A lean manufacturing strategy using Value Stream Mapping, the Unified Modeling Language, and discrete event simulation

The paper presents a lean manufacturing strategy integrating Value Stream Mapping (VSM), the Unified Modeling Language (UML), and discrete event simulation. The procedure is iterative and hierarchical. Starting from a detailed description of the manufacturing process by the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the VSM graphical approach allows the identification and removal of non-value adding activities. The re-designed manufacturing system is represented in detail by UML to describe the novel system activities. The use of discrete event simulation allows the verification of the updated production system. Applying the lean manufacturing strategy to a real case study shows its effectiveness.