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One of most important tools for lean production is value stream mapping (VSM), which identifies and reduces errors, losses, waiting time and improves value adding time, leading to enhanced product quality through empowering production unit in terms of production risk and cost reduction in the long term. This paper aims to present a general concept for production flow, such that value stream can be fully understood. For this purpose, this research investigates the effect of value stream on operational losses and analyzes the process that has been conducted in preview step operationally, using the discovered pattern.

In this research, related processes were evaluated after the review of the relevant literature and after extracting operational basics of lean approach using a questionnaire, such that all factors affecting operational losses and VSM were assessed. Then comparison between the result of current state map and the result of future state map were done and analyzed. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to test the designed questionnaire’s reliability, which resulted in an acceptable level of 0.845. The structural equation modeling method through SPSS and Smart–Partial Least Square was applied to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The results reveal that implementing required changes and corrections will lead directly to production process improvement, which, in turn, results in higher customer satisfaction because of cost reduction and quality enhancement. Also, tests of the hypotheses confirm that VSM affects six operational losses, namely, equipment failures, set-up and changeovers, idling and minor stoppages, reduced speed operation, scrap and rework and startup losses.

Though this study was done in a single manufacturing company, the implementation of this study delivers important results that can be deployed in other such manufacturing companies.

This tool helps to identify loss points, make right decisions, and choose the best methods and lean tools for improvement. The surveyed company can integrate lean principles and tools and achieve better results using this tool. Also, this tool could be used to analyze the process and to define necessary changes before changing the process components.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge in manufacturing research as the study regarding the effects of improvement opportunities identified through VSM on operational losses is still something new.

The evaluation of time-based performance is a valued approach in the lean management thinking which is based on delivering value from customer's perspective. This approach contributes for long-term competitiveness and success in today's business environment. The focus of this study is to analyse the cycle time and manufacturing lead time with value stream mapping (VSM) in the preparatory stage of the textile fabric manufacturing process and to identify and improve the non-value adding activities in the value chain (VC). The study presents an insight on the translation of performance improvement across functions and how upstream supply chain (SC) segments can be linked in the performance improvement program. It also covers how the application of VSM improves visibility and planning flexibility in textile fabric manufacturing process.

The time-based performance was evaluated using VSM and recording of the activity times in the existing process. The impact of the quality of supplier's raw material was also measured contributing to identify the strategy for procurement and the means to establish a feedback system to the upstream segments of the SC. The methodology of VSM, observation of the practice and the expertise of the individuals involved with the process were utilised to develop the value stream maps and to identify value adding activities, non-value adding activities, existing gaps and plans for improvement.

The means for improving the time-based performance were identified and their impact was measured. The factors responsible for improvement are related to the production system and with the procurement strategy. The improvement was achieved in terms of available capacity utilisation, balancing the work flow in the preparatory stages, visibility of the process by measuring its capability and flexibility for the planning function. The study revealed that the effectiveness and enhancement of VSM and related tools should be adopted to address the issue of limiting success rates of long term and repeating application of such tools. Continuous improvement, innovations and the systematic embedding of VSM in the process life cycle provide the ways for achieving long-term success.

The paper presents a real and in-depth study on the application of VSM in the textile manufacturing process. The scope of the study is broad; it covers activities across functions with actual estimates of activity times in the manufacturing process for the focused value streams. It offers researchers the opportunity to analyse the translation of productivity improvement across functions and how upstream SC segments can be linked in a performance improvement program.

The study offers useful insight for the managers in textile manufacturing and other sectors for improving the time-based performance and achieving higher utilisation of capacity. It identified the production factors and their impact on warping and sizing cycle time in selected value streams and those which share common activities. It also identified the directions for future research when repeating the application of VSM in the continuous improvement cycle. Furthermore, since the industries need to progress towards advanced systems including Industry 4.0 standards, adoption of advanced VSM tool with relevant technology can align their production systems to develop the required capability. This will also bring a sustainable competitive advantage in the system.

The focused sector is stagnant in terms of productivity and innovation. The adoption of the advanced tools can facilitate the implementation of continuous improvement and innovation strategies.

The main focus of this study is to analyse and improve the cycle time in the preparatory stage of the fabric manufacturing process. This has impact on other important and tangible measures including capacity utilisation and work flow and intangible measures including production planning flexibility and process visibility. The improvement impact is across departments.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent trends in the circular economy and investigate how value stream mapping (VSM) can be extended to more fully include some of the critical aspects of circular economy.

The findings are based on previous research that has explored the usage of VSM to include aspects of the environment and sustainability aspects. These ideas are then expanded to new ways to use VSM by mapping value of a product as it is; used, maintained, re-used, remanufactured, recycled, incinerated or used for landfill. The authors test out this approach through application in the waste management sector to identify possibilities for improvement and new business opportunities in what now is considered waste.

This paper introduces an expanded version of VSM that refines the existing Lean toolbox for exploring value and mapping value in a circular economy.

The aim of this paper is to expand the relevance and practical value of VSM as the world economy increasingly moves toward a circular one.

Today, VSM is a widespread method within Lean manufacturing that scrutinizes value creation within an organization or within a value chain. This paper describes how VSM can be refined to explore value streams in the afterlife of a product and explore waste as a resource utilization opportunity.

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a visualization tool to identify and eliminate waste and widely applied in manufacturing, transportation, construction, service and other industries, especially in the Industrial 4.0 technology era. The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the VSM literature to identify the advances and hotspots of VSM literature.

Taking the VSM literature collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database as the research samples, this research used the bibliometric and keyword co-occurrence analysis to analyze the publication trend, research topics and their contents of VSM from concept integration, application sectors and technology expansion.

With the development of research, the latest research integrates conceptual integration, application departments and technology expansion to develop more complex research designs. It can be integrated with simulation, six sigma, big data, Internet of Things and other technologies to expand the analysis and design ability of VSM, which enhances the adaptability of VSM to various scenarios.

This research contributes to VSM literature by conducting a systematic review based on the citation structure within VSM research and identifies the established and emerging areas of research on VSM.

Teachers of primary education experience high levels of stress but lack rational coping strategies to reduce their work stress. The paper develops a value stream mapping for education approach and examines its use as a rational coping strategy for teams of teachers and other employees to overcome work-related stressors.

The research process consists of two phases. First, a value stream mapping approach for education is developed, based on literature research. Next, the approach is validated in an action research study to reduce work stress of teachers in educational services. The processes that have been selected by the teachers relate to coping with increased variety, long and uncertain throughput times and unclear specifications.

Value stream mapping for education (VSM4EDU) is a well-structured improvement method based on principles of visualization, participation and process thinking, which helps teachers without background in lean thinking to analyse their processes. Using this method has enabled the team to develop rational coping strategies to reduce their work-related stress.

VSM4EDU has been validated using action research at a single school, which implicates deep insight, but further testing at other schools is welcome. Moreover, VSM4EDU has not been used to develop a future state map.

Value stream mapping is useful in educational settings as long as the educational context is respected in the approach.

VSM4EDU empowers teachers and helps to develop co-operation in teams.

The validation of value stream mapping for education is well-documented and original.

The purpose of this study is to propose a new mapping tool called Circular Value Stream Mapping (C-VSM) that combines Circular Economy principles with Lean tools to enhance sustainability performance in operations.

To develop the C-VSM tool, the researchers conducted a literature review and a focus group. The tool was then applied to two real case studies in the agri-food sector, specifically analyzing an artichoke and olive oil producer, to assess its validity and effectiveness.

The study introduces the Circular Resource Box (CRB) as a key innovation in the C-VSM tool. This visual representation effectively captures resource circularity and how resources and wastes are managed, making it easy to identify circularity in the production process. By combining qualitative and quantitative information with this visual representation, companies can identify improvement opportunities aligned with the CE.

The research is limited in scope as it focuses on the application of the C-VSM tool in the agri-food sector. Further research could explore its applicability in other industries and settings to understand its broader impact.

The C-VSM tool provides practical benefits to companies seeking to transition from linear to circular production processes. It enables practitioners to identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts and optimize production operations in line with CE.

The introduction of the C-VSM tool is a novel approach that bridges the gap between Lean Manufacturing and CE concepts, advancing the understanding of how CE thinking can be effectively implemented in operations.

This research aims to improve the performance and productivity of low-level technology organizations using lean tools – value stream mapping (VSM). In order to investigate the application of VSM in low-level technology organizations, this study takes footwear manufacturing organizations as a case study.

Identifying a suitable organization was the first step for conducting the case study, followed by product family identification. Time and motion studies are used to determine the cycle time and identify the value-adding and non-value-adding activities, respectively. After making necessary observations and calculations, the current state map was developed. Different improvement proposals were identified, and the future state map was constructed.

As a result, 56.3% cycle time reduction and 69.7% reduction in lead time were obtained, confirming its application in low-level technology organizations to improve their performance and productivity. This promising result indicates that a significant improvement can be achieved if VSM is applied in low-level organizations other than footwear industries, such as the clothing and furniture industries. Speed is investigated to be one of the parameters in motion study.

This study focuses on low-level technology organizations, specifically leather shoe manufacturing industries. But experiences gained from implementing this study are realistic and applicable in similar organizations.

Performance and productivity improvement are critical issues to be addressed in low-level technology organizations, especially in the leather footwear manufacturing sector. This can be achieved through VSM by identifying and removing the wastes. VSM can be applied to low-level organizations as well. VSM is a powerful tool that helps managers and practitioners in identifying wastes and opportunities for improvement.

The paper addresses applicability of VSM in the production process of low-level technology organizations with an original industrial case study in Ethiopia.

This paper proposes an integrated value stream mapping (VSM) for a complex assembly line to improve the leanness of a complex automotive component manufacturing organization.

This study depicts the application of VSM at the case organization, where top management is concerned about the challenges of higher cycle time and lower productivity. Gemba walks were conducted to establish the concept of “walk the flow, create the flow” along the assembly line. The multi-hierarchical cross-functional team developed the current value stream map to know the “as-is” state. Then, the team analysed the current VSM and proposed the future VSM for the “to-be” state.

The integrated VSM shows different processes and work cells, various wastes, non-value-added activities, cycle time, uptime and the material and information flows for both products of the assembly line on the same map. The integrated VSM reduced cycle time, non-value-added activities, work in process inventory and improved line efficiency and production per labour hour for both the products, simultaneously.

The limitation of the study is that the study focussed only on the application of VSM for one complex assembly only. Future research may be conducted using the developed integrated VSM approach in other complex production environments.

Managers can identify and reduce system waste by incorporating the concept of integrated VSM in a complex production or assembly environment where two or more products are being manufactured/assembled with low similarity.

The application of VSM for assembly lines is highly challenging because of merging flows, a large number of child parts in the lines and assembly of more than one product on the same line.

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a lean manufacturing (LM) tool used for analyzing material and information flow on a specific product family. The purpose of this article is to address the importance of VSM in LM environment in an Indian auto components industry.

The case study approach has been used to show the applicability and importance of VSM in an Indian auto components company, in which the current state of manufacturing is mapped with the help of VSM symbols. According to the current state mapping, the study conducted analysis and identifies the area of improvement needed in terms of work in process, lead time and cycle time. The study further implemented kaizen on the current state map and developed future state map while including these kaizens.

The study clearly shows that the VSM brings out the positive impact on process ratio, TAKT time, process inventory level, line speed, total lead and process time and reduced man power. It is helping the company in satisfying their customers with respect to quality, cost and delivery.

The main limitation of the study is the confined focus on a single industry. The case should be extended to other industries in order to support the findings and for the purpose of the wider generalization.

The results obtained from the study will help other industries and sectors to implement VSM in LM environment.

The article deals with a real case study, which shows application of VSM for implementing lean principles.

Value stream mapping (VSM) is very common in the manufacturing industry to enhance transparency and support improvements within the production process. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the current status of the method from the user’s point of view and addresses its future sustainability in the context of the ongoing digitalization.

An empirical survey with 170 participants from different branches was conducted. The web-based questionnaire covers the topics Lean Management, respectively, VSM, Industry 4.0, the integration of both approaches as well as a possible need for action to modify the VSM. Results are analyzed in a quantitative way.

Benefits and shortcomings of VSM are already confirmed by previous publications. The serious challenge is the lack of flexibility of the method. In general users appreciate a combination of Lean methods and solutions of Industry 4.0. Moreover 92 percent of the participating experts request further development of the VSM using digitalization to compensate weaknesses.

The findings are based only on Lean expert’s opinion. Over 95 percent of the participants are from Europe however most of them are from Germany. Although the results are adequate an international expansion of the survey would be advisable in order to distinguish local differences and similarities. In future work researchers need to further develop VSM to overcome the identified gaps.

Results of the study indicate the viewpoint of experts within different branches. This enables users to undertake a self-assessment regarding their own VSM-estimation.

This paper provides a current evaluation of the VSM from an exploratory perspective. The impact of global trends and new opportunities facilitated by digitalization are considered. Shortcomings and fields of actions become clear. Based on that necessity further research activities can be designed.