Telephone orders or other communication by phone. Sales or purchase orders can be represented by this icon. This refers to closely coordinated trucks, allowing materials to go directly from inbound to outbound trucks. This symbol indicates an internal or external warehouse. This icon refers to a vehicle that picks up or delivers items at multiple locations, often following a fixed route. Indicates product or information deliveries that are expedited. Used when something needs to be moved via forklift.
These symbols are straightforward, showing rail shipment as a train, air freight as an airplane, and boat shipment with a boat icon.
This can be used to calculate Lead Time and Total Cycle Time. On a value stream map, the timeline is placed at the bottom and shows waiting times and processing times. This icon is used to show how many operators are needed to process the VSM family at a particular workstation. It identifies critical processes for developing a successful future-state map. This icon is designed to stand out and highlight problem areas. Below are some of the commonly used VSM symbols. As long as the team working on improving the system understands the symbols used, the map will be an effective tool. Or you may need special symbols to communicate certain aspects of a process. You may find that some symbols are not adequate for describing the system you’re mapping. However, VSM symbols are not standardized-it’s possible to modify or create symbols to match the needs of your organization. There is a common set of symbols used in value stream mapping, some of which were introduced in the groundbreaking workbook “Learning to See,” published by the Lean Enterprise Institute in 2009. For more information on creating and using value stream maps, read our VSM overview article. Once a current-state map has been analyzed, future- and ideal-state maps can be created to provide a clear plan for improving organizational flow. A value stream map makes it easier to evaluate the current state of a production process to identify what is working and what issues are causing inefficiency. Creating a map to visually represent the steps involved in producing and delivering products and services to clients can be valuable for any business.
Value stream mapping is associated with lean manufacturing but can be applied to various fields, including service-related industries, administrative and office processes, and software development. It’s a tool for reducing waste and improving efficiency, with the goal of providing optimum value to customers in the form of products or services. A value stream map uses symbols to represent the flow of information and inventory within a system and to streamline those processes.