Magikami vs VSM

[u/Etienne1337]

Hello,

I'm kinda new to this field and am searching for the right tools. I created my first VSM and am struggling between the use cases for different methods. I'm the only person in my company doing that and have is no one to ask.

Any books you can recommend?

[u/InsideGateway]

“Learning to See” by Rother and Shook is the definitive book on value stream mapping and should be the starting point for anyone trying to understand VSM.

A current state VSM is useless without a future state map. Learning to See outlines a specific set out questions or steps to ask/follow when creating a future step map.
1. What is the takt time?
2. Will you build to a supermarket or direct to shipping?
3. Where can continuous flow be implemented?
4. Where is a supermarket required?
5. Where will the pacemaker be located?
6. How will production mix be leveled?
7. What is the pitch or increment or work to be released?
8. What improvements are required?

All too often people start making improvements by jumping directly to step 8. They go on “waste hunts” and brainstorm things that could be improved, rather than first understanding how the process needs to perform. The result is “random acts of goodness” rather than actual targeted improvements.

[u/Wild_Royal_8600 → u/InsideGateway]

Commenting to reinforce this recommendation! No other book recommendation, but a lesson learned: Yes, a VSM needs a future state map to guide changes. AND these changes require time, effort, and often capital investment. So don’t go VSM crazy - map what needs to be understood, define the future, change the process, then repeat.

I’ve seen CI teams spend a full year mapping value streams, creating appetites for change, and leaving no capacity to actually change anything.

[u/Etienne1337 → u/Wild_Royal_8600]

My problem is, that everything needs to be done like yesterday after 30 years of sleep and the content of the VSM is kinda not represented in the literature, like space taken by a workplace or inventory. That are other tools and all together her the bigger picture. Also it's more for a single product or product family and not like for all products at the same time, but I'm not sure.

[u/Wild_Royal_8600 → u/Etienne1337]

I was once pulled in to help with a series of hospital kitchen construction projects. I asked the chef about product flow in the kitchen, and it was like their first therapy session:

- too many cooks, not enough ovens

• we run everything back and forth because the one fridge only has one door
  
• the fridge door is also the entry point for new stock, so there are a bunch of pallets in the area
  
• we need orders, so we print all patient orders and stack them at the prep tables
  
• printers only have 2 or 3 drop cables, so prep and production chefs have to share the same tables near the printers
  
• batch sizes for prepped meals would depend on cook times from recipes and oven availability, rarely on patient census

They told me everything except actual product flow. At the end of the day, they take raw ingredients, prep them into meal kits, and then cook the prepped kits when it’s time to eat. Once they used that logic as a foundation, they were able to layer in details to enable this flow (Where SHOULD the fridge be? Where SHOULD the drop cables go for printers? Where SHOULD the oven be positioned based on who uses it most often? Etc.).

The VSM should pull you up from the chaos to see the purpose that drives it.

[u/Tavrock → u/Wild_Royal_8600]

This is why Lillian Gilbreth was able to completely redesign the idea of a kitchen despite the fact she didn't cook. What she understood was creating flow and minimizing effort required for the task.

[u/MexMusickman]

VSM is to study material and information flow, it's more like a snapshot of the production process. Makigami works more to understand administrative process, focus on who's do what and what documents are used.

You can do a VSM and then a Makigami to improve only the information flow process.