Identify Bottlenecks and Improve Production Flow
Many manufacturers believe they need more capacity. In reality, the biggest problem is often time lost between production steps that no one can see.
Value Stream Mapping helps manufacturers visualize their entire production process so hidden delays, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies become clear.
OMEP works with manufacturers across Oregon to apply Value Stream Mapping to real operations, helping teams reduce lead times, improve throughput, and strengthen delivery performance.
Are These Challenges Slowing Your Operation?
Manufacturers often turn to Value Stream Mapping when they experience:
- Orders running late
- Production bottlenecks that are difficult to diagnose
- Growing work in progress inventory
- Frequent expediting or schedule changes
- Limited throughput despite adding labor or equipment
If these challenges sound familiar, Value Stream Mapping can help reveal where delays occur across your production process.
What Is Value Stream Mapping?
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a Lean Manufacturing method used to visualize every step required to deliver a product from customer order to shipment.
Unlike a basic process diagram, a Value Stream Map shows both:
Material Flow
How products move through production
Information Flow
How orders, scheduling, and communication move through the organization
By mapping the entire value stream, manufacturers gain a clear picture of how work actually flows through their operation and where time is being lost.
Many organizations discover that products spend far more time waiting than being worked on.
What Value Stream Mapping Reveals
A Value Stream Mapping engagement helps manufacturers identify:
- Hidden production bottlenecks
- Long wait times between operations
- Excess work in progress inventory
- Communication breakdowns between departments
- Opportunities to improve production flow
Real Results from Oregon Manufacturers
OMEP partnered with GrovTec US Inc to conduct a Value Stream Mapping engagement that identified inefficiencies across operations.
The resulting improvements helped the company achieve:
- $200,000 in cost savings
- $450,000 in new sales
- 80 jobs retained
Read more about Grovtec’s transformation in theirSuccess Story.
Ready to Identify the Bottlenecks Slowing Your Production?
Value Stream Mapping can help your organization:
- Reduce production lead times
- Improve throughput
- Increase on time delivery performance
- Eliminate hidden inefficiencies
Schedule a consultation with OMEP to explore how Value Stream Mapping could improve your operation.
