CHAPTER
17

The First Principle: Design Lean Value Streams

OBJECTIVE: Design on paper an end-to-end lean value stream flow, starting from the time we receive an order from the customer or request for a service until the time we deliver the product or service.

The concept of value stream flow started in 1996 with the book Lean Thinking.¹ In 1998 the book Learning to See² took value stream flow from concept to reality by providing a practical approach to mapping value stream flow. The focus was on manufacturing, and a simplified case study was used to teach the basic concepts of value streams and the process for designing a lean value stream. The case study involved an automotive supplier that was producing two products through processes that were dedicated to those products, and a stamping press that was shared with other product families. Customer demand held constant, with little variation. Again, the emphasis was on teaching the concept of seeing end-to-end value stream flow using a simplified case study. We learned that the five basic steps in mapping value stream flow were identifying product familie....Figure 17.1).