These represent opportunity for waste elimination. Proceed with the goal to eliminate waste before settling for waste reduction. Throughout the entire process map, look for the 7-Wastes.

Take caution when considering "automation". People are adaptable and much more flexible. Automation is fixed, constant, and often difficult to fix and maintain. In a JIT environment the decision to automate, or not to, must be carefully balanced.

This is considered a living document, update and analyze it on a continuous basis. The more detail it contains the better understanding the you and the team will have of the true process and opportunities.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Process Map Example

A good process map gets the process from the 50,000 foot level to the ground level of the actual process.

The development of the map is a team effort and it will educate everyone on the reality of the process and most often how little of the total process is value added. Typically, there are obvious improvements that will be become evident while the mapping is being done.

It will not be perfect the first time through, add more detail as it evolves. It is important to remain with the Start and Finish boundaries set forth by the SIPOC in the DEFINE phase.

The team needs to begin identifying the value added steps versus the non-value added steps and time. This realization is clearer during Value Stream Mapping (VSM) that adds more quantification to the steps.

Creating a future state or ideal state (while being realistic yet not too limited) will make it clear to the team that everything getting in the way is opportunity to improve. Laws, regulations, customer standards, past paradigms all need to be challenged because they change over time.

Creating a process map on a computer is common and many software programs exist that have symbols created. However, the first drafts are often very complex and frequently revised. Create the real flow on paper and post it publicly for others to offer input and critique. It is very important to catch the rework loops, stops, starts, pick-ups, drop-offs, and other waste so the team fully understands the opportunities.

These hidden factory "what-if" and "sometimes" paths are important for everyone to document and understand. This knowledge will create better subjective decisions when weighting the inputs using the subjective root cause analysis tools in the Measure phase.

Rework Loops

Some product or process may actually go through the rework path multiple times and the map does not illustrate this unless specially noted and discussed.

The picture below shows part of a process map with 2 Rework Loops. Rework loops have varying severities. The process map does not show the amount or cost of pieces scrapped or the amount or cost of pieces reworked. Use the yield calculations to get this data.

Often a Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY) is calculated to help quantify the scrap and rework through these loops and this does not always mean the lowest RTY is the worst financially or to the customer.

If one type of rework is more expensive or higher risk to the customer (such as a delayed delivery), then it may be a higher priority to improve. This is all going to shake out in the subjective root cause analysis tools and the inputs get funneled out to the most important, kep process input variables (KPIV's).

Risk managers often use them along with questionnaries for employees, inspections, and statistical analysis of previous losses to establish premiums for the company. Have an internal Risk Manager sit on your team from your company may be another way to capture financial savings.

Through a careful and detailed inspection process the best overall risk assessment can be done. Process Maps can provide a lot of information in an easy to read format. They will be looking for potential problems that are a combination of hazards, perils, and exposures.

For example:

A Six Sigma team may be working to reduce the number of recordable and lost time injuries. Some improvements that may be implemented are alarm systems, sprinklers in new areas, facility-wide intercoms, and others that may also qualify your company for reduced property insurance premiums.

Flowchart Symbols