Value stream map examples
Four worked examples from different industries, each with a current-state map, the future state the builder's guide recommends, and the action plan that gets there. The numbers are worked out by the builder itself. Open any of them, change the numbers to your own, and see what the guide recommends for you.
Metal fabrication
Steel brackets
Five processes, two shared batch processes and a welding station over takt. The builder's main worked example.
- Takt
- 90 s
- Lead time now
- 37.5 days
- Future state
- 8 days
Food & beverage
A sauce bottling line
Six flavours of table sauce through cooking, filling, labelling and case packing — where filling can't keep up and finished pallets hold the most days.
- Takt
- 11.3 s
- Lead time now
- 18 days
- Future state
- 6 days
Furniture & joinery
Painted cabinet doors
MDF doors through CNC cutting, sanding, a shared paint booth, drilling and packing — with repaint rework and a drilling station over takt.
- Takt
- 61.9 s
- Lead time now
- 18 days
- Future state
- 6.5 days
Clothing & textiles
Workwear shirts
Shirts through cutting, a 30-operator sewing line, buttons, pressing and packing — with three weeks of fabric at the front and a sewing line over takt.
- Takt
- 19.8 s
- Lead time now
- 29 days
- Future state
- 7.5 days
Every company, name and number in these examples is invented. Want to learn the symbols first? See the VSM symbols cheat sheet, or start with the takt time calculator.