How do you measure and improve equipment maintenance performance and efficiency in your value stream map?

1 What is VSM?

VSM is a visual representation of the steps, materials, information, and people involved in a process from start to finish. It shows the current state of the process, as well as the desired future state and the gaps between them. VSM helps you see the sources of waste, such as defects, overproduction, waiting, inventory, motion, transportation, and overprocessing. By eliminating or minimizing waste, you can increase the value added by each step and reduce the lead time and cost of the process.

2 How to create a VSM for equipment maintenance?

Creating a VSM for your equipment maintenance process requires defining the scope and boundaries of the process, collecting data on the process, drawing the current state map, analyzing the current state map, drawing the future state map, and developing an action plan. To define the scope and boundaries, you need to identify the start and end point of the process, inputs and outputs, customers and suppliers. Collecting data involves determining how long each step takes, how many people and resources are involved, how often the process occurs, how much inventory and work in progress there is, and how many defects and rework there are. Drawing the current state map involves using standard symbols and icons to represent steps, materials, information, and people in the process. It should also include data on cycle time, lead time, inventory, quality, value added activities and waste. Analyzing this map involves calculating process efficiency and identifying root causes of waste. Drawing the future state map requires envisioning how the process would look with improvements implemented, eliminating or reducing waste activities, streamlining flow and communication, and aligning it with customer demand. Finally, developing an action plan involves defining specific actions for implementation with timelines and metrics for monitoring progress.

4 What are the challenges of VSM for equipment maintenance?

VSM is not a one-time activity, but a continuous improvement process that demands commitment and collaboration from all stakeholders. When applying VSM to your equipment maintenance process, you may encounter resistance to change from people who are accustomed to the current way of working or fear job loss or authority diminishment. Additionally, you may be confronted with a lack of data or inaccurate data on the process performance and efficiency, as well as complexity and variability due to different types of equipment, customers, and environments. Moreover, quantifying the value added by each step and activity can be difficult, as well as reconciling conflicting or competing priorities and interests among different departments, functions, and levels.