Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Value Stream Map

Overview

Value Stream Map (VSM) tool can be used to map and analyze the series of events or activities that transform a product or a service from the beginning usually from the supplier to the customer. Some of these activities may be value-added and while others may not be value-adding. The purpose of value stream mapping is to identify and remove the "wastes" from value streams and design a new way of working to deliver the product or service to the customer in the shortest time, with the highest quality and lowest cost.

To add this tool your workbook, click on Lean and then select Value Stream Map.

Input Options

Click on the Analysis Setup button to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.

1	Num Columns: Specify the number of columns to display in your work area where you want to create the value stream map. Note that all extra columns are hidden (and not deleted). If you want more or fewer columns later, you can come back to this setting and change the number of columns. Do not manually delete any columns on the worksheet. If you have a large size map with a lot of symbols then you may want to use a greater number of columns.
2	Column Width: Specify the width of each cell on the worksheet. This is only used for display purposes and will not affect your analysis results. When you add symbols to your worksheet, the width can be used to scale your symbols to fit within each cell. If you don't use the Scale option, then the width input is not used in creating the value stream map. It only controls the display of the grid on the worksheet.
3	VSM Symbols: Specify the type of map you are interested in creating. Currently, there are three options available: healthcare, manufacturing, and transactional. Changing this selection will change the symbols available to you on the task menu bar. Note that you can always change this setting later. For example, if you are creating a value stream map for a transactional process but you need a symbol that is only found on the manufacturing process, you can change this setting to manufacturing copy that symbol onto your map at any time.
4	Num Paths: Specify the number of paths you want to create on the value stream map. A path could be the entire path from end to end - from the supplier to the customer or you can break up the portions of your map to have multiple paths. The software will calculate a summary set of metrics for each path such as lead-time, process cycle efficiency, etc. It will also create a lead-time ladder diagram for each path. You need to have at least one path on a value stream map but you can choose to add multiple paths based on your analysis needs. Similar to the earlier option, you can always come back and update this setting later.
5	Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file for this topic.
6	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
7	OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.

Units

Click on the Units button on the right to open the Units menu. A sample screenshot of the Units menu is shown below.

1	Currency Units: Specify the currency units for this analysis. Any financial calculations reported during the analysis will use this currency unit.
2	Demand Units: Specify the units for demand rate. These units will be used to specify the demand at the customer and also to calculate the TAKT times.
3	Cycle Time Units: Specify the units for the cycle time. These units will be used in the ladder diagram and in any charts generated by the analysis. For example, on the cycle time-TAKT time chart.
4	Lead Time Units: Specify the units for the lead time. These units will be used to specify the wait times or activity lead times. They will be used in the ladder diagram and on charts such as lead-time chart.
5	Weeks/Year: Specify how many work weeks are there in a given year. You may want to subtract holidays to estimate the number of work-weeks in a year.
6	Days/Week: Specify how many working days are there in a week. For example, if Sat-Sun are off, then you can specify that each week has 5 working days.
7	Shifts/Day: Specify how many shifts are usually there in each day. Typically, it is 1 shift per day, but a factory could be operating equipment on all 3 shifts.
8	Hours/Shift: Specify how many productive work-hours are there in each shift. Here, you may want to take away non-work hours like lunch, breaks, meetings etc.

The VSM calculations use the information provided in this dialog box to convert units. For example, one day is equivalent to 8 hours in the above figure. The multiplication of all the numbers in the units section gives the total number of productive work hours in a year. For the example shown above, the number of work hours is 2080 per year. What is not specified in the units is the conversion from hours to minutes and minutes to seconds. It is assumed that 1 hour is 60 minutes and 1 minute is 60 seconds. These parameters are hard-coded into the system and cannot be changed by the user.

Menu Bar

When the tool is opened, the main menu at the top may change to a task-specific menu as shown below. If this menu does not open, click on the F4 button or the small arrow at the bottom right portion of your menu group to open this menu bar. The task menu bar with healthcare VSM symbols is shown below. The task menu bar with transactional VSM symbols is shown below.

Create Value Stream Map

Value Stream Mapping is a paper and pencil exercise. It is recommended that you get your cross-functional team together and use empty wall space to create the value stream map using white sheets, sticky notes, and sketch pens. This will provide the greatest means to best interact with your team members and allows every person in the team to view and contribute to the creation of the map. The use of sticky notes ensures that the map that is being developed can be easily changed and updated as the discussions in the team progresses. Once you are happy with the map created on the wallpaper the next step is to document the map in an electronic format. Of course, you can just take a picture of the map on the wall and include it in your presentation. However, this does not allow you to automate some of the calculations and also perform what-if analysis to try out different changes to your map. Hence, it is recommended that you recreate the map in computer software. The features and capabilities of Sigma Magic software are ideal to create this value stream map.

To create the value stream map, transcribe the map that you have created on the wall using the symbols provided within the Sigma Magic software. Several symbols are displayed on the task menu bar. To add a symbol to your worksheet you can click on the symbol and then move your mouse on the worksheet to position this symbol on the worksheet. Left-click on the mouse button to place the symbol on the worksheet. Two helper functions are listed along with the symbols. The Center button will place the symbol in the center of your work cell and the Scale button will scale the symbol so that it fits within the work cell. You may choose to scale some icons while others you may choose to use the original size of the symbol. You can toggle these two options by clicking on the checkbox. These take effect the next time you add the symbols to your worksheet. They do not affect any symbols you may have already added to your worksheet. If you don't like any symbols added earlier, you can always delete them and re-add the symbols again. Repeat this entire process until you add all the symbols to your worksheet and recreate the map that you have on your wallpaper into the computer.

Note that these symbols are standard Excel shapes and you can feel free to change size, color, or apply any other properties to these shapes as desired. Before you start to add the symbols to your worksheet roughly count the number of symbols you have on your map and the number of columns on your input options should be roughly twice the number of symbols you have on your map in the longest row. Select the width of the cell such that you can accommodate the map in a reasonable viewing area so that you can easily view or print this map later. Several different types of symbols are available on the task menu bar. The most common ones are listed below:

Symbol	Description
	Customer symbol: Ideally, you need to have at least one customer symbol on each value stream map. The customer symbol specifies the required demand for the value stream. This information is required to calculate the TAKT time for this analysis. Usually, the customer symbol is placed on the right-hand side of the value stream map, but it can equally be placed at the top of the left side of the map as well. In some cases, the customer icon may appear within the process steps as well.
	Supplier symbol: The supplier symbol shows the supplier or suppliers who provides material to our process. It is also possible that there may be no suppliers for a given value stream map. In some cases, there may be one supplier or multiple suppliers. You may also only choose to show the key suppliers on your value stream map. Typically, transactional processes may not have a supplier symbol.
	Process symbol: The process symbol is used to denote activities or process steps. These steps transform the product or service to what the customer expects. Ideally, these steps are all value-adding but, in most cases, a major component of the process activities is non-value added. There are different types of process symbols available to add to your worksheet such as shared processes, U-cell processes, external processes. cross-dock processes etc. For a transactional value-stream, there may be other process types such as merge process, split process, decision process, etc.
	Inventory symbol: The inventory symbol is used to denote places in the process where material is stored or places where material is waiting for a process. There are different types of inventory symbols available to add to your worksheet depending on whether you are working on a manufacturing value stream map or a transactional value stream map. The inventory quantity is used to calculate the wait time for the product using either the TAKT time or the critical bottleneck speed of the process.
	Material Flow symbol: The material flow symbol is used to denote the direction and type of movement of material between different steps of the process. There are different types of inventory symbols available to add to your worksheet depending on the type of flow. The flow symbol could be a push arrow, a pull symbol, using different types of Kanban signals, First In First Out, sequential pull, etc.
	Information Flow symbol: The information flow symbol is used to denote the direction and type of movement of information between different steps of the process. There are different types of information flow symbols available to add to your worksheet depending on the type of flow. The flow symbol could be a manual information flow, electronic information flow, etc. The information flow is usually shown from the top to bottom on a value stream map, but it could also flow in other directions depending on the type of the map.
	Transportation symbol: The transportation symbol is used to denote the type of transportation used for material between different steps of the process. There are different types of transportation symbols available to add to your worksheet such as truck, plane, train, boat, etc. The transportation symbol is typically used between the supplier and the process steps and between the company and its customers however, depending on the process it could also be used to show the movement of material within the company.
	Operator symbol: The operator symbol is used to denote the number and nature of resources deployed within the value stream map. The term operator is generic and can be interchangeably used as a staff resource for transactional processes. You can have one operator assigned to each process or activity step or share the same operator across multiple process steps. It is not mandatory to use operators on a value stream map but adding this information can provide additional insights into the process being mapped.

Using the symbols from the task menu you should be able to create a pictorial representation of your value stream map on the worksheet. You can create a separate tab within the worksheet for the current state and future state maps. Once you have created the map, check to make sure you have correctly transcribed the map from the wall to the computer. An example value stream map that you may have created is shown below.

Add Data

The next step in the process is to add data to your value stream map. Adding data to the value stream map helps us evaluate the performance of the process and draw some quantitative conclusions from the value stream map. You can add data to several symbols on your value stream map. To add data to a symbol, click on the Data button on the task menu bar and then select the symbol that you want to add the data for.

Customer Data

When you click on Add Data and then a customer icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Customer ID: You can specify an ID for the customer, especially if there are multiple customers on your map. It is recommended that the customer IDs be unique. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
2	Customer Name: You can specify a name for the customer and choose to display this field on the worksheet. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
3	Demand: You need to specify the required demand for the product for this customer. This is a mandatory field for this symbol. Make sure to select the correct units for your data such as Items/Hour, Items/Day etc. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
4	Lead Time: If your customer has an expected lead-time to deliver the product or the service after placing the order, you can specify the expected lead-time here. Make sure to select the right units for your data. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
5	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this customer such as their expectations, specifications etc. can be noted here. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
6	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
7	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
8	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

Supplier Data

When you click on Add Data and then a supplier icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Supplier ID: You can specify an ID for the supplier, especially if there are multiple suppliers on your map. It is recommended that the suppliers IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Supplier Name: You can specify a name for the supplier. It is recommended that supplier names be unique. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
3	Lead Time: You need to specify the activity lead-time which indicates the amount of time required by the customer to fulfill the order after an order has been placed with the supplier. This is a mandatory field for this symbol. Make sure to select the correct units for your data such as Items/Hour, Items/Day, etc. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet. In the image above, the lead-time data and capacity numbers have been entered but only the checkbox for the lead-time has been selected, so only this information will be displayed on the worksheet.
4	Capacity: If the supplier has any constraints on capacity, you can specify the maximum demand that this supplier can fulfill. This is an optional field. Make sure to select the right units for your data. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
5	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this supplier such as their specifications such as MOQ etc. can be noted here. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
6	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
7	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
8	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

Process Data

When you click on Add Data and then a supplier icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Process ID: You can specify an ID for the process step, especially if there are multiple process steps on your map. It is recommended that the process IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Process Name: You can specify a name for the process step and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
3	VA Time: The processing time or cycle time of the activity is broken up into two components - VA Time (Value Added time) and NVA Time (Non-Value Added time). VA Time is the time that is considered value-adding from the customer's perspective. For some processes, the entire cycle time can be considered value-adding, in which case you would specify the NVA Time as 0. On the other extreme, we can have the entire time spent by the active as NVA time and have the VA time set to 0. For processes in between, we can split the total cycle time into these two components. You need to specify at least one of these two times. This is a mandatory field for this symbol. Make sure to select the correct units for your data such as Minutes, Hours, etc. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
4	NVA Time: The processing time or cycle time of the activity is broken up into two components - VA Time (Value Added time) and NVA Time (Non-Value Added time). NVA Time is the time that is considered not to add any value from the customer's perspective. For example, time spent on rework could be considered non-value-added time. For some processes, the entire cycle time can be considered value-adding, in which case you would specify the NVA Time as 0. On the other extreme, we can have the entire time spent by the active as NVA time and have the VA time set to 0. For processes in between, we can split the total cycle time into these two components. You need to specify at least one of these two times. This is a mandatory field for this symbol. Make sure to select the correct units for your data such as Minutes, Hours, etc. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
5	Quantity/Cycle: In some processes that are executed in batches, the process may work on several parts at the same time. For example, for a heat-treatment process with a batch size of 10, the oven may be used to heat-treat 10 of these products at the same time. In this case, we specify the quantity/cycle to be 10. For most transactional processes, the quantity/cycle is usually 1. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
6	Available Time: The available time for all processes uses the default value specified in the Input Options. However, you can override the default setting for specific processes. For example, most of the processes in a company may run for one shift but a particular process that feeds several pieces of equipment may run for multiple shifts. In this case, we can override the default setting by specifying the available time for each process separately. Another example of having a different available time is when a process is being run over time. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
7	Demand Share: If a process is connected sequentially from the supplier to the customer, usually the entire demand for the customer is handled by each process, so the demand share would be 100%. However, if there are parallel processes, then each piece of equipment can have a demand share of less than 100%. Another example where we would use the demand share is when we have a split operation and part of the demand is sent to another processor if there is a decision operation (say for re-work) and part of the work is being sent to a separate work-center. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
8	Equipment: The default value for the number of equipment is one in most cases. However, for cases when multiple pieces of equipment operate together such as in a machine bank where you have 4 similar equipment all involved in doing the same operation, you can specify the number of machines here. The workload is equally shared by each of the equipment. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
9	OEE: You can specify the OEE for the equipment here. The OEE values are used to simulate losses that you would encounter in a piece of equipment. The OEE metric considers three types of losses: availability loss (due to downtime, setup, etc), performance loss (due to running the equipment at a lower speed), and quality loss (due to rework or scrap). If you have an overall OEE number for a piece of given equipment, then you can enter it here to be considered in the calculations. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
10	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this process such as safety, quality, performance etc. can be noted here. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
11	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
12	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
13	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the example above, we have set the VA Time to 15 seconds and the NVA Time to 45 seconds. Hence, the total cycle time for this process is 60 seconds. The quantity of output per cycle is 1. Hence, this process creates one output every minute with a value-added percentage of 25% (15/60).

Inventory Data

When you click on Add Data and then an inventory icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Inventory ID: You can specify an ID for the inventory location, especially if there are multiple locations for inventory within on your map. It is recommended that the inventory IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Inventory Name: You can specify a name for the inventory location and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field.
3	Quantity: You need to specify the typical amount of inventory at this inventory location. This information is used to calculate the waiting time for a product or service. This is a mandatory field for this symbol. If the inventory quantity is a variable you can choose to represent the most likely or worst case scenario here depending on your requirements. You can also come back later and make changes to this quantity and conduct what-if studies to see how changing this inventory level will impact your overall process performance. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
4	Lead Time: In addition to the waiting due to the amount of inventory at this location, there may be additional waiting time at this step. For example, to process an order, transportation, etc. you can indicate these additional wait times in this field. The total wait time calculated by the system is the wait due to inventory quantity and the lead-time. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this value on your worksheet. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
5	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this inventory such as inspection or handling requirements can be noted here. If you select the checkbox next to this field, this data field will be displayed on the worksheet.
6	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
7	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
8	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the image above, the inventory quantity is shown as 20 units. This value along with the process TAKT time will be used to calculate the wait time at this location. Since the checkbox next to the inventory quantity is selected, this information will be displayed on the worksheet.

Info Data

When you click on Add Data and then an Info icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Info ID: You can specify an ID for the information flow, especially if there are multiple information flows within your value stream map. It is recommended that the info IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Info Name: You can specify a name for the information flow and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field.
3	Data Type: You can specify the type of data that is being passed from one point in the process to another. The different types of data are: forecast, item, information, order, schedule etc. This information is not used in the calculations but can be used to display additional information on the worksheet. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this quantity on the worksheet.
4	Frequency: In addition to the data type, you can also specify how frequently information is being passed between these two points. The frequency can be hourly, daily, weekly, monthly etc. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
5	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this information exchange such as contact person etc. can be noted here. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
6	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
7	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
8	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the image above, the information that is exchanged is the customer's order weekly. The notes can indicate that this order is received every Friday for example.

Transport Data

When you click on Add Data and then a Transport Data icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Transport ID: You can specify an ID for the transport flow, especially if there are multiple information flows within your value stream map. It is recommended that the transport IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Transport Name: You can specify a name for the transport and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field.
3	Lead Time: You can specify the lead-time for this transport. This is the time it takes to move the material from the point of shipment to reaching the destination site. This may include items like loading/unloading, transit, customs clearance etc. This information is added to the overall wait-times on a path to arrive at the total lead-time. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this quantity on the worksheet.
4	Frequency: Specify how often are transports being arranged between the two points on your map. The frequency could be hourly, daily, weekly etc. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this value on your worksheet.
5	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this information exchange such as days of the week when the transportation will occur can be noted here. You can choose to display this information on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this item.
6	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
7	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
8	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the image above, once an order is placed it takes 15 days for the transport but since there are multiple trucks along the route, the transportation arrives two times a week on Wed and Fri.

Staff Data

When you click on Add Data and then a staff icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Staff ID: You can specify an ID for the staff, especially if there are multiple resources within your value stream map. It is recommended that the staff IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Staff Name: You can specify a name for the staff and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field.
3	Number: You need to specify the number of staff at this resource. This information will be used to perform resource loading and balancing. This number could be an integer or a fraction in case resources have other assignments not captured on the value stream map. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this quantity on the worksheet.
4	Available Time: Specify the number of hours that this resource is available to work. If overtime is involved, then you will need to increase the number of available hours to account for overtime. If you have insufficient resources to do the job, you can either increase the number of staff persons assigned to this role or increase the overtime hours. You can choose to display this information on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this item.
5	Efficiency: Specify the efficiency of this resource group. The efficiency numbers are used to calculate the effective time required for this group to perform their tasks and activities. The efficiency number should range between 0 and 100. You can choose to display this information on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this item.
6	Rate: Specify the hourly rate for this resource. This number will be used to perform any cost related calculations for this value stream map. You can choose to display this information on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this item.
7	Notes: Any other information that you want to share for this resource such as hourly/part-time workforce can be noted here. You can choose to display this information on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this item.
8	Assignments: You can assign the resource group to one or more process/activity centers to perform the various activities. At this time, each resource group can be assigned up to 5 different processes. The process assignments need to specify how much they spent at each process. This information is used to compute their workload balancing calculations.
9	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
10	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
11	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the image above, we have one resource assigned to the stamping process. The activity time for each item is not specified here and is set as "Auto". This will use the VA and NVA times from the process step to determine the time for the operator. If you don't want to use the machine times, you can override that by specifying your values for the operator times.

Kaizen Data

When you click on Add Data and then a Kaizen burst icon, the following dialog box screenshot is displayed.

1	Kaizen ID: You can specify an ID for the Kaizen improvement idea, especially if there are multiple improvement ideas on your value stream map. It is recommended that the Kaizen IDs be unique. You can choose to display this field on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
2	Kaizen Name: You can specify a name or a short description of the Kaizen idea and choose to display this field on the worksheet by clicking on the checkbox next to this field.
3	Benefits: You can rate the Kaizen idea in terms of the benefits expected on implementing this idea. You can rate the idea on a scale of 0-10. 0 means no improvement and 10 means very large improvement. Any comments on the benefits rating can be included next to the rating scale. Note that the benefits rating is mandatory, and this information will be used to plot the Kaizen idea on a benefit-effort matrix. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this information on the worksheet.
4	Effort: You can rate the Kaizen idea in terms of the effort involved in implementing this idea. You can rate the effort on a scale of 0-10. 0 means no effort (very easy to implement) and 10 means very large effort to implement the idea. Any comments on the effort rating can be included next to the rating scale. Note that the effort rating is mandatory, and this information will be used to plot the Kaizen idea on a benefit-effort matrix. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this information on the worksheet.
5	Financials: Specify any quantified financial benefits from this idea here. The currency used on this form is the same as the one you specified on the Analysis Setup button. This is not a mandatory field and including this value here can help you quantify the amount of financial benefits you expect from implementing all the Kaizen ideas. By selecting the checkbox next to this field, you can choose to display this value on your worksheet.
6	Risk Severity: You can rate the severity of any risk for this Kaizen idea on a scale of 0-10 with notes next to the rating scale. This is an optional field.
7	Risk Occurrence: You can rate the occurrence of the risk for this Kaizen idea on a scale of 0-10 with notes next to the rating scale. This is an optional field. The product of risk severity and risk occurrence gives you the overall risk of this Kaizen idea. This information could be used on your plot of the Kaizen ideas on the benefit-effort matrix.
8	Notes: You can include any other notes for the Kaizen idea here such as priority rating etc and choose to display it on the worksheet by selecting the checkbox next to this field.
9	Help Button: Click on this button to view the help file for this topic.
10	Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without changing any settings.
11	OK Button: Click on this button to save your changes and exit.

In the image above, the Kaizen idea is captured and rated on the benefit-effort scale. Once all the data has been entered, your value stream map is complete from a display perspective. An example of a value stream map with added data is shown below. Do note that you can change the option settings to show or hide this data on the value stream map using the Format button.

Add Paths

After you have created the value stream map and added the data for all the different elements to the map, the next step is to define the paths on the value stream map. A path is a sequence of activities or process steps for which you are interested in determining the metrics such as total lead-time or total process-time. For example, you may have a path from your supplier to your customer. This will help us determine the overall lead-time for this path and calculate the associated metrics for this path. Or you may have a path from the customer order till delivery. For this path, you can calculate for example, how long does it take to deliver an order to your customer. If there are a parallel set of activities on your value stream map, you can define separate paths for each set of activities to derive the metrics for that path. Another example could be a rework path - how long does it take for those activities that include re-work. Or define a separate path for those sets of activities that do not have any rework.

You don't need to add any new symbols to define the path on your value stream but you need to select those set of symbols that lie on the path to define the path. The total number of paths that you can define on the value stream map is 20. You can specify the number of paths you would like to define by clicking on Analysis Setup on the task menu pane and then selecting the number of paths. Once you define the total number of paths, you can specify the individual paths using the path editor. To open the path editor, click on Path on the task menu bar. A dialog box such as the one shown below is opened. First, click on the path dropdown button and select the path you want to edit. In this example, we are working with Path #1. Specify a name for this path. In our case, we are creating a path from the supplier to the customer - let's call this the End2End Process. To define the path, click on the Add button. This will allow you to define a shape to your path at the end of the current path. To select the shape, click on the shape that you would like to add to the current path. Make sure to consider inventory and transport symbols in your path. Any elements not included on the path will not be used for any calculations for that path. For example, if a value stream map contains an inventory symbol before a process step (say OP10) and you don't include the inventory symbol in your path, then any waiting time associated with this inventory will not be included in the path calculations. When defining the path, click on a shape to add that shape to the path. Note that you will only be able to select shapes created by Sigma Magic software. Each of these shapes will have the prefix "SM_". To add more shapes to the end of your path, click on Add again and select a new shape to add. Keep clicking on the shapes in sequence to add them to the path. Do note that loops are not allowed in the paths.

To add a shape to a different selection other than the end of the current path, you will need to use the Insert button. To use this button, you will have to first click on the shape on the current path after you would like to insert a new shape and then select the shape that you would like inserted. This will insert the new shape at the selection point. It will reroute your path and update the path display on the screen. Note that if you don't select the insertion point properly or the shape properly, this shape will not be added to your current path.

To delete a shape from your current path, click on the Delete button and then select the shape on the current path that you would like to delete from the list. This will remove the shape from your path list. Note that if you don't select a shape on your current path, then no shape is deleted from your current path.

To delete all shapes from your current path, click on the Delete All button. This will remove all the shapes from your current path. Use this button with caution since there is no confirmation button and once you click on Delete All, there is no undo button. You will have to reselect your entire path again.

An example of a path highlighted on the worksheet is shown below. Note that paths for different segments are shown in different colors. In the figure below, a single path has been defined from the supplier to the customer. Note that the first shape includes a circle with the path number written inside. This path is shown in blue color.

Verify Inputs

Once you have defined the data and the required paths for analysis it is a good idea to verify that you have created the maps correctly and entered all the required data. To do this, click on the Verify button on the task menu bar. This will check the following aspects:

• Are all the required data fields been specified? If any required data has not been specified, then that symbol is highlighted in red color on the worksheet. An example of the missing data on shapes is shown below.
• Have all the paths been defined? If there are missing or incorrect paths, then these are so noted on the worksheet.

Click on all symbols that have missing data and specify data as required to fix this issue. The required data fields for each symbol are shown by the asterisk (*) sign next to the field name. If the inputs have been defined correctly, you will get a dialog box such as the one shown below.

Create Ladder Diagram

Once the value stream map has been created, the data for each symbol specified, and the paths that you want to calculate the metrics for having been defined, you can create the ladder diagram for the lead-time by clicking on the Ladder button. This will use the inputs you have provided, solve the required equations to determine the overall cycle times and lead times, and create the ladder diagram below the value stream map. The software will plot one ladder diagram for each path. An example of the value stream map with the ladder diagram is shown below. In the figure above you can see that the wait times are listed in days and the cycle times are listed in minutes. If you would like to change the display units, you need to change the units in the Analysis Setup dialog box by clicking on the Analysis Setup button on the task menu bar.

Display Settings and Format Data

Sometimes you want to format your data or look at your value stream map differently. You can use the Display button and the Format button to reformat your map. You can click on the Display button to show or hide the data on the worksheet and show or hide the paths on the worksheet. An example screenshot of the display dialog box is shown below. You can toggle these settings at any time. Select the appropriate checkboxes and then click on the OK button to effect the changes. You may choose to leave these settings on during the initial stages of your building the value stream map and toggle them off after the map has been finalized. Click on the Format button to view the shapes that are there on your worksheet. Sometimes, the worksheet may have stray or duplicate shapes which you can delete using this dialog box. You can also highlight or unhighlight portions of the map using this dialog box. The left-hand list box lists all the shapes that are displayed on the worksheet. At the bottom of the list box are three buttons: Single will enable you to select one shape at a time, Multiple will let you pick multiple shapes and All will select all the shapes listed here. Usually, Sigma Magic shapes will have a subscript SM_ before the shape name. You can highlight the shape to view the shape on the worksheet. Any shapes that you don't need can be deleted. If you want to move all the shapes on the screen, you can select all the shapes in the list box by clicking on the All button at the bottom and then clicking on Select button. This will select all the shapes available for you. You can then move these shapes as a group to a new location or choose to copy these shapes to another application. A sample dialog box is shown below.

Charts

If you click on the Charts button, you will see the following dialog box.

1	Pick Charts: Select the charts you would like to display when you generate analysis outputs.
2	Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own title you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3	Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own subtitle you can specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
4	X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the x-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5	Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the y-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
6	X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
7	Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum y-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
8	Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15 then two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15 respectively. Note that this input is optional.
9	Vertical Lines: If you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5 then two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5 respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Compute Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs on the main menu bar or Graphs on the task menu bar to create the analysis outputs. This will analyze all the data you have entered and generate the relevant graphs for your analysis. The following graphs could be generated for your analysis.

Cycle Time - TAKT Time Chart

The software could compute a cycle time - TAKT time chart. A sample screenshot of the chart is shown below. This chart will plot the cycle times at the various process steps along the specified path and compare this with the TAKT times required for this process based on customer demand. In the chart above, all the cycle times are less than the required TAKT time and hence the process is capable of meeting the customer requirements.

Lead-Time Chart

The second chart that could be generated is the Lead-Time Chart for each path. This chart shows the overall lead-time of all the steps included in the path. If this lead-time is less than the customer expected lead-time then the process is capable of meeting customer expectations. An example lead-time chart is shown below. From the chart above, we can see that clearly, this process is not capable. The customer expects a lead-time of 5 days and this process takes 25 days from the supplier to the customer.

Resource Utilization Chart

The third chart that could be generated is the Resource Utilization chart. This shows all the resources and how much time they are spending on different steps in the process. This number is compared to the available hours in a day. If the resource times are less than the available hours, then the resource will be able to meet the requirements otherwise you may need to take some actions to ensure the resources can meet the requirements. An example of resource utilization is shown in the figure below. From the chart above, we can see that resource has more than sufficient capacity to meet the requirements.

Kaizen Improvements Chart

The fourth chart that could be generated is the Kaizen Improvements chart. This shows all the Kaizen ideas captured on the value stream map plotted on a benefit-effort matrix. This plot can be used to prioritize and select the Kaizen ideas. You would want to select those ideas that have a low effort but high benefit first. Next, you need to consider and decide within your management team how you want to handle the Kaizen ideas which have high effort and high benefits. You should implement next to the ideas which have low effort and low benefits as part of your continuous improvement initiatives. The Kaizen ideas that fall in the last quadrant on high effort with low benefits could potentially be discarded. An example of the Kaizen improvement ideas matrix is shown in the figure below.

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:

• If you need more icons to include on your VSM, you can create and add them outside of Sigma Magic software. However, these icons would not be linked to Sigma Magic software to add data or analyze the paths. Do contact the help desk for the most commonly used VSM icons within your company and we can get that added to the Sigma Magic software.
• Sigma Magic uses the data entered into the data box icon to calculate the metrics. It does not matter where the boxes are located or if the databoxes are being displayed on the screen. It adds up the values you report in these data boxes to calculate the total cycle time, wait time, lead time, and process cycle efficiency.
• If you are unable to create the ladder diagram only the summary table is being shown for a path, this could be because the icons on your worksheet are not arranged from left to right. Re-arrange your icons to create the ladder diagram. The ladder diagram is only created from left-to-right.
• VSM data can only be added to standard icons such as process steps, transport, inventory, customers, suppliers, etc. Note that not all shapes have data associated with them.
• All the data, shapes, and graphs need to have consistent units, so if you define the units for lead times within the settings page as days, the default setting for lead-time for all shapes will be days. However, you can feel free to change the units for individual symbols. Also, if you have originally set the units to days and later change the setting to another value, the system will automatically do the conversion for you. The ladder diagram and the graphs will only be displayed in the units specified on the settings page.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder within the software.

• Create a VSM for a production process that goes through sub-assembly, assembly and shipment operations within your company and is then delivered to the customer. (VSM 1.xlsm)