Note: This guide explains the VSM methodology that ISO 22468:2020 codifies. VeSiMy is structured around these practices. We are not an ISO-accredited certification body and do not offer ISO certification. The standard itself is published by ISO and available for purchase through national standards bodies.
ISO 22468:2020 is the first international standard specifically for Value Stream Mapping (VSM). Published in November 2020, it establishes a common notation system, terminology, and methodology for VSM so that maps are consistent and interpretable across organizations, countries, and industries.
Before this standard, VSM notation varied between Lean consultants, textbooks, and organizations. The Toyota Production System used specific icons; Mike Rother and John Shook standardized many in "Learning to See" (1998). ISO 22468 formalizes and extends this into a coherent international reference.
The standard covers: icon definitions, map construction methodology, current state analysis, future state design, and the improvement cycle.
Represents a step where work is performed. Contains cycle time, operators, uptime, and other metrics.
Shows WIP (work in progress) between process steps. A critical indicator of flow problems.
Material is pushed downstream regardless of downstream demand. Common source of overproduction waste.
Downstream signals upstream when to produce. Eliminates overproduction and reduces inventory.
Dashed lines show how information moves through the value stream, orders, schedules, signals.
The starburst/lightning bolt marks an improvement opportunity on the current state map.
Factory icons at the start and end of the map representing the supplier and end customer.
The planning/scheduling function that governs how information flows between supplier and production.
Select a specific product family or service line. VSM works on a single flow, not the whole business at once.
Walk the process. Record every step, cycle time, wait time, operator count, WIP, defect rate, and information flow. Map what actually happens, not the ideal.
Lead time, PCE, takt time, bottleneck identification. These numbers reveal where waste concentrates.
Apply Lean principles: reduce wait time, eliminate non-value-added steps, balance to takt, pull rather than push, standardize the work.
Kaizen events, SMED, 5 Why, Standard Work. Specific actions, owners, and timelines that close the gap between current and future state.
Execute the plan. Re-map after implementation. The loop continues, future state becomes the next current state.
VeSiMy is structured around the methodology ISO 22468:2020 documents. This means:
Process boxes, WIP triangles, push arrows, supermarket icons, kaizen bursts, supplier/customer factory icons, and production control, all per ISO 22468.
Cycle Time, Takt Time, Lead Time, PCE, WIP, and Defect Rate are calculated using the standard definitions, not approximations.
The workflow follows the full VSM improvement cycle: current state mapping, future state design, and structured improvement planning.
The standard applies across industries. VeSiMy adapts terminology, "cycle time" becomes "appointment duration" in healthcare, "fermentation time" in brewing, while keeping the underlying methodology consistent.
ISO 22468 focuses on mapping; improvement execution uses Kaizen, 5 Why, Fishbone, SMED, Standard Work, and other Lean tools that complement the VSM methodology.
VeSiMy is a practice tool, not a certification body. We do not issue ISO certificates. The standard is available from ISO and national standards bodies.