Today, we'll discuss common issues that we encounter during Value Stream Mapping.
[Intro Video]
Hi, this is Mike Negami, Lean Sigma Black Belt.
In the Mentoring Program, I am doing a process improvement project for artwork production.
Today, I'll talk about what happened when I made a SIPOC analysis and Value Stream Map
for the target process.
This is the SIPOC analysis we made. It is not completed.
The purpose for why I made a SIPOC analysis was mostly to make a Value Stream Map.
Therefore, if you understand the target process well enough to be able to make a Value Stream
Map, it's ok to not complete your SIPOC.
Moreover, you may skip making your SIPOC if you know the process very well.
While making a Value Stream Map, since you think of your target process visually, the
map becomes more realistic.
In our case, during Value Stream Mapping, we realized that we should dig more into the
purchasing tasks which were not discussed when making the SIPOC analysis.
As you can see, your Value Stream Map often ends up different from your SIPOC.
Also, if you read a Value Stream Map even if you didn't understand the target process well
in SIPOC, you can understand it well with the Value Stream Map.
In fact, when I made a SIPOC in our project, my client, Lara, said that the process design
was good.
Since she wanted to know the cost of her artwork, the designed process required her to record
the costs of all raw materials and select art designs before production.
When I completed the Value Stream Map and showed it to her, she gained a better understanding
of my design, and told me that she cannot deal with such a tedious data entry process!
That was the moment when I realized that it was good that I made a Value Stream Map rather
than being sad.
If I didn't do this and I was told the same thing after I completed the operation system,
that would be a disaster.
I was also informed that as an artist, she makes artwork with inspiration, so she cannot
enter the design in Excel beforehand.
This actually had been discussed as being a constraint when we made the project charter,
so we sought a different approach without arguing.
As Plan B, we divided the raw materials into groups and reduced the burden of data entry
greatly by roughly controlling costs.
Although she cannot get the costs per piece, she can get average costs per production batch.
She also doesn't need to select designs beforehand.
I recreated the Value Stream Map and explained it to her.
She was very happy with the new process because she hadn’t been able to estimate any artwork
costs until now, and now she can get average cost.
This is the final Value Stream Map.
It was quite different from the SIPOC Analysis.
You don't need to update the SIPOC.
We can proceed to operation system development with this Value Stream Map as a plan.
Let me summarize the lessons of today.
1) A Value Stream Map is more important than a SIPOC analysis.
2) There is no need to make a perfect SIPOC.
3) As you progress in making a Value Stream Map, the map becomes more realistic.
Thank you very much for viewing.
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