Field-Based Lean Technique · Ireland & Europe

See the Whole Value Stream. Fix the Whole System.

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is the most powerful lean diagnostic tool available — mapping every step of material and information flow from supplier to client, revealing the hidden waste, waiting, and disconnects that erode productivity on Irish and European construction projects.

Current State Map

Future State Design

Lead Time Analysis

Value-Add Ratio

VSM Analysis — Live Preview Construction

📦 Supplier Material

→

📐 Design Procurement

→

⏸ Wait Approval

⏸ Wait Delivery

→

🏗 Install MEP Zone

→

✅ Handover Client

42d Lead Time

2.1d Process Time

5% Value-Add

Value-Add Ratio — Current State

Only 5% of lead time is value-adding. 95% is waste, waiting, or necessary NVA — all target for VSM improvement.

The Most Powerful Lean Diagnostic Tool in Construction

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a lean management tool that visually maps the entire flow of materials and information required to deliver a product or service to a customer — from the first supplier to the final handover. Developed as part of the Toyota Production System and popularised by Mike Rother and John Shook in Learning to See, VSM goes far beyond standard process maps by capturing both the physical flow of work and the information flow that triggers it.

Unlike process maps that focus on individual steps, VSM maps the entire value stream — revealing the systemic waste, delays, and disconnects that are invisible when you examine each process in isolation. In construction, this typically exposes that 60–80% of total project lead time is waiting time — approvals, deliveries, coordination lags, and decision bottlenecks that add no value to the client but consume enormous programme float.

“A VSM isn’t just a map — it’s a vision for how work should flow. It makes the invisible visible: the delays, the handovers that fail, the inventory piling up between steps, and the information that never arrives on time.”

Every VSM exercise produces two outputs: a Current State Map that honestly documents how the value stream works today, and a Future State Map that defines how it should work — with specific kaizen bursts identifying where improvement actions will be focused first.

Current State vs Future State — VSM Outputs

Current State Map	Future State Map
• Documents how the value stream actually works today	• Designs how the value stream should ideally flow
• Reveals all waiting time, inventory, and information delays	• Introduces pull systems and supermarket replenishment
• Calculates baseline lead time, process time, VA%	• Sets target lead time, process time, VA% improvements
• Exposes push vs pull scheduling failures	• Defines Kaizen burst locations and priorities
• Identifies handover failures and communication gaps	• Becomes the improvement roadmap for the team

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Process Box

Represents a step or operation where work is being performed. Each process box contains a data box below it showing key metrics: cycle time, changeover time, uptime, and number of operators.

Core Element

Push Arrow

Shows that material is being pushed from one process to the next — regardless of whether the downstream process needs it. Push arrows signal a key source of waste and inventory accumulation.

Flow Indicator

Inventory Triangle

Marks a location where inventory accumulates between processes. The amount of inventory is noted below the triangle. Inventory triangles are key waste indicators — every one represents money tied up and time delayed.

Waste Indicator

⚡

Kaizen Burst

A starburst symbol placed on the Future State Map to highlight improvement priorities — where kaizen events, SMED, or 6S implementations are needed to move from current to future state.

Improvement Focus

🏭

Supplier / Customer

Factory icons at either end of the map represent the supplier (start of the stream) and the customer (end of the stream). Every VSM begins and ends with the customer's demand — the pull that drives the whole system.

Stream Boundaries

Timeline

A stepped timeline at the bottom of the map shows lead time (waiting) as peaks and process time (value-adding) as troughs. The ratio of process time to lead time gives the Value-Add Ratio — typically 1–5% in construction.

Metric Output

📋

Information Flow

Straight arrows show electronic information flow; curved arrows show manual information flow (drawings, phone calls, meetings). Information flow failures are one of the biggest sources of construction waste.

Information Layer

🛒

Supermarket

Represents a pull system — a controlled, replenishment-based inventory point where downstream processes take what they need, triggering replenishment upstream. Supermarkets replace push scheduling with pull flow.

Pull System

VSM is unique among lean tools in that it quantifies the cost of waste numerically — making the case for improvement impossible to ignore at board and leadership level.

LT Lead Time

The total elapsed time from when a customer order is placed (or a project stage begins) to when the deliverable reaches the customer. In construction, lead time includes all waiting, processing, transport, and approval time.

LT = Σ (Process Time + Wait Time)

PT Process Time

The actual time spent performing value-adding work — the time a product is being physically transformed or information is being actively processed. Typically a small fraction of lead time on most construction projects.

PT = Σ (Value-Adding Steps Only)

VA% Value-Add Ratio

The proportion of total lead time that is actually spent adding value. In construction and manufacturing, VA% is typically 1–5% — meaning 95–99% of lead time is waste, waiting, or necessary non-value-adding activity.

VA% = (PT ÷ LT) × 100

C/T Cycle Time

The time between completing consecutive units — how often a product or project deliverable is completed. Cycle time is compared to Takt time to reveal whether the process can meet customer demand without overproduction or shortage.

C/T = Available Time ÷ Output Rate

C/O Changeover Time

The time required to switch from one process configuration or product type to another — a target for SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) improvement. Excessive C/O forces large batch sizes and creates downstream waiting.

Target: Single-digit minutes (SMED)

WIP Work in Progress

The amount of work or material held between processes — a measure of inventory waste. High WIP indicates push scheduling, poor flow, and delayed delivery. VSM quantifies WIP at every inventory triangle location.

WIP × C/T = Days of Inventory

Every VSM engagement follows a structured five-step process — from choosing what to map through to implementing the improvements the map reveals

Select the Value Stream & Product Family

Choose a specific end-to-end process that delivers value to a defined customer – a project phase, a product family, or a service workflow. Scope clearly: map too little and you miss systemic waste; map too much and the exercise becomes unmanageable.

Draw the Current State Map

Walk the value stream physically – following the flow of material and information from supplier to customer. Record every step using standard VSM icons, capturing process times, wait times, inventory levels, and information flows. Never draw from a desk; always go to the Gemba.

Calculate Key Metrics & Identify Waste

Add the data box information and timeline to quantify lead time, process time, and value-add ratio. Identify every waste category visible in the map – waiting, inventory, overproduction, transportation, and information flow failures.

Design the Future State Map

Using the 8 VSM design questions from Learning to See, design a future state that introduces pull systems, reduces batch sizes, eliminates unnecessary steps, and enables the value stream to flow to Takt time. Place kaizen bursts to mark improvement priorities.

Build the Implementation Plan

Convert kaizen bursts into specific improvement events with owners, timescales, and measurable targets. Monitor progress against the future state metrics and update the VSM as improvements are implemented – creating a living map that tracks transformation.

Waste 1

Defects & Rework

Quality failures that require correction. VSM reveals where in the stream defects are created vs where they are discovered — the gap between the two is pure waste.

Waste 2

Overproduction

Producing more than the next process needs. In construction: drawings issued before needed, materials delivered too early, reports generated that nobody reads.

Waste 3

Waiting

The dominant waste in construction value streams — approvals, information, deliveries, predecessor activities. VSM quantifies every wait as a hard number of days lost from the programme.

Waste 4

Non-Utilised Talent

Skills, knowledge, and improvement ideas that are never surfaced, heard, or acted upon. VSM workshops surface this waste by creating a forum for team voice and structured problem identification.

Waste 5

Transportation

Unnecessary movement of materials, drawings, or equipment across the site or supply chain. VSM's information flow layer shows where documents travel further than they should.

Waste 6

Inventory

Materials, WIP, or finished goods held longer than needed. Inventory triangles on the VSM quantify the cost of every pile of materials sitting on site waiting for the next process.

Waste 7

Motion

Unnecessary movement of people – site operatives travelling to collect materials, managers searching for drawings, coordination meetings that require physical presence without purpose.

Waste 8

Extra-Processing

Doing more work than the customer requires – over-specifying, over-tolerancing, triple-approving documents, re-formatting information between systems. VSM identifies every redundant step.

What Value Stream Mapping Delivers

VSM delivers both immediate diagnostic insight and a long-term framework for continuous improvement — transforming how teams understand, plan, and improve their construction delivery systems.

🗺️

Total System Visibility

VSM gives every member of the team a single, shared picture of how work actually flows — breaking down the siloes that prevent cross-functional waste from being seen, let alone addressed.

↑ Cross-team alignment

⏱️

Lead Time Reduction

By eliminating the biggest sources of waiting time identified in the Current State Map, organisations typically achieve 40–60% reductions in end-to-end lead time within 6–12 months of a VSM implementation.

40–60% lead time reduction

🎯

Targeted Improvement Investment

Kaizen bursts on the Future State Map ensure improvement resources are directed at the highest-impact waste — not the most visible problem or the most vocal department head's priority.

↑ ROI on improvement spend

🤝

Enhanced Collaboration

The cross-functional VSM workshop creates a shared understanding of the whole stream — breaking down the handover failures and blame cycles that arise when teams only see their own piece of the process.

↓ Handover failures

💰

Significant Cost Savings

Eliminating waiting, rework, overproduction, and excess inventory from the value stream reduces the total cost of construction delivery — lowering labour cost per unit of value delivered and improving margin.

↓ Non-productive cost

🔄

Continuous Improvement Culture

VSM creates a repeatable improvement discipline — a living map that is updated as the stream improves, creating momentum, accountability, and a clear measure of how far the organisation has come

Living improvement roadmap

🔄

Lean & CI Practitioners

VSM is a core Green and Black Belt competency — a critical tool for the Analyse phase of any DMAIC project targeting flow and lead time.

📋

Site Managers

Map the project delivery value stream to identify programme-critical delays in approval, procurement, and coordination before they become critical path issues.

⚙️

Project Managers

Apply VSM to production and installation processes to identify bottlenecks, push vs pull scheduling failures, and opportunities for flow improvement.

🏗️

Lean Champions

Understand where the programme is being lost across the site and supply chain — and build a data-driven case for Takt Planning or Last Planner® System implementation.

📦️

QA/QC Professionals

Extend the VSM upstream to suppliers and downstream to clients — revealing the full cost of procurement lead times, inventory buffering, and just-in-case ordering.

🏢

Trade Supervisors

VSM provides the system-level evidence needed to justify lean transformation investment — quantifying the cost of current-state waste in terms of time, money, and client impact.

READY TO SEE THE TRUTH ON SITE?

Book Your VSM Training Course Today

Practical, construction-focused Value Stream Mapping training delivered by LCI-registered lean experts across Ireland and Europe. Participants build a live VSM of a real construction value stream and leave with a completed Current State Map, a Future State vision, and a prioritised improvement roadmap. Enterprise Ireland & IDA funding eligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Value Stream Mapping training in Ireland.

What is Value Stream Mapping (VSM) training?

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) training teaches practitioners how to visually map the entire flow of materials and information required to deliver a product or service to a customer. Developed as part of the Toyota Production System, VSM is the most powerful Lean diagnostic tool available — it reveals waste, delays, and disconnects across the whole value stream, not just within individual processes.

What does a Value Stream Mapping training course cover?

A VSM training course covers: selecting the right product family to map, building a Current State Map using standard VSM icons (process boxes, push arrows, inventory triangles, data boxes, timelines), calculating key metrics such as lead time, process time, and value-add ratio, identifying the eight wastes across the stream, and designing a Future State Map that becomes the actionable improvement roadmap.

What are the key metrics measured during a Value Stream Mapping exercise?

VSM captures: Lead Time (LT) — total time from customer order to delivery; Process Time (PT) — time actually spent adding value; Value-Add Ratio (VA%) — the proportion of lead time that adds value (typically 1–5% in construction and manufacturing); inventory levels between steps; uptime and changeover times; and information flow lags. These metrics make the cost of waste undeniable and quantify the potential gain from improvement.

How is Value Stream Mapping applied in construction?

In construction, VSM is adapted to map project delivery value streams — from client brief through design, procurement, manufacture, and installation to handover. It exposes waste in approval processes, procurement lead times, design iteration loops, and site installation sequences. Construction VSM workshops often reveal that 60–80% of total project lead time is waiting time, providing a compelling case for Lean process redesign across the supply chain.

Who should attend Value Stream Mapping training?

VSM training is most valuable for Lean practitioners, CI leads, operations managers, project managers, process engineers, and supply chain managers. It is a core competency for Lean Green Belt and Black Belt practitioners. For maximum impact, VSM workshops should include representatives from every function within the value stream — cross-functional participation ensures the map is accurate and the future state has shared ownership.

Value Stream Mapping Training Course

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📋

Last Planner® System

Commitment-based weekly planning that complements Takt perfectly

Learn more →

🚂️

Takt Planning

Zone-based production rhythm that eliminates trade clashes and delays

Learn more →

🗺

Value Stream Mapping

Visualise and eliminate waste across your full construction delivery process

Learn more →

🟢

Six Sigma Green Belt

Lead data-driven improvement projects with statistical process control

Learn more →

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Kaizen Events

Rapid structured improvement workshops that deliver results in days

Learn more →

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See the Whole Value Stream. Fix the Whole System.

The Most Powerful Lean Diagnostic Tool in Construction

Current State vs Future State — VSM Outputs

The Language of Value Stream Maps

The Numbers That Make Waste Undeniable

The VSM Process — Current State to Future State

The 8 Wastes VSM Identifies in Your Value Stream

What Value Stream Mapping Delivers

Who Benefits Most from VSM Training?

Book Your VSM Training Course Today

Frequently Asked Questions

Value Stream Mapping Training Course

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