Step 3 in Value Stream Mapping

Create a Future State Value Stream Map

Once the current state of the process has been established, which by the way, is usually the second “Ah-Ha!” moment for the company, the next step is to picture the desired state of the process; the future state. This is the point where waste identified in the current state is targeted for elimination. Find the areas of waste and problem areas and try to eliminate them by looking for low-effort high-benefit types of activities.

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is to focus on reducing the touch time and ignoring the massive queue waste. For example, how can we reduce our machining time per part from 4.5 minutes to 3.5 minutes while not addressing the 2 days the product sits in queue after machining.

Examples of this include 1) Reducing unnecessary inventory, 2) Pulling materials through visual controls, 3) Using 5S to make materials and tools available at the point-of-use, 4) Eliminating unnecessary steps, 5) Cross training personnel, 6) Standardizing work, 7) Reducing setup time, and 8) Balancing the work flow (Takt time analysis). The attached Figure illustrates the future state possibilities that can be accomplished by eliminating waste from this process.