The waste identified by the simple approach of value mapping a process fascinates me. One of my favorite tools to use before the improvement process is called a spaghetti diagram. Simply observing a process and drawing the steps taken throughout the entire process on a chart can build this diagram fairly easily. Once all of the steps are drawn on the visual map of the work center the end result typically resembles spaghetti (Labach, 2010). When I worked at a food manufacture I was invited to participate in a value mapping process at one of our plants in Toronto Canada. The goal of the mapping process was to improve the workflow for a work center and reduce wasted steps in the process. One of the tools that I recommended during this exercise was a spaghetti diagram of the process for the work center that created loafs of bread. When we analyzed the process map using the spaghetti diagram it was easy to visually see all of the wasted movement in the process. We were able to reduce substantial travel time simply by moving equipment in the sequence it was needed in the process. QUESTION Have you ever used spaghetti diagrams or similar tools to understand waste in a process?
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