INTRODUCTION We have discovered an amazing thing, While so many o ‘tying to figure out why che road to fean has bees rocker than ic should be, a vital yet simple tool tha an help us make rsl progres toward becoming lean has been righ under or noses. is have been searching our heads ‘One af us, Mike, had long searched fora means to ie rogether lean concepts and techniques, which seemed more disparate than they should be, as he worked oa many plane aor implementation eflorts, Mike noriced the mapping method while studying “Toyota's lan implementation practices, He realized mapping had potential far beyond its usual usage, formalized the tool, and buile a taining method around it ehat has proved. cextrardinafily success “The other of us, John, has known about the “col” for over ten yeas, but never thought of ie as important in its own tight. As John worked with Toyota, mapping was almost an afterthought—a simple means of communication sed by individuals who learn ther erat through hands-on experience [Av Toyota, the method-—called “Value Stream Mapping” in this workbook — i known 48 “Material and Information Flow Mapping,” Ie isn't used as a training method, or asa ‘means to "Leaen co See." Its used by Toyota Production System practitioners to depicx current and futute or “ideal” sates in the process of developing implementation plans to install lean systems. Ar Toyota, while the phrase “value stream” is rarely heat infinite tention is given to establishing lo, eliminating waste and adding value. Toyota people learn about three flows in manufacturing: the flows of material information, and people! process The Value Sttcam Mapping method presented here covers the frst cwo ofthese flows, and is based on the Material and Information Flow Maps used by Toyota Like many others in recent years, we were struggling to find ways to help manufacturers, think of fo instead of discrete production proceses and to implement lean systems instead of isolated process improvements. We stuggled t9 help manufacturers make lating, systematic improvements that would not only remove wastes, bu also the sources af the ‘wastes so that they would never come back. For those who simply xive the mapping tool x try, we have been pleased to se how exceptionally effective che tool has proved to be in Focusing attention on flow and helping them tose. Now we present itt you. Mike Rother and John Shook. ‘Ann Arbor, Michigan May 1998