(Nick Rich and Denis McCarthy)

Process stabilisation is the first significant milestone on the route to Value Stream Perfection (Womack and Jones, 1996). Achieving a 'restored normality' clears the technology landscape of the debris of poorly designed systems and working practices that lead to inevitable fire fighting and customer service failure which act to ransom customer service. These first steps are as much about dealing with gaps in management processes and priorities as it is about innovation and smart technology. It is about leadership in terms of consistent direction/priorities, raising standards and releasing potential and it is about formally writing down processes and procedures so that everyone can understand the system. In truth, most manufacturing systems are the amalgam of lots of peoples activities and specialist knowledge but it is only when you chart what happens on a day-to-day basis that you understand the rate (or lack of) flow. Putting all these issues on a single map helps highlight the issues - much of which is 'low hanging fruit' and needs only a time investment. Just imagine what an organisation can achieve when all this fire fighting is sorted and the exception rather than the 'norm'. For companies where every day is a 'white knuckle ride' this may seem a far fetched and unachievable but in 'world class' companies. It should be noted this is not the ultimate goal but just this is only the entry ticket.

The use of a current state and future state value map is priceless in this process of visioning the future factory and showing employees the damage caused by processes that are out of control. Further still, it will awaken a commercial thinking that traditionally has not been part of workforce involvement. Imagine the horror as a machine operator, who experiences hassle on a daily basis to maintain performance from the machine, discovering that the company has 3 months of finished goods stock of a major item. This awakening is ideal and inevitably creates a sense amongst employees that 'if this was my business then I'd run it differently'.

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