Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

DOI 10.1007/s00170-014-5712-z

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Value Stream Mapping: a study about the problems

and challenges found in the literature from the past 15 years
about application of Lean tools
Ana Julia Dal Forno & Fernando Augusto Pereira &
Fernando Antonio Forcellini & Liane M. Kipper

Received: 13 November 2013 / Accepted: 10 February 2014 / Published online: 26 February 2014
# Springer-Verlag London 2014

Abstract Value stream mapping (VSM) is an important tool

of the lean approach and is used to identify value-adding
activities and those considered wasteful of materials and the
flow of information and people. However, when not applied
correctly, VSM can complicate the identification of waste,
lead to misinterpretations and assessment mistakes, and undermine the implementation of future improvements. The
purpose of this paper is to investigate the main difficulties
and limitations encountered during the construction of current
state maps, analysis of the associated causes, and pointing out
of guidelines to facilitate the use of VSM to map processes. To
do so, a search and evaluation of papers in journals, conferences, theses, and dissertations was conducted, and the articles
were categorized according to the field of application (factory
floor, supply chain, product development and services) and
approach (theoretical or practical). In conclusion, this paper
criticizes some ways that VSM has been used, observing that
important constraints created by its application must be considered and that when used incorrectly, the tool can lead to
mistakes that can cause problems instead of benefits. Considering the problems identified, the paper suggests future works
for improving the use of VSM for mapping processes.

Keywords Lean manufacturing . Value stream mapping .

Lead time reduction . Process . Improvement

A. J. D. Forno (*) : F. A. Forcellini

Department of Production and Systems Engineering, Santa Catarina
Federal University (UFSC), Florianpolis, Brazil
e-mail: anajudalforno@hotmail.com
F. A. Pereira : L. M. Kipper
Department of Chemistry and Physics and the Post-Graduation
Program in Industrial Systems and Processes, University in Santa
Cruz do Sul (UNISC), Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil

1 Introduction
Lean manufacturing (LM) is as relevant today to production
systems as mass production was in the early twentieth century.
According to Ohno [55], LM is widely considered the next
big step in the evolution of manufacturing beyond Ford Mass
Production. In the early 1990s, Womack et al. [84] reported that
companies where LM was applied had better results than companies that used other production systems. Besides the application in various manufacturing sectors including textiles, automobiles, ceramics, and electronics, the lean approach has also
gained space in logistics, services, healthcare, product development, banks, and even in agribusiness [1416, 29, 66, 67, 82].
To implement lean instruments, it is necessary to involve
people from all organizational levels (Fig. 1), considering institutional, intermediate, and operational levels [11, 31, 32, 57].
Considered a process map, VSM is inserted at the intermediate level to be able to deploy company management tactics at the
operational level. VSM is described as a technique used for the
diagnosis, implementation, and maintenance of a lean approach.
Its main function is to identify opportunities for improvement
and the elimination of waste with support from operational staff
[55, 53, 57]. The goals of VSM are to observe material
flow in real time from the final customer to the raw material
and to visualize losses in the process (Fig. 2), using symbols to
represent the process visually and clearly. VSM has three basics
stepsconstruction of a current state map, construction of a
future state map, and development of an action plan.
Some VSM benefits are [62]:
Allows a broad view of the entire flow; Helps to identify
wastes;
Shows the relationship between material and information flow;
Provides a simple and standardized way to treat
procedures;

780
Fig. 1 The different levels of
organization and their
responsibilities

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

Organizational
Level

People involved

Content

Horizon

Amplitude

institutional

director

generic and
strategic

long term

macro oriented and

supraorganizational

intermediate

manager

tactical and
operational

medium term

oriented business
unit

operational

supervisor, leaders
and operatives

detailed and
execution

short term

punctual, related to
each transaction

try to do the right map, when actually the purpose of

mapping is to see things that are wrong. The lack of
standardization of the work station sometimes makes the
process of capturing reality very hard [47].

Makes decisions more visible, allowing previous discussion of possible changes and improvements and;
Forms the basis for an action plan.
Managing the value stream involves a process of understanding, measuring, and improving the flow of materials and
information and the interactions of all tasks, to keep a
companys costs, services, and quality products as competitive
as possible [39]. Activities required to create, program, and
produce a product that cant be measured cant be precisely
identified, analyzed, questioned, and ultimately, improved or
entirely eliminated [83]. VSM is one of the valuable tools for
understanding the current process status and identifying opportunities to make improvements [17]. VSM is a useful tool for
guiding improvements based on a carefully considered and
developed plan. Lean experts look at operations from the
value-stream perspective [47]. Lean implementation allows a
company to reinforce the various stages that lead to operational
excellence, continuous improvement, and elimination of activities that dont add value. Thus, the influence of lean practices
contributes substantially to a factorys performance, and the use
of lean tools amplifies these results [1]. Nevertheless, although
it has numerous advantages and positive aspects, the use of
VSM presents some difficulties and limitations.
The development of a current state map looks like a
simple task. One just goes out and documents what it is
seen. Show the process and material flow from one
process to another. This sounds very easy. What we
see in reality are people stuck in a mud puddle. Many
Fig. 2 VSM example [62]

In addition to the difficulty of capturing the reality, VSM

can be difficult to use when a process is complex, such as
automobile production where raw materials processing can
involve several processes and sub-processes [64].
1.1 Purpose and methodology
The aim of this paper is to identify the main difficulties and
limitations in VSM current state map construction, its major
causes, and the guidelines for its use. A theoretical-conceptual
approach was used by conducting a bibliographic search with
the words VSM and lean.
In Emerald Insight, the search identified 180 papers, which
were evaluated according to title and abstract, leaving just 21
relevant papers. In the Springerlink database, 2,689 papers
were identified, and their titles and abstracts were assessed,
leaving only seven relevant papers. This significant reduction
in the amount of articles is because the initials VSM are used
in other fields like chemistry, physics, computer science,
business, and economics. In other databases (Scirus and Science Direct), there were only four studies. Three papers were
from the Industrial Engineering Congress (Enegep), an important Brazilian conference in this area, and nine papers from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which has a

Request / weekly
forecast

PCP

Request / weekly
forecast

Customer

Supplier

MRP Weekly
schedule

Weekly
delivery

Coils

1
CT

7s

Setup

1h

E
2.760

2
CT

74 s

Setup

20 s

2.760

2 days

5 days

7s

Test

Process 2

Process 1

Weekly
delivery

1
CT

19 s

Setup

2 days

74 s

Expedition

E
4.140
3 days

19 s

Shelf

Production lead
time = 12 days
Process time = 100s

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

research reference center in the lean approach called the Lean

Advancement Initiative. The Isi Web of Knowledge database
was also used, and after the application of filters, removal of
duplicate articles, and reading, 11 relevant articles were identified through Sept. 2013. Thus, a total of 57 articles were
classified according to criteria to be detailed later.
The paper is organized in four parts. In section 1, lean and
VSM concepts and definitions and their importance were
introduced, in addition to the objectives and methodological
approach. Section 2 presents a research and evaluation description of the papers in journals, conferences, theses, and
dissertations, according to the field of application (factory
floor, supply chain, product development and services) and
methodological approach (theoretical or practical). These papers were later evaluated, and the problems and limitations
they identified classified in 10 categories. The difficulties
encountered are related to products, methods/processes, and
people. Section 3 lists some guidelines and decision points for
the success of VSM related to demand, product/family complexity, process stability, degree of innovation, and a
companys manufacturing strategy. Section 4 is devoted to
conclusions and highlights the difficulties and future opportunities identified. Finally, the references used are listed.

2 VSM problems, challenges, and limitations

VSM is conducted in locus at a factory in a hands-on process
and is highly dependent on the skill of the person who is
executing the VSM. Liker and Meier [47] highlighted the
danger in using VSM like a cookbook. At Toyota, people
spend years working on improvement projects before they
reach the status of new on STP (segmenting, targeting, positioning). There is a lot to learn, and it is only possible to learn
by doing.
The mapping makes people feel as if they are doing
something lean, but its just a drawing. One must have
an in-depth understanding of basic concepts and how to
create processes that can be linked. That is when it
becomes very useful to have someone who has already
done the path of process flow in the factory. This person
not only knows where it is going to, but it can save many
hours that would be wasted by taking the wrong path
[47].
A total of 57 papers were analyzed to identify problems
during VSM implementation. These papers were classified
into eleven categories (P1 to P11) as follows:

781

P2 Low/lack of clarity of procedurescases where the production processes are not clear. The materials and parts
travel different paths within the production line;
P3 Low/lack of product modularitycases where the products are not modularly designed, making them difficult to
manufacture and assemble;
P4 Low-skilled peoplecases where low-skilled personnel
impede understanding and tool usage;
P5 Poor/lack of process stabilitycases where there is a
lack of standardization and process stability;
P6 Problems/difficulties in measuring data in processes
cases where time data and quantity measurements are
impractical due to layout problems, product complexity,
or process type;
P7 Obsolescence of the current state mapcases where
processes have changed, but there is no documentation
about this;
P8 Small batches with highly mixed productioncases
where VSM application is compromised because
there are many product types being assembled with
the same infrastructure and production schedule
uncapped (heijunka);
P9 Production too flexiblecases where the production line
is too flexible, constantly changing to adapt to market
and product changes;
P10 Process too intuitivecases where process flow is too
dependent on the operator who decides in real time the
way that the product should go into production;
P11 Other problemsproblems that do not fall into categories P1 to P10 are considered in this category. Examples
found include authors who comment that VSM only
shows the current state, and is either very pessimistic or
very optimistic, depending on the level of stock and
other factors that occur at the moment in which the
process is mapped given that it is considered analogous
to a photograph. Other problems cited were imbalances
in processes, a lack of support from management for the
execution of VSM, indicators that are not aligned with a
lean approach, and a failure to consider the value of the
client. Some of these problems are not related to the tool
itself, but mainly to production problems.
Regarding the procedure, the papers were classified as
theoretical when they were based on reviews or the
literature or practical when practical applications of
VSM were described, for example, a survey, case studies,
or simulations.
According to the area, papers were classified in the following categories:
Production

P1 Low/lack of integration between processescases that

demonstrate difficulties or a lack of integration between
processes, creating integration barriers within the plant;

Related to activities on the factory

floor, works applied to
manufacturing, and the industrial
environment;

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

Before 2004
26%

After 2009
35%

2005 - 2008
39%

Fig. 3 Year of publication of the studies analyzed

Supply chain
management (SCM)
Other areas

Involve, in addition to manufacturing,

a relationship with suppliers and
logistics;
Works applied to services, such
as hotels or the administrative
sectors at companies such as
product development.

The term VSM began to appear in publications in 1999.

Fifteen articles from 19992004 were analyzed, 22 studies
from 20052008, with 11 in 2007 alone. Since 2009, there
were 20 studies, with the search terminating in September
2013 (Fig. 3).
According to the survey, 79 % of the papers are practical
and 21 % are theoretical, meaning that researchers are using
the tool to make improvements at organizations. As for the
field of application, 61 % of the works were related to the
factory floor (production), 25 % related to other application
areas, 12 % related with SCM, and 2 % with both production
and SCM. Figure 4 illustrates the research results of the main
difficulties reported in the papers on VSM, and that many of
them discuss more than one type of problem.
Table 1 shows the classifications according to author, year,
methodology, field of application, and the problems found.
Besides the reported problems, VSM implementation is
still experiencing some challenges and limitations, as identified in the papers:
Fig. 4 VSM frequency of
problems identified in papers

Product choice Product development is essential for an organizations success, survival, and renewal, particularly for companies in competitive markets. These requirements show that
companies have a larger product portfolio than they had years
ago as well as smaller production lots and greater product
variety. Factories must adapt to this reality, which increases
the complexity and need for organizing production. From a
lean manufacturing perspective, the process maps are used to
eliminate wastes from the customers perspective; and for this
reason, they are related to products. Products may take different paths during a single process. Therefore, a change in one
process made to eliminate wastes for a specific product
doesnt always eliminate wastes in other products. In some
cases, it may even increase wastes, depending on how the
process is organized. This makes it difficult to choose the
product to be examined by the process map [6, 9, 24]. Many
authors indicate that this type of situation can be remedied
with the use of techniques such as clustering products in
families [2, 46, 9, 13, 17, 20, 22, 24, 28, 35, 40]. However,
the clustering practice only works if the products use the same
production resources. Fargher [22] suggests that it is necessary
to examine various products in the same family to demonstrate
that the family group technique was really effective for classifying products.
Processes with lack of stability Processes that are not stable
are almost impossible to improve because the mapping does
not represent the process real situation because each day, the
process behaves in a different way. This is why production
process standardization is so important [17, 47, 53, 54, 65, 69,
78]. Before beginning the current state mapping, it is necessary to confirm if there is stability in the process. Stability in
this case is broadly defined. It implies in-cycle time stability,
meeting defined procedures; the use of machinery that is
capable of reproducing project specifications, maintaining
quality levels; that production be in keeping with demand,
having a proper and reproducible setup process and having
trained personnel. Finally, it should be ensured that the
5

P11: Others problems

P10: Intuitive process

7

P9: Production flexibility

19

P8: High product mix

5

P7: Map obsolescence

32

P6: Processes measurements

18

P5: Processes stability

23

P4: People qualification

9

P3: Product modularity

P2: Clarity of procedures

22

P1: Integration between process

22

10

15

20

25

30

35

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

783

Table 1 Classification of the papers about VSM analyzed

No.

Reference and year

Methodology

Area

Problems with application

P1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[7]
[10]
[12]
[13]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]

Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical

SCM
Production
Production
Production
Others
Production and SCM
SCM
SCM
Production
Production
SCM
SCM
Production
Production

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31, 32]
[31, 32]
[33]
[34]
[36]
[38]
[40]
[41]
[41]

Theoretical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Theoretical

SCM
Production
Production
Production
Others
Production
Others
Production
Production
Production
Production
Production
Production
Others
Production
Others
Others

32

[43]

Practical

Others

33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

[44]
[45]
[48]
[50]
[52]
[51]
[56]
[58]
[60]
[63]
[64]
[66]
[68]
[70]
[71, 72]

Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Theoretical

Production
Production
Others
Others
Others
Production
Production
Production
Production
Production
SCM
Production
Production
Production
Production

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

x
x

x
x
x

x
x
x
x
x
x

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

x
x
x
x

x
x
x
x

x
x
x
x
x
x
x

x
x
x

x
x
x

x
x
x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x
x
x
x

x
x

x
x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x
x

x
x
x
x

x
x

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

Table 1 (continued)
No.

Reference and year

Methodology

Area

Problems with application

P1

48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57

[71, 72]
[73]
[74]
[75]
[76]
[77]
[80]
[81]
[79]
[85]

Practical
Practical
Theoretical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical
Practical

Production
Production
Production
Others
Production
Others
Production
Production
Others
Others

productive system will behave consistently over a given period of time. Process stability can be evaluated by confirming its
reproducibility and repeatability. BIPM [8] describes that
reproducibility is the degree of concordance between the
results of successive measurements of the same measurand
carried out under the same conditions of measurement and
repeatability is the degree of concordance between measurement results of the same measurand carried out under
various measuring conditions. In this light, frequent VSM
conducted with the same product can help to assess the
process stability.
Measurements of inadequate data in production process
Failures in data measurements in production processes can
lead to inconsistent data, which dont represent the true reality
of a process. Cases may be stable, but if they are not properly
measured, they will not correspond to reality. Like the stability
in a process, the accuracy of data is also important in VSM.
Some authors have cited transparency as a key element in
current state mapping understood as the accuracy of the information collected in the factory [46, 12, 4143, 67, 75].
The need to have data flow processes that can be interpreted
as economic data The main focus of the lean approach is to
reduce costs and increase productivity [55, 53, 65].
Thus, the proper measurement of times and distances in
processes results in analyzing how the production system is
being used to produce a product. In this sense, a map that
allows the systematic identification and quantification of
wastes at a company is certainly useful for aiding the process
of analyzing and improving the efficiency of internal processes [46, 61, 74] measured by assessing system costs. Contributions to information about costs made by managers, accountants, and engineers can help identify opportunities for
further cost reductions and improve quality and productivity,
thus providing more financial value to the company ([74]).

P2

P3

P4

P5

x
x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x

x
x
x
x

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

x
x

P6

x
x
x
x
x
x
x

x
x

Product complexity Product complexity is the level of difficulty associated with the production of a component, usually
measured by the estimated total production man-hours required and difficulty involved with completing the tasks in
series or parallel operations. There is a difference between
lower value-added and non-value-added tasks that can be seen
in VSM for a complex product. In this case, details about the
process are needed to identify non-value-adding activities
[64]. According to Fernandes [23], the word complex can
be used to describe the level of difficulty associated with the
manufacture or assemblage of a part. Complexity is a subjective difficulty used to describe the context of the representation within the manufacturing of complex products, complex processes, complex assemblies, the entire complexity of a
production system, and the combination of all these elements.
Identifying a complex product requires measuring the number
of parts that compose the product, the number of process
steps, the part size, the quantity required to complete the task
efficiently, the number of subsystems involved, and other
factors [23]. The increase in product or process complexity
increases the difficulty in obtaining data for VSM preparation
[46, 23, 24, 36, 37, 50, 52, 56, 59, 64].
Product and process obsolescence One LM principle is continuous improvement. According to Shingo [69], improvements in production systems are likely to be constructed from
two pointsnew ideas and rethinking of the basic ones. The
Toyota model is a cyclical process of achieving stability,
standardization of practices, and placing continuous pressure
on the process to expose its obstacles [47]. Martins and
Laugeni [49] highlight the importance of continuous improvement, where no day can pass without the company doing
better in the market. VSM plays a key role in mapping a
process, identifying wastes, and making improvements. However, many companies fail to apply the tool in time intervals
compatible with the changes of products and processes. The

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2014) 72:779790

mapping, which should be repeated often, takes time to be

completed. The big problem with this practice is that with
product lifecycles becoming shorter and shorter, information
collected soon becomes obsolete because the production system needs to adapt to the market and customer changes [4, 5,
12, 23, 51, 64, 65].

3 VSM application guidelines

In this section, we suggest guidelines for a successful implementation of VSM current state planning and construction.
The guidelines were constructed from the analysis of the
causes of problems listed in Section 2. The causes were
classified into three categories, namely products, processes,
and people (Table 2).
The product category considered the causes related to
product design, its complexity (a high number of components
and parts, many kinds of materials, many links and subassemblies), and causes related to instable demand for a product.
Process causes are related to a lack of stability and
standardization, i.e., problems with flow definition and documentation. Sometimes, the way the company is organized is
also the cause of communication problems, lack of concurrent
engineering, and an integrated staff. When introducing a lean
approach, it is desirable that the structure is not departmental,
but weak, balanced, or strong matrix. An inadequate layout is
also a possible cause of problems, because it is associated with
handling and transportation wastes. Companies that began
small and grow tend to increase their physical structures in
an unplanned way, hindering the understanding of processes,
continuous flow, measurement, and inducing the operator to
act intuitively. Unbalanced processes are another cause of
problems in the process category. In common practice, each
production stage has different production rates and cycle
times, with automated or manual processes, or processes that
need constant maintenance. When different versions of software affect the speed in providing data exchange between
sectors or with a supplier, the possible cause is defined as a
low integration of information and communication technology (ICT). Manufacturing can also suffer from a lack of standardization caused by a change in sales, which are caused
mainly by the variability and number of models sold and
unexpected demand. The lack of continuous flow is a
process-caused subitem, because all seven forms of production waste (overproduction, inventory, waiting, transportation,
handling, defective products, and unnecessary processes) impede process clarity, stability, and measurements. Another
problem can be inadequate tools, as in cases where a product
is good and the personnel know how to produce it, but the
required tools are not available or are not suitable for each
production station.

785

Last, but not least, the third category of possible causes is

related to people, which may reflect a lack of training,
turnover, and absenteeism.
The problems were identified and classified by 13 possible
causes. Some of the problems identified may have the same
cause, and a problem can have more than one cause. Problem
P11 (others) was not placed within this classification because
it is too general. The causes of problems related to products
were as follows:
Product too
complex

Inappropriate
product project
Market changes

Companies that have products with a

large number of systems,
subsystems, and components, which
are assembled in series and parallel
and which are transported to many
places in a factory until the end of
the production line;
Product projects that dont use
appropriately preventive techniques and
tools to evaluate the assembly process;
markets with varying demand and model
types to be produced, mainly related to
markets that require constant portfolio
renewal.

The causes of problems related to process were as follows:

Lack of process definition andUndocumented process,
documentation
performed tacitly;
Company departmental
Companies without good
organizational structure
communication between areas,
with strong and competitive
hierarchies;
Inadequate layout
Layout made without
planning, because of physical
constraints of a building and/or
inventories. Process project is
inappropriate for producing the
product;
Unbalanced processes
Processes with differences
between cycle times and takt
times, processes that use
automated machines with
highly productive processes
together with manual
operations with low
productivity;
Departmental enterprises that
Low integration of
use different and disconnected
information technology
information systems and
between areas
software;
Lack of process stability
Processes with large variations
in assembly time and quality
problems;

P9
P10 x

Very intuitive process

P7
P8

P6

x
x

P4
P5

P3

P2
x

P1

Low/lack of stability of
processes
Problems/difficulties to
measure processes
Obsolescence of the
current state map
Small batches (high
product mix)
Very flexible production

Problems Low/no integration

between processes
Low/lack of clarity in the
processes
Low/lack of modularity
in processes
Low-skilled people

Process

People

Inadequate Lack of Staff

Processes Lack of
Layout
Unbalanced Low
Changing Lack of definition Companys
Product
Very
turnover
staff
integration with high continuous tool
market
and documentation organizational inadequate process
complex design
training
between the variability flow
structure
of the process
product inappropriate
IT sectors
departmental

Products

Possible causes

Table 2 VSM relationship problems versus causes

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Table 3 VSM early stage guidelines

Possible causes of problems
related to the following:

Guideline

Product

Make an assessment of the life cycle of products. Products with declining demand tend to be discontinued soon. Perhaps
the product is not suitable for representing clusters in families.
Group products into families at companies with many kinds of products and choose one product for which VSM will be
conducted. Do the VSM for various products in the same family to assess whether the grouping was done properly.
Prioritize products in the A category (ABC classification) for implementation of the VSM. Elimination of losses in this
type of product will represent higher profits.
Make VSM into stable processes. When you do not know if the process is stable, repeat the mapping of the current state
and compare the values to identify if the process is stable or not. When you are sure of stability, construct the future
state map.
Produce the VSM implementation plan with all sectors involved to eliminate barriers to communication and
information.
Establish values for processes not yet defined and establish forms of control. Assess the stability and, if the process is
stable, map the current and future states.
Establish methods and tools to measure data in the process that can be reproduced by others at another time.
Assess the skills and abilities of those involved with the VSM process. Empower the people if necessary before using the
VSM tool.
Evaluate the turnover of people involved with the process to be evaluated. If there is excessive turnover, repeat the
current state mapping more often and assess the reliability and reproducibility of the processes.
Determine if the VSM tool is a stand-alone tool or if the company is part of the management system, integrating the
strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Isolated applications tend to be less successful.

Process

People

Lack of continuous flow

Processes that have long

waiting times;
Inappropriate tools
Processes that use obsolete or
incorrect measuring tools
and instruments.
The causes of problems related to people were as follows:
Lack of people training

Staff turnover

Companies that dont have good

programs to train and teach the
staff;
Environment where there is
excessive turnover of people
indicating a lack of commitment.

From this analysis, we developed guidelines for building

VSMs (Table 3).
These guidelines help in the early stages of VSM, especially in the planning stage and establishing the current state
map, when it is necessary to decide what product will be
mapped, what data will be collected, and how it will be
collected to minimize problems.
4 Conclusion
It is undeniable that the application of VSM provides
important benefits to the productive process [1, 17, 23,
39, 47, 64, 83]. That is why it is a practice applied at
so many companies and studied at several universities
and research centers. Even with all its benefits, when
mistakenly applied, VSM can generate poor results that

lead to bad decisions, both technically and financially.

Therefore, many interesting opportunities exist for making more rational use of the VSM tool and thus provide
more reliable results.
There are opportunities to develop technologies to assist in
the measurement of data to obtain current state maps. Other
engineering areas are well developed in the use of standards,
equipment, and traceability of measurement procedures, but
industrial engineering requires some attention to collecting
data about production. With ICT costs decreasing, the technologies for measuring distances in real time are becoming
more viable. These technologies can improve data reliability
and lead to better decisions in defining future maps. They may
also help to normalize and standardize the data process measurement, by reproducibility and repeatability evaluation to
build processes maps. Companies with various factories can
assess and compare performance differences at different industrial plants that assemble the same types of products.
The time spent to obtain data for the construction of the
current state map also compromises the continuous use of the
VSM tool. Facilitating the production data measurement process can create opportunities for applying VSM frequently,
making the tool more useful in continuous improvement
processes (kaizen). The continuous data measurements can
lead to the adoption of statistical methods for monitoring
process performances and the results of future state maps.
VSM is currently used to identify wastes in processes and
make improvements. There are increasing opportunities in the
realm of remanufacturing and ecodesign that can also allow

788

using VSM for identifying environmental wastes arising from

inadequate process flow.
This paper sought to identify problems concerning VSM
implementation, investigate the possible causes and define
guidelines to make its execution less complex, and have a
greater chance of success. The paper identified future opportunities for VSM implementation, especially with regard to
increased productivity and reliability of this lean tool. In terms
of problem identification, the biggest difficulty was in understanding and classifying problems identified in the studies
researched, because they were not always clearly presented.
Many authors described the importance of the tool and
discussed its results; but only a few authors discussed difficulties in executing VSM. The identification of problems and
difficulties in studies is an experience that can help to determine what went right and what benefits were obtained from
each study.
Acknowledgments We are grateful for the financial support by the
funding and research agency from BrazilCAPES (Coordenao de
Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior).
The authors would also like to thank the reviewers and translator
Jeffrey Hoff, native of New York City.

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