VSM Studio
Operation
Work that changes the part, the information or the service: cut, assemble, enter the order, approve. Usually the only steps that add value.
VSM guide / Process flow chart
Free process flow chart maker
Draw every step of one process, in order, with decisions, rework loops and swimlanes. Answer a few questions, build it from your value stream map, or describe it and let AI draft it. VSM Studio lays out the chart for you and works out where the time goes.
Four ways to start
- Answer a few questions. What starts it, what happens next, who does it and how long it takes. The chart grows as you answer, decisions and loops included.
- Build it from your value stream map. One click turns a current-state map into steps, waits and quality checks with their times, ready for you to add the moves and paperwork.
- Describe it in your own words. Write how the process works the way you would explain it to a new colleague, and the AI drafts the steps, Yes/No branches and lanes.
- Start blank. Add steps with one tap each. The layout, arrows and branches arrange themselves.
Process flow chart symbols
The first five are the ASME flow process chart symbols, used for analysis. The others are standard flowchart shapes.
Transport
Moving the part, the paperwork or the person from one place to another. Write the distance: moves are often the biggest hidden waste.
Inspection
Checking quality or quantity. Each check finds a problem after it happened; error-proofing the step that makes it is cheaper.
Delay
Waiting for the next step, a machine, a signature or a batch to fill. In most processes this is most of the time.
Storage
Kept in stock or filed under control, like a warehouse rack or a records cabinet.
Decision
A question with Yes and No answers that splits the flow, such as "Part OK?" or "Credit approved?". A No that goes back is a rework loop.
Start / End
What triggers the process (an order, a request) and the result it ends with (shipped, closed). A flow can end in more than one place.
Document
A form, report, label or work order that someone makes or reads.
Data / system
Entering or reading data in a system such as the ERP. Typing the same data twice is a classic waste.
How to make a process flow chart
- Pick one process and its limits. Name what starts it and what ends it, for example "order received" to "shipped".
- Walk it. Follow the part, the paperwork or the customer and write down everything that happens, in order. Don't draw it from memory in a meeting room.
- Mark each step. Operation, transport, inspection, delay or storage, plus the decisions where the flow splits.
- Add times and distances. A rough estimate is fine to start; time the big steps on the floor later.
- Add swimlanes when more than one person or department is involved, so the handoffs show.
- Read the analysis and work through the steps that do not add value: can you eliminate, combine, rearrange or simplify them?
What the analysis shows
Next to the chart, VSM Studio keeps the classic flow process chart: a table with each step, its type, time and distance, and a summary of how many operations, transports, inspections, delays and storages there are. From that it lists what to fix first:
- how much of the time is waiting, and the longest waits
- how far it travels, and the longest moves
- inspections that could be built into the step, and rework loops to remove at the root
- handoffs between lanes, holds in a row, and approvals that never say no
- the share of time that adds value
Export the chart as PNG or SVG, the flow process chart as CSV, or print both on one page.
Process flow chart or value stream map?
A value stream map shows a whole product family from supplier to customer on one page, with inventory, information flow and the lead time. A process flow chart zooms into one process and shows every step, move and decision inside it. Use the value stream map to find where the problem is, then a process flow chart to see why. In VSM Studio both live together: the flow is saved with its map.
Key terms
- Process flow chart
- A diagram of every step of one process in order, with decisions and branches.
- Flow process chart
- A table of the same steps, each marked as operation, transport, inspection, delay or storage, with time and distance, used to measure waste.
- Swimlane
- A column for one person, team or department, so you can see who does each step.
- Handoff
- A step passing from one lane to another. Each handoff adds a queue and a chance to lose information.
- Value-added time
- Time spent on work the customer would pay for. Everything else is waste to reduce.
- ECRS
- Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify: the order in which to question each step that does not add value.
Questions
Is this process flow chart maker free?
Yes. Drawing, the interview, building from a value stream map, the analysis and exports are free. The AI draft uses one of the AI answers that come with your account.
What is the difference between a process flow chart and a flowchart?
A flowchart shows logic and decisions. A process flow chart is a flowchart of a real process that also marks each step as work, transport, inspection, delay or storage, with its time and distance, so you can measure the waste.
Can I add swimlanes?
Yes. Turn on swimlanes and give each person or department a lane; every step goes in the lane of whoever does it, and the analysis counts the handoffs between lanes.
Can I make a process flow chart from my value stream map?
Yes. Open your map and choose Process flow, then Build it from this value stream map. Its steps, queues and quality data become operations, delays and Yes/No checks with their times.
Can I export it?
Yes: the chart as PNG or SVG, the flow process chart as a CSV file for Excel, or print the chart and the table together as a PDF.
Map one process, step by step
Start with a few questions, your value stream map or a description. The layout and the analysis are done for you.