How to see 99% of Non-Value Adding Activities of your processes

In an average organization, the value-adding percentage of total activities is less than 1%. Yes, the value is less than 1%. It is said that in Toyota, value-adding % is less than 20%. After spending 70 years in the lean manufacturing journey, Toyota still has 80% of the non-value adding activities to get rid of.

The argument here is not about reaching 100% value adding percentage, but increase the value-adding percentage by 1% or 2% which will bring a considerable impact on your bottom line. Simply because, even with a 1% value adding percentage in the current state, your organization is still making profits and growing year on year. Imagine the size of the opportunity you have in your hands if your learn how to seize those non-value-adding activities.

But where are those opportunities? We go to work every day, but it is really difficult to see them. Trying to see those opportunities with our naked eyes is similar to soldiers in the dark looking for the enemies. Although soldiers can't see anybody in the dark, if they put on the night vision goggles they will start to see the enemies who are hiding in the dark. And soldiers can seize or kill them.

The question is, did enemies appear just after soldiers put on the night vision goggles? No, the enemies were there. But soldiers didn't have strong eyesight or the right tools to see them. Once they get the right tool, the night vision goggle, they started to see the enemies.

Similarly, tools like value stream mapping, process mapping or makigami mapping help you to see the opportunities and non-value-adding activities hiding around you. just like night vision goggles.

When you visualize your process with the symbolic representation of "waiting, transportation and inventory" which are considered as non-value-adding, you and your teams will be able to easily see the amount of value-adding activities in your process and be shocked by the negligible value-adding percentage.

If you have never done a process map and if you are going to do it for the first time, I guarantee you that you will not only see low hanging fruits but also many fruits lying on the ground to be picked up with a very little effort.