negative impact on the team(s) of being kicked out of a conference room in the middle of an event that you have described to them as being “very important to the future of the company” in order to make room for a weekly weight-loss meeting. You’ll need a room or two or three, depending on the number of teams that will be working and the sizes of the rooms, with a lot of clear wall space for hanging brown papers. Arrange to have all the supplies you’ll need on-site before you start. Each team should have the following supplies:
• A copy of the layout of the site/facility that encompasses the process to be studied
• At least 10 rolls of heavy (standard) brown wrapping paper (usually 28 inches wide and 50 feet long)
• At least 12 rolls of transparent adhesive tape (not glossy, so you can write on it)
• Two rolls of masking tape
• Six rolls of clear plastic packing tape (high quality)
• At least 20 pads of square sticky notes in different colors
• Several pairs of scissors
• One pack each of red, green, and yellow stick-on dots (¾ inch)
• A yardstick or a long straightedge
• At least 10 markers in several colors
• A few pencils
• Access to a nearby copier (make sure a couple of reams of paper are available)
• About 50 sheets each of various colors of paper
• Three calculators (nothing fancy, just for performing simple calculations)
• Three stopwatches
• A flip chart and a stand with at least one spare pad of paper (ruled, if possible)
• 50 kaizen action sheets (KASs)
• Any personal protective equipment required in the work area
• Dry-erase board with erasable markers, or blackboard with chalk
• Digital camera
• Digital projector
• Extension cords with ample outlets
Put all the smaller supplies in a box so they are ready to move to the project room. Have a copy of each team’s charter for each team member along with a team copy of supporting phone numbers, floor plans, office locations, and so on, that are related to the process the team will be examining.
It is important to make sure that the champion and a few members of the ESC or involved management team are present at the kickoff to make appro-priate comments and show support. These individuals should also be present at each day’s summary meeting (discussed in Chapter 12). In addition, the cham-pion needs to be available for consultation during the week on an as-needed basis. Chapter 12 discusses when to notify the various personnel.
2. gIve The TeaM MeMBers (WhO WILL Be BUILdIng The vsM) an OvervIeW OF vsMaPPIng COnCePTs and PrInCIPLes
This can be done by reconstructing the examples in Chapter 8 on a white board or by using an “approved” example for the organization’s VSM materials (if any).
It’s not essential to provide a detailed “face down through the cactus” workshop;
you only need the participants to understand the big picture of what they’ll be doing. As mentioned earlier, they’ll learn most of what they need by doing.
3. revIeW and reFIne The CharTer OF The vsMaPPIng TeaM WITh The TeaM MeMBers
The approved charter for the team may not be as detailed or as specific as required. Or it may not be described in a manner that is clear to the team mem-bers. Have each team carefully read the charter and modify it as required. It is important to make sure that the team does not change the intent or focus of the charter. If there are any questions about whether the intent of the charter is being changed, have the champion discuss it with the team(s).
4. revIeW The LeveL OF MaPPIng ThaT WILL Be Used
In almost all cases, each activity box will represent one task (e.g., reviewing an application, entering a test result on a spreadsheet). In a select few cases, the
(such as when site consolidation is being considered and/or when processes or lines may be moved, combined, or divided). Give each team an example of what one of its boxes may look like by using an actual task from the process the team will be mapping.
5. revIeW The sCOPe OF The MaPPIng
The scope should be clear from the charter, but often it is fuzzy before the VSM is constructed. Therefore, have each team specify the first and last activ-ity boxes of its VSM insofar as it understands the charter and its process at the moment. This might change as the team members collect data (there are almost always additional and/or different initial and finishing activities than are apparent at first glance), but at least they’ll probably be close and sensi-tized to the issue. Tell them to check with the coach if they decide that the cho-sen beginning and ending activities have changed from the initial estimates. If it appears that the suggested changes conflict with the charter, have the team confer with its champion and the coach.
Another aspect of scope involves how far to pursue processes within and outside the organization. In most cases, the scope usually stops at the points where process steps are done by customers and suppliers. If the issue is suf-ficiently severe and appropriate, customer and/or supplier personnel may be on the team(s). In that case, it may be possible to include in the VSM some of the activities that take place at the customer and/or supplier location. How-ever, be very careful, as recalled information about what happens in a pro-cess at another location may be inaccurate. That is, the representatives of the customer and/or the supplier may not be sufficiently knowledgeable about their processes if they are not hands-on workers in that process. And if they are hands-on workers, their knowledge may not extend to processes in which they have not worked lately. If there are any questions about what is appropri-ate, consult with the champion. Of course, it’s always best if these issues are worked out before the charter is written and/or the event begins.
6. dIsCUss The deFInITIOn OF “FUTUre” ThaT WILL Be Used In IMPLeMenTIng IMPrOveMenTs and The
InvesTMenT sTraTegy BehInd IMPrOveMenTs
There are several issues here. While the identification of changes is not for-mally done until after the CS-VSM is completed, team members will begin to generate improvement ideas as soon as they read their charter. It is a good
idea to frame their thinking with a little realism right from the start. Let them know about the definition of “future” as it pertains to the future state VSM (FS-VSM) that will follow the CS-VSM. This is, of course, something that the charter should state. If it does not, work with the champion to come up with an answer on the spot, if possible. If the FS-VSM future is two weeks, that presents a very different set of limitations than improvements that have a six-month future. Generally there are several “futures.” Typically, the action plan that accompanies the FS-VSM (see Chapter 10) will outline improve-ments that are expected to be implemented in at least two to three time periods such as one month, six months, and a year.
A second consideration is the investment strategy that the organization desires and/or is forced to accept. If the enterprise is short of cash or needs immediate relief from whatever issue prompted the VSMapping exercise, management will most likely be looking for big returns in a short time from little to no investment. If there is no short-term crisis, the enterprise may be willing to consider medium- to long-term investments if the returns are sufficient. However, the emphasis is always on cheap, fast improvements (the essence of kaizen) and then on medium- to longer-term fixes. After all, short-term improvements typically target waste reduction and cost little.
There’s no point in not getting them right away. If enough of them work well, they may eliminate the need for some of the more expensive long-term improvements.