Value Stream Mapping - a Lean Manufacturing Tool to reduce Lead Time

The value stream mapping is a lean manufacturing technique used by Toyota Production System (TPS)/ Just in time (JIT) to visualize and design flow of information, material and production to analyze non value added and value added operations. The non-value actions are identified in each step and between each step by their waste of time and resources. The process is analyzed for opportunity to drastically reduce and simplify it. This makes the redesigned process more effective (the right things are being done) and more efficient. Lean Manufacturing Starts from the argument that adding value and reducing waste are the key goals of any business. Value stream mapping (VSM) is a lean manufacturing tool and it has emerged as the preferred way to support and implement the lean approach. Value stream mapping is different than conventional recording techniques, as it captures the information at individual stations about station cycle time, uptime or utilization of resources, setup time, WIP inventory, manpower requirement and the information flow from raw material to finish goods. The objective of this case study was to observe wastes, value adding activities and to reduce Total Lead time.