Now the fun part of the journey: The Future State.

This really is the fun part because as you eliminate the waste and begin implementing changes, you will see things begin to work better and faster. The work environment becomes more organized and in control. The output matches what the customers want. Customers that get what they want usually come back for more, and that is a very good thing for every business.

You know the current state as you have just finished mapping it. Now you can begin drawing the future state. Drawing the Future State Map begins with looking at the Current State Map. What problems do you see? It is likely you will see unconnected processes, each producing to its (own) schedule and pushing the output forward. You may also find large amounts of inventory or documents waiting. What can be done about this? We can ask a few questions to help guide the way.

A good starting point is to ask, “in order to meet the customer demand in the time available, what is the process time (X) allowed per item.” This will help you determine, “make to stock or make to order.” It is usually a combination of the two.

It is likely you have already learned to see the waste in the process and have many good ideas on how to improve. Now is a good time to start

Using a different color pencil, write in your improvements on the current state map. It is likely that some things cannot be changed right away due to design, machinery or other factors. The key is, “what can we do with what we have?” Over time you can address those other things that cannot be changed easily.

Now that you have identified the improvements, you can draw the Future State Value Stream Map with information flows, material flows and improvements specified.

The final topic next time: Achieving the Future State.

Learn more about lean manufacturing:

Learning to see – Lean Manufacturing (Blog #1)
Learning to see – Lean Manufacturing (Blog #2)
Learning to see – Lean Manufacturing (Blog #3)