is one where the current state value stream can be measured as few as
one to three times and still be sufficiently accurate as a baseline for making
significant improvements in the process (a.k.a. system or product line).
The
tool built for this project is called a Value Stream Compiler. It enables an observer to use a touchscreen tablet
device running Microsoft Excel to quickly and efficiently capture the sequence
of steps that constitute the business process of interest as well as the
average time per unit for each step.
Understanding this sequence and the time spent performing each step
facilitates identifying process constraints (i.e. bottlenecks and cycle time),
imbalances in labor standard work, and opportunities to apply Lean principles
to reduce non-value added work (i.e. waste).
In essence, quickly understanding the current state of a process value
stream is the crucial foundation to making improvements that benefit the system
as a whole. This helps to avoid making
supposed improvements to a portion of the process that have negligible or even
detrimental net effects on the larger system.
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