The Wastes Of Extended Value Stream

There are several different manufacturing programs that are available to use in order to help you reduce or eliminate wastes. Many people have heard about lean manufacturing or Six Sigma but there are many other programs available that are ideal for companies looking to reduce or eliminate wastes and improve the company. One method is to implement the 7 Wastes with Extended Value Stream. What does this do exactly? Let's take a look at how it can provide you with a productive shop floor.

Using extended value stream you will end up working on eliminating wastes that are leading to high expenses and other issues. With a lean stream you will appoint a team to be responsible for identifying the wastes and then focusing on brainstorming to help you create a method to eliminate them. Correct training of your staff is one of the things that you must focus on in order to become successful with any type of lean. The value stream will show the complete method of how a product goes from raw goods to a completed product.

One of the areas that you have issues with start with overproduction. Overproduction is something that commonly happens in manufacturing plants as you may try to get ahead. You do not want to produce too many products that sit in your inventory as they end up costing you too much money by tying up your cash reserves. The other reason why you may deal with overproduction is due to changeover times. Having a strong flow of communication within the company can help you to reduce or eliminate the defects and issues that are at hand. Getting your employees to talk to each other and setting up a system that helps to keep them on track can prevent defects and large amounts of overproduction.

Some of the other issues that are at hand may relate to transportation issues. What does this mean exactly? This occurs when you have products that are not delivered to your facility on time or when you have products that are not being delivered to your customers on time. You need to look into your suppliers and to find out what is happening as far as transportation of your raw goods go so you can cut down on the wasted time you have waiting for these products to arrive.

Do you spend time maintaining your equipment? You must be able to take time to focus on keeping your equipment properly maintained in order to prevent defects and other issues from occurring. If you do not maintain your equipment it is common to see delays in the production process along with delays in many other areas of the company as other people need to rely on the equipment to create products that they sell and they cannot do their jobs while they wait on you to fix the equipment.

A waste that is often uncovered with extended value stream is to see excess motion with the company. This occurs when you have employees that are always needing to move around and to find their supplies and tools needed to do their job. If you do not keep them properly organized and in the right place, it will lead you to have excess motion. It slows down your employee's ability to do their jobs effectively and it can also cause delays in the production line.

Extended value stream mapping is a great way to help you uncover some of the wastes that are really hindering your company from becoming successful. Focus a lot of your efforts on proper training in order to make a difference in helping your employees to change their mindsets and to start thinking lean!