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CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

53rd CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems

53rd
53rd CIRP
CIRP Conference
Conference on
on Manufacturing
Manufacturing Systems
Systems
Process mapping in industry – the self-centred phenomenon and how it
Process mapping28thinCIRP Design Conference,
industry May 2018, Nantes,
– the self-centred phenomenonFrance and how it
effects continuous improvements
A new methodology effects
toAnders
analyzecontinuous
the functional
Johansson a,b,
improvements
*, Mariam Nafisiand physical
a,c architecture of
existing products forGlobal
an Industrial
assembly
Anders Johansson oriented
a,b,
a *, Mariam
Development, Scania
product
Nafisi
CV AB, Södertälje,
a,c family identification
Sweden
b
University
a
West, Department of Engineering Science, Trollhättan, Sweden
Global Industrial
SchoolDevelopment,
of Innovation,Scania CV AB,Engineering,
Södertälje, Sweden
c
Paul Stief *, Jean-Yves Dantan, Alain Etienne, Ali Siadat
Mälardalen
b
University, Design and Eskilstuna, Sweden
University West, Department of Engineering Science, Trollhättan, Sweden
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +46-8-553-80165.
c
Mälardalen University, [email protected]
E-mail address: of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Eskilstuna, Sweden
École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, LCFC EA 4495, 4 Rue Augustin Fresnel, Metz 57078, France
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +46-8-553-80165. E-mail address: [email protected]

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3 87 37 54 30; E-mail address: [email protected]

Abstract
Abstract
For the manufacturing system development process to deliver the expected value, it is important that the management of the process works.
Abstract
However, the competence of building adequate process models is often missing. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that with some
For the manufacturing system development process to deliver the expected value, it is important that the management of the process works.
training, it is possible to achieve much better process models. This is studied through a workshop, where the participants map their “breakfast
However, the competence of building adequate process models is often missing. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that with some
Inprocess”.
today’s Thebusiness
resultenvironment, the trend
shows that without towardsthe
guidance, more product
process variety
becomes and customization
self-centred. is unbroken.
A self-centred Due to this process
resource-oriented development,
model the need
gives of
focus
training, it is possible to achieve much better process models. This is studied through a workshop, where the participants map their “breakfast
agile andand
on time reconfigurable production
resource utilisation, whilesystems
a valueemerged
objectivetooriented
cope with various
process products
model focusesandmore
product families.
on process To design and optimize production
quality.
process”. The result shows that without guidance, the process becomes self-centred. A self-centred resource-oriented process model gives focus
systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to
on time and resource utilisation, while a value objective oriented process model focuses more on process quality.
analyze
© 2019aThe product or one
Authors. product family
Published on the
by Elsevier physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and
B.V.
© 2020
nature
This The
isofan Authors.
open accessPublished
components. This fact
article by Elsevier
impedes
under B.V.
the CCanBY-NC-ND
efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
© 2019
This is A The
an Authors.
open access Published by Elsevier
articleisunder B.V.
the scientific
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
system.
Peer-review new methodology
under responsibility proposed
of the to analyze existing
committee products
of the in CIRP
53rd view of their functional
Conference and physicalSystems
on Manufacturing architecture. The aim is to cluster
This is an open access
Peer-review article underof the
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
these productsunderin newresponsibility
assembly oriented scientific committee
product families of the
for the 53rd CIRPofConference
optimization on Manufacturing
existing assembly Systems
lines and the creation of future reconfigurable
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 53rd CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems
assembly
Keywords:systems.
business Based
processon Datum
model; BPM;Flow Chain, the
continuous physical structure
improvement; of the
Lean; process productsvalue
orientation; is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and
a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the
Keywords: business process model; BPM; continuous improvement; Lean; process orientation; value
similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative
example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of
1. Introduction
thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation collaboration that characterise
of the proposed approach. PD process [5,6]. Even though
©1.2017 The
IntroductionAuthors. Published by Elsevier B.V. the top-level process map is holistic
collaboration that characterise across [5,6].
PD process multiple functions,
Even though
Peer-review under responsibility
Lean philosophy has createdof theawareness
scientific committee of the 28th
at companies to CIRP theDesign
broken-down
Conferencesub-processes
2018. are mapped with a resource-
the top-level process map is holistic across multiple functions,
continuously
Lean Assembly; improve
philosophy processes.
hasmethod;
created Most large
awareness automotive
at companies to orientation.
the broken-down This sub-processes
can lead to are sub-optimisation
mapped with ainstead resource- of
Keywords:
companies work Design
today with Family
quality identification
assurance and are certified everyone seeing the whole picture and working towards the
continuously improve processes. Most large automotive orientation. This can lead to sub-optimisation instead of
against
companies ISOwork
9001,today
QualitywithManagement
quality assuranceSystem. andBothare lean and
certified common
everyone goal
seeing of the
creating
wholecustomer
picture and values [7]. The
working role ofthea
towards
the ISO standard advocate a customer
against ISO 9001, Quality Management System. Both lean and focus, a process chief process officer (CPO) could help
common goal of creating customer values [7]. The role to overcome someofofa
1.approach
the ISO and
Introduction to continuously
standard advocate aimprove customer [1].focus,
Striving a to have
process the
of issues,
the process
chief but is
productofficerrarely
range and a
(CPO)position found
characteristics at companies
could help tomanufactured
overcome some[8].and/or
of
efficient processes that are continuously developed
approach and to continuously improve [1]. Striving to have is part of theThe purpose
issues,
assembled butthis
in of thisa position
is rarely
system. paper
In isfound
this context,to test
atthe amain
hypothesis
companies [8]. that
challenge in
the daily
Due to
efficient activities
the fast
processes at manufacturing
development
that are companies.
continuouslyindeveloped An
the domain important
is part of individuals
The purpose
modelling without
and of formal
analysisthisispaperprocess
now is totraining
not only orhypothesis
testtoacope guidance will
that
with single
and common
the daily
communication activities process
and at an for large
manufacturing
ongoing original
companies.
trend Anequipment
of digitization important
and naturally look
individuals
products, at themselves
without
a limited product or their
formal range
process ordepartment
existing or when
training product mapping
guidance will
families,
manufacturers (OEMs)
and commonmanufacturing
digitalization, process is for the Product
large are
enterprises Development
original
facing equipment (PD)
important processes.
naturally
but This
also tolook results in
at themselves
be able a
to analyze orresource-oriented
and their department
to compare process map,
when mapping
products with
to define
process, in which
manufacturers
challenges technology
(OEMs)
in today’s is incorporated
is the
market intoa new
Product Development
environments: product
(PD)
continuing the
new individual
processes.
product This orresults
department
families. Itincan as observed
be the resource
a resource-oriented thatin the self-centred
process map,
classical with
existing
concepts
process, in
tendency [2]. The PD
which reduction
towards process
technology is often
ofisproduct one
incorporated of the
into new
development company’s
product
times and process
product map.
the individual
families The
orare intention
department is
regroupedasinthe also to demonstrate
resource
function orthat with
in the self-centred
of clients features.
core processes,
concepts
shortened [2]. Theand
product PDthe competitiveness
process
lifecycles. In is often one
addition, ofofthe
there ancompany
isthe company’s
increasing is some
process
However,guidance
map.
assemblyto focus
The on the
intention
oriented isprocess tokey
also families
product value
are objectives,
demonstrate that
hardly the
with
to find.
determined
core processes,
demand by the success of the
and the competitiveness
of customization, process
being at the same [3].
of time Typically,
the company
in a global the
is process
some maps
On guidance
the productbecomes
to focus
family value
onlevel, flow
the process oriented.
products Lastly
key differ but perhaps
value objectives,
mainly in two the
stage-gate
determinedmodel
competition by the[4]
with is applied
success
competitors when
of all
the modelling
process
over [3]. these
the world. complex
Typically,
This the
trend, most
main importantly,
process maps becomes
characteristics: the(i)
purpose
value is also
flow
the number tocomponents
investigate
oriented.
of Lastly howbut the
(ii)two
andperhaps the
processes.
stage-gate
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model
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[4]the
is linear when
process
development models
modelling
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macro support
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mostofimportantly,
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is
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investigate
electrical, improvement
how the two
the
markets, iterative
processes.results
However, cycles and extensive
the linear process
in diminished lot sizes models cross-functional
due to cannot support
augmenting activities.
different process
Classical orientations
methodologies affect themainly
considering process improvement
single products
the iterative
product cycles and to low-volume
varieties (high-volume extensive production)
cross-functional[1]. activities.
or solitary, already existing product families analyze the
To cope with
2212-8271 this
© 2019 Theaugmenting variety
Authors. Published as wellB.V.
by Elsevier as to be able to product structure on a physical level (components level) which
This is an open access article
identify under the CCpotentials
BY-NC-ND license
in the(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
2212-8271 possible
Peer-review ©under The optimization
2019responsibility
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Published by Elsevier
the scientific B.V.
committee
existing causes difficulties regarding an efficient definition and
of the 53rd CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems
production system, it is important to have a precise knowledge comparison of different product families. Addressing this
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 53rd CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems
2212-8271 © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
This is an©open
2212-8271 2017access article Published
The Authors. under theby CC BY-NC-ND
Elsevier B.V. license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review
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under responsibility
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of the the scientific committee
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on Manufacturing Systems
10.1016/j.procir.2020.03.046
 Anders Johansson et al. / Procedia CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723 719
2 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

2. Theoretical framework

2.1. Toyota production system and lean

In the 1950s, Toyota developed its renowned production Fig. 1. Four process symbols found in ISO 5807: Information Processing.
system known as Toyota Production System (TPS). Toyota’s One other method commonly used by Lean is Value Stream
success inspired many other companies to develop their own Mapping (VSM). The prerequisite for this method is that the
version of the TPS, based on the Lean philosophy. TPS and expected process objective is defined, i.e. the demand from the
Lean are focused on continuous improvements and in removing customer of the process. The process objective is important to
non-value adding activities from processes [9]. According to determine which of the process activities that contribute with
Womack et al. [10], the Lean principles are: value to this objective. For example, in manufacturing this
method is used to map all activities necessary to realise a
• Value Act of what is important to the product, both in respect to material and information flow.
customer of the process. Thereafter, value adding and non-value adding activities can be
• Value stream Understand which steps in the process add identified to eliminate waste [17]. Whichever technique and
value and which do not. approach used when modelling, it is important that the people
• Flow Keep the work moving at all times and who live the process are active and participating in the process
eliminate waste that creates delay. modelling activity [18]. In the Japanese business culture the
• Pull Avoid making products for customer word “Gemba” is used, and is as important as “Kaizen” to
demand you do not have. understand the process [19]. Gemba means something like “the
place where things happen”, and it is here where the
• Strive for There is no optimum level of information for the process modelling can be found [20].
perfection performance. Just continuously pursue
improvements. 2.3. Continuous improvements and challenges

With increasing popularity of Lean thinking, there has been One of the main reasons for companies to work with
an increasing awareness about value creation, improving processes is in order to work with continuous improvements,
quality and becoming more efficient in companies. The concept which is also advocated both by the ISO 9001 and the lean
of continuous improvement, also known as Kaizen, is said to theories [1,21,22]. Graphical process maps assist in
be the key to Japan’s competitive success [11]. A prerequisite understanding the process they represent, and is necessary to
for the Lean improvement activities is the process and flow identify areas of improvements [22,23]. Even though in Lean
perspective. Therefore, processes, and the company’s ability to philosophy the focus for when mapping the process shall be on
continuously improve them, determines the success and failure the customer value flow, there is still a tendency in companies
of the whole company. to map their processes having a resource focus. According to
Rosemann [18], one key issue at companies is the lack of
2.2. Process modelling qualified process modelers. The challenge of achieving process
orientation can also stem from the strong resource-orientation
A process can be defined as a reoccurring series of activities that still exists [24]. According to Modig and Åhlström [25], to
and decisions that are involved to achieve a certain objective or achieve efficiency in both the use of resources and efficient
goal [12]. As such, a process can be anything from something value flow, the initial focus needs to be on the value flow. Once
simple as making breakfast to a large complex industrial value flow has increased, the company can begin focusing on
process such as Product Development (PD). Processes are resource efficiency.
usually represented graphically, which leads to ease and
simplicity in communication [13]. The simplicity in the 3. Method
graphical and visual models can also assist in the cognitive
functions of the brain. For example, in cognitive science there To test the process mapping behaviour, two types of
are classical research suggesting that the working memory controlled workshop cases were constructed; (1) unguided
capacity is around seven bits, give or take [14]. This could be process mapping, and (2) value-guided process mapping. Both
used as guidance for how to construct the process maps. were an hour long and divided in two main parts; a process
There are various techniques that can be used in order to mapping session and an improving activity session. These two
create a process model. Flowcharts and the annotations within workshops were conducted a series of times with different
the international standards IDEF0, IDEF3 etc. are just a few participants, to ensure that independent data could be collected.
examples, each of which have their own pros and cons [15]. When modelling a process it is important that the modeller
The choice of technique used shall be based on the purpose of understands the process, i.e. being familiar with the Gemba
the modelling and what is to be captured and communicated. In [19]. Therefore, to ensure that all participants were familiar
its most basic form, a process representation often includes an with the process they were going to map and improve, a non-
input, an output and a set of activities to achieve the objective industrial everyday process was selected; the “breakfast
of the process. Fig. 1 illustrates some of the most commonly process”. However, the intended process scope reached further,
used symbols in process mapping flowcharts [16]. starting when the alarm goes off in the morning, until arriving
720 Anders Johansson et al. / Procedia CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 3

at work. Another reason it was titled “breakfast” was to not With these key value objectives in focus, the participants
reveal more information than necessary before the workshop were now asked to individually and silently write on sticky
and still give a light and relaxed atmosphere. The workshops notes the morning activities contributing to each of the key
were also conducted early in the morning and a breakfast buffet value objectives. This carried on for about 15 minutes.
was offered, both to keep to the theme but also to attract Guidance was also given regarding the number of activities for
attendance. each of the objective, and again the capacity of the working
The e-mail invite for the workshop was sent to individuals memory was used. However, due to time constraints, only three
at an organisation involved in production and logistics of the identified key value objectives were focused on. The
development at a large automotive manufacturer. The sticky notes were consolidated on the wall with a brief
individuals are considered experts in their respective field. For discussion on the content. This was followed by an open
each workshop, a maximum number of five participants were discussion among the participants on how to improve the
invited to keep the group small enough to encourage open and overall process. The improvement discussion carried on for
creative discussions. As little information as possible was given about 20 minutes, which concluded the value-guided process
in the invite to make as little influence as possible. Apart from mapping workshop.
the date, time, venue and information about the served
breakfast, the invite included brief information that the result 3.3. Data collection
of the workshop would be the foundation of a research study
and that their morning routines would be discussed. Once at the The data was captured and recorded by observation and
workshop, the information was still kept to a minimum with written notes during the workshops. Even though the authors
just a brief introduction of the workshop structure. were present during the workshops, care was taken to influence
the participants as little as possible. One of the authors solely
3.1. Unguided process mapping made observational notes while the other both made notes and
acted as the facilitator. Attention was paid in particular to the
The unguided process mapping workshops started by the characteristics of the resulting process maps, but perhaps more
facilitator asking the participants to map their morning process, importantly, to the following improvement discussions. These
from when the alarm goes off until they arrive at work. The notes together with the participants’ process maps were then
participants were given sticky notes to individually and silently the basis for the research analysis.
write their own activities for about 15 minutes. The sticky notes
were thereafter consolidated on the wall for everyone to see and 4. Results
briefly discuss. This was followed by an open discuss among
the participants on how to improve the overall process. The The result of this study is divided into two sections; (1) the
improvement discussion carried on for about 20 minutes, which result and improvements around the unguided process
concluded the unguided process mapping workshop. mapping, and (2) results and improvements around the value-
guided process mapping.
3.2. Value-guided process mapping
4.1. Unguided process mapping
The second type of workshop is the value-guided process
mapping, which started with the facilitator giving the The unguided process mapping resulted in a self-centred,
participants some guidance. Firstly, the participants were asked single linear and chronological process map. Fig. 2 illustrates
for ten minutes to openly discuss on a high level what the key simplistically how this process map typically looked like. “A”
objectives are with the morning routine. Essentially, what value represents the activities identified by the participant. It
are they trying to achieve with all the morning activities. To described the participants’ morning activities, step-by-step as
regulate the resolution and level of details, recommendation they typically live them. This can be compared to a resource-
was given to limit the number of objectives to about seven, give oriented process, with the individual mapping the process being
or take. This number is based on the idea that the capacity of the single resource in this breakfast example. The participants
working memory is about seven bits, and seems to result in a mapped the process with an average of 15 activities, and a
list cognitively easy enough to overview and grasp [14]. These median of 17 activities. There were a combination of value
morning key objectives that were identified by the participants, adding and non-value adding activities. When discussed, the
were written down on a flipchart for everyone to see. If the reason for including the activities were based on the time
facilitator considered the proposed objective too ambiguous significance for the person during the morning. For example, if
and not specifying the value, the participants were asked to walking to and waiting for public transport was a significant
further discuss them. For example, one proposed objective was part of the morning, it was included in the process map even
“have eaten breakfast”, but the purpose of this is to have energy though transport and waiting time traditionally are non-value
in the body to be able to function properly and be productive. adding.

Start A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17 A18 A19 Finish

Fig. 2. Resource-oriented process map, as a result of unguided mapping.

 Anders Johansson et al. / Procedia CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723 721
4 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

Looking at the individual activities, they correctly and on a objective oriented process mapping approach, the link between
detailed level describe the process for the person making the activities and purpose also became more transparent. Clarity is
process map. However, there were many differences between typically recognised as beneficial in motivational theories for
the participants’ processes. Most participants focused on the when setting goals and objectives [26]. The size of the
very low-level detail of their morning making it unique to that individual processes also became smaller, but as the instruction
individual. For example, some have children, and some do not, was to achieve somewhere between five and nine steps for each
and some travel using public transport and others use the car. sub- process, this was clearly expected. However, this proved
This made it difficult to consolidate all processes to one it easier to overlook and cognitively process the information as
common process. A contributing factor to this was also that the the size is within the working memory capacity.
process maps were in an individual time sequence order, which As the morning processes now became divided into value
also was to some degree unique for the individual. This seemed objective sub-processes, they also became more modular. If
to post a constrain in the thought process on how to consolidate one would conduct project planning for a process like this, it
everyone’s process into one common process. could make it easier to select those activities necessary for a
When later asked to jointly improve the process, without any particular morning. As an example, if one would oversleep and
further instructions, all suggestions from the participants there is not enough time to do all the usual activities, one can
seemed naturally to revolve around time optimisation. easily evaluate and prioritise which key value objectives are
Suggestions included things like moving certain activities absolutely necessary and which activities can be excluded.
outside the morning scope, like preparing the breakfast table From the examples earlier mentioned, the key value objective
and taking out clothes to wear the evening before, or check (6) “Have home in the initial state (tidy)” and its associated
e-mails at work instead of during the morning at home. activities can normally be postponed to the evening when back
However, this is more of a sub-optimising improvement as the from work. As the morning routines are not such a complex
“evening process” or “day process” would now instead include process, these prioritisations can probably be made intuitively.
more activities. Another suggestion was to remove some less However, for a more complex industrial process, this
necessary activities, for example alarm snoozing. There was documented transparency could be beneficial for the
also a suggestion to do all activities related to a particular room prioritisations work that could become necessary when project
at once, to remove the non-value adding activity of walking time and money are stretched.
back and forth between the rooms, but the main argument still In terms of the improvements proposed by the workshop
seemed to be about saving time. Some suggestions were also participants, for the value-guided process mapping there were
around conducting some activities in parallel, like starting the also proposals focusing on time improvements as seen in the
coffee machine so that it brews the coffee while taking a unguided workshops. However, the discussion additionally
shower. This however is still focused on time saving. revolved more around how to achieve and improve the quality
of the identified value objectives, by optimising the activities
4.2. Value-guided process mapping and how to better enable them. These enablers also started to
stretch outside the morning scope. For example, to ensure that
The guided sessions started with identifying key value one can eat a healthy breakfast to ensure that the key value
objectives with the morning process. The actual result of this is objective (3) “Have energy in body” is fulfilled, the right food
less relevant to the result of this study, but for the interested needs to be available at home. Therefore, the food shopping
reader the following are examples of the key value objectives activity is crucial to achieve this, which for these participants
identified: (1) Be awake, (2) Be representable, (3) Have energy is not an activity conducted during the morning process. It is
in body, (4) Have mental balance and harmony, (5) Have a potentially also conducted by someone else in the family,
planned day, (6) Have home in the initial state (tidy) and (7) Be making the process now go from being individually resource-
at work. When using these key value objectives as a starting oriented to become more cross-individually oriented. In an
point for the guided process mapping, it resulted in multiple industrial context, this could be compared to going from a
process maps. Fig. 3 shows three of the individual value-guided functional oriented process to cross-functional. This new
process maps, where “V1”, “V2” and “V3” illustrate three of activity outside the morning scope is illustrated as “X” in
the value objectives identified by the participants. One main Fig. 3.
difference was that the activities (“A1”, “A2”, “A3” etc.) were Another topic of discussion that was spontaneously initiated
now solely either value adding or value enabling activities. The was if the initially identified key value objectives were
non-value adding activities, like waiting for a bus, had naturally correctly formulated to start with. Maybe “to have energy in
no belonging in the process maps since the key value objectives the body” is not a good enough objective, but it should perhaps
and their underlying activities were the focus. With a value read “have energy in the body until lunch”. Again, this led to
qualitative discussions on which food categories would be
X A1 A4 A7 A9 A14 A19 V1
better suited to achieve this key value objective. There were
however some discussions on time optimisation as well, but far
Start A2 A5 A11 A16 V2 Finish more innovative suggestions were proposed compared to the
previous unguided workshops. If “have energy in the body until
A3 A6 A8 A12 A17 V3
lunch” is the value objective, it was suggested to eat less during
the morning and instead eat several times before lunch. It was
Fig. 3. Value objective oriented process map, as a result of guided mapping. argued that this would be more time efficient during the
722 Anders Johansson et al. / Procedia CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723
Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000 5

morning process and perhaps also give a more stable blood This objective is not achieved by one functional department but
glucose level along the day. achieved jointly by both the Design Engineering through
design of the product, and by Production Engineering through
5. Discussion design of flexible production systems. Concurrent or
simultaneous engineering (CE or SE) are two common
Both the resource-oriented and value-oriented process map expressions for when product development and production
are correct in their own respective way. The only difference is development are working simultaneously, but often on separate
the perspective from which they have been modelled. In Fig. deliveries. However, their individual activities are through the
4 part of the resource-oriented process map (Fig. 2) and the value objective perspective likely part of the same value flow,
value-oriented process map (Fig. 3) are combined. Most contributing to the same cross-functional value objective.
activities in both are hopefully related to some kind of value Therefore, it would perhaps be better to coin a new term
objective but the connection to these will not be clear if emphasising this cooperation on achieving common value
modelled in a resource perspective. As Modig and Åhlström objectives; “Value Objective Engineering” (VOE). VOE
[25] similarly explain, one needs first to focus on the value requires new value objectives to be identified for the overall
flow efficiency before resources efficiency. Once the value product development process. For each of the identified value
objective oriented process is executed, let’s say in an
objectives, new process maps need to be modelled. With this in
industrial Product Development (PD) project, it is down to a
place, a PD project manager can then efficiently allocate the
project manager to ensure efficient use of resources and that
necessary competence and resource to the activities,
deadlines are met.
independent of the organisational structure of the company.
As demonstrated in this study, the important improvement
work was different between the two types of workshops. The
reason there were more innovative proposals and discussion for
the value objective oriented process mapping was perhaps that
there was more commonality between the participants’
individual process maps. There was less focus on time
sequence details and low-level details of the different activities.
The viewpoint was lifted to a higher and more holistic level,
and from there the details were specified jointly. There was also
a clearer connection between the activities and their specific
purpose, as there was a direct path to the objective to be
achieved. The smaller sized process maps can have contributed
to this as well. Mendling et al. [29] also indicate that the size of
models have an influence on the understandability, whereas
larger models become more difficult to understand. They give
no guidance on a good size, but as seen in cognitive research,
seven plus minus two seems to be the capacity of the working
Fig. 4. Two perspectives combined, both resource and value objective memory and could be the reason for the process clarity [14].
process maps.
There exists far more comprehensive studies and papers on
how to succeed with the business process model (BPM)
As Lean, value flow and processes do get a high degree of
journey [27,29–33]. However, for a company to even start
attention at companies, how come there are still many
looking into this thorough work it needs a critical mass of
functional resource-oriented process models out there? One
people interested enough in BPM. This study intends only
reason could be that many companies still have a functionally
through simple means to complement this comprehensive work
structured organisation where managers are resource owners,
by addressing some important BPM issues observed at
as opposed to holistic wide process owners [3,24]. So, during
companies. Companies can through this approach advance with
process modelling initiatives, each of these functions is
their process work without large investments in process
individually tasked to model their respective processes.
training. This small insight in the problem of modelling from a
The industrial experience of the authors for this paper is that
resource perspective, and how to start focusing on the true
the company’s common goals are quickly interpreted down to
value objective, can with simple measures get the BPM ball
individual functional departments and looked at in isolation.
rolling. The roleplay training approach could be an interesting
Even though cross-functional collaboration is today common,
complement to make the process orientation perspective to
the bottom level objectives still seem isolated and individual.
stick [34].
However, with a more holistic mindset, common process
The result of this study is currently limited in applicability
objectives can be achieved, where employees see their
as the experiment is limited in size, the participants are from
contribution in relation to the larger goals. This is also
one and the same company and many also from the same
contributing to better operational performance and more
department. Another research validity risk is that the authors
motivated employees [27]. One common value objective for
were present during the workshops and acting as facilitator.
the PD process that was identified by Cederberg and Enarson
This introduces a risk that the participants are guided into some
[28], is to be able to use existing production systems to reduce
presumptions of the authors, which gives an author-biased data.
time to market as well as reduced production development cost.
 Anders Johansson et al. / Procedia CIRP 93 (2020) 718–723 723
6 Author name / Procedia CIRP 00 (2019) 000–000

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