VSM Studio
Outside & control
Customer
Who pulls the product. Sits top-right. Its data box holds the demand: pieces per month/day, packaging, shipping frequency.
VSM guide / Symbols
Value stream mapping symbols
Every standard VSM symbol, drawn the way it appears on a map, with what it means and when to use it. All of them are in the free builder: drag them onto a map and the takt time, inventory days and lead time are calculated for you.
Outside & control symbols
Outside & control
Supplier
An outside source of material. Sits top-left. Note delivery frequency, lot size and lead time.
Outside & control
Production control
The scheduling department or system (MRP/ERP). Information arrows run from the customer to it and from it to the floor.
Process symbols
Process
Process box
One area where material flows continuously. A box ends wherever flow stops and inventory piles up. The data box underneath holds the measurements.
Process
Operator
A person. Shown inside process boxes by count; use this to call out a material handler or a shared operator.
Material symbols
Material
Inventory
Parts waiting between processes. Count them and note where they sit. Days = quantity ÷ daily demand; this drives the lead-time ladder.
Material
Order queue
Orders or jobs waiting at an office or planning step (an in-box). Enter part-equivalents so the timeline can turn it into days.
Material
Supermarket
A controlled stock with a fixed max. The downstream process takes what it needs; the upstream process makes only what was taken.
Material
FIFO lane
First-in-first-out lane with a maximum. When it is full the upstream process stops. Links two processes that can't flow continuously.
Material
Buffer / safety stock
Stock held to protect against demand swings (buffer) or internal problems (safety stock). Keep it visible and sized.
Material
Truck shipment
An external delivery. Write how often it comes or goes (e.g. "2× week") as its name.
Pull system symbols
Pull system
Production kanban
A card that authorizes a process to make a set quantity of a part.
Pull system
Withdrawal kanban
A card that tells a material handler to take a set quantity from a supermarket.
Pull system
Signal kanban
Triggers a batch when stock in a supermarket drops to a reorder point. Used for batch processes like stamping or molding.
Pull system
Kanban post
Where kanban cards are collected and held for pickup.
Pull system
Load leveling
A heijunka box that releases kanban in a mixed, even sequence to level both volume and mix at the pacemaker.
Pull system
Pull circle
Marks where a downstream process pulls from an upstream supermarket.
General symbols
General
Kaizen burst
An improvement needed to reach the future state. Put one at each spot where something has to change.
General
Go-see scheduling
Someone adjusts the schedule by walking the floor and looking at stock, rather than through the formal system.
General
Text note
Free text: schedules, notes, questions to follow up.
Flow arrows
Flow
Push arrow
Material made to a schedule and pushed to the next step, whether or not it needs it.
Flow
Shipment
Raw material arriving from a supplier, or finished goods leaving for the customer.
Flow
Pull / withdrawal
Material physically taken from a supermarket by the process that needs it.
Flow
Manual info
Information on paper or by word: printed schedules, ship lists, hot lists.
Flow
Electronic info
Information by EDI, email, MRP/ERP, a supplier portal.
Flow
Kanban path
The route kanban cards travel.
Flow
Rework loop
Parts sent back to an earlier step to be fixed.
Flow
Continuous flow
Parts move straight to the next step, one piece or one batch at a time, with no queue in between.
How to read a value stream map
Material flows left to right along the bottom: supplier, process boxes with inventory triangles between them, and finished goods shipped to the customer. Information flows right to left along the top: orders from the customer to production control, and schedules out to the processes. The timeline under the map compares the days parts spend waiting with the seconds or minutes they are worked on.
What is the difference between a push arrow and a withdrawal arrow?
A push arrow means a step makes parts to a schedule and pushes them to the next step whether it needs them or not. A withdrawal arrow means the next step pulls what it needs from a supermarket, usually with a kanban signal.
When should I use a FIFO lane instead of a supermarket?
Use a FIFO lane between steps that can't flow continuously but can process parts in order, with a maximum quantity. Use a supermarket when the upstream step serves several products or has long changeovers and must build to a small, controlled stock.
What does a kaizen burst mean?
A kaizen burst marks a place where an improvement is needed to reach the future state, such as cutting a changeover or adding a FIFO lane. Each one should become an action with an owner and a date.