CPM provides the following benefits:
• Shows the time required to complete the project
• Specifies the individual activities
• Shows a graphical view of the project
• Determine the sequence of the activities
• Illustrates the precedence and interrelations of each activity
• Identifies the critical path
Value stream maps show the “value stream” of a process and allow project teams to visualize a process. Value stream mapping is used to identify major sources of non-value added time in a value stream.
Flowcharts - show the steps in a process from start to finish.
Procedures - are documents of instructions that specify how a process is to be carried out.
Work instructions -specify the steps and order that tasks need to occur in a process.
Spaghetti diagrams - identify potential improvements to a physical layout to remove unnecessary movement or bottlenecks. Spaghetti diagrams show all the possible paths an employee can take during completion of their work. This spaghetti diagram is also useful to determine what type of bottlenecks are causing congestion and where workflow is going. The distances can be timed to determine best routes and how to combine similar processes.
Critical Path Method (CPM) and Value Stream Mapping can identify areas where waste occurs and efficiency can be gained. The Critical Path Method visually models the activities and events of a project as a network. Activities are nodes on the network and events that signify the beginning or ending of activities are depicted as arcs or lines between the nodes.