What Is Value Stream Mapping? (As Told by Cavemen…) 

The Stone Age of Value Stream Mapping

AI-Embedded Future Value Stream Mapping

The Stone Age of Value Stream Mapping:

Imagine a rugged caveman hunched over a giant slab of stone, carefully carving boxes and arrows into the rock.
That’s your classic Value Stream Mapping (VSM)—a manual, highly visual process used to document, analyze, and improve the flow of materials and information needed to deliver a product or service.

Just like in the image, early VSMs were hands-on and required someone to:

• Walk the process floor
• Time each step
• Map it all out manually 

Useful? Absolutely.
Slow and effort-heavy? You bet.

This was the "tribal knowledge" phase—great insights, but tough to scale and maintain.

Enter the AI-Embedded Future

Now fast-forward.
Our tech-savvy caveman puts on AI-powered goggles and taps a digital screen that dynamically updates flows, metrics, and bottlenecks in real time.

Welcome to the AI-Embedded Value Stream Mapping Era!

AI-enhanced VSM tools bring:

• Automated Action Items let the AI Assistant observe your process and suggest action items
• Data Security your data is yours and remains safe, secure, and encrypted
  
• Live data feeds from machines, ERP systems, and CRMs
• Automated waste detection and what-if scenario modeling
• Real-time collaboration across global teams
• Predictive analytics to proactively optimize the value stream
• Frontier Intelligence leveraging the latest breakthroughs from the world’s top AI labs.

It’s like giving your VSM a brain—and letting it evolve from reactive stone-carving to proactive transformation.

From Cave Walls to Cloud-Based Intelligence

 So, what is Value Stream Mapping? 

It's the process of mapping every step between "customer request" and "final delivery," identifying where value is created—and where it isn’t.  And just like humanity’s leap from stone tools to smart tech: 

• The old way was observational and descriptive.
• The new way, with AI, is adaptive, interactive, and strategic.

Bottom Line

• Classic VSM = Insight through grit and grind 
• AI-Embedded VSM = Insight through integration and intelligence
• The caveman knew how to see the value
•  The AI caveman knows how to maximize it
  

Who Should Attend:

• Operations Managers
• Manufacturing Engineers
• Lean Practitioners
• Continuous Improvement Leaders
• Anyone involved in optimizing manufacturing processes or value stream mapping
• Understanding process variation and its impact on performance
  

Why You’ll Attend:

In traditional value stream mapping (VSM), the process is often done on paper or whiteboards, creating a static artifact that doesn’t evolve. This webinar introduces a more dynamic and collaborative approach with AI-embedded, ongoing value stream mapping. By using technology, you can engage subject matter experts (SMEs) from all stages of the operation, ensuring a more holistic and real-time perspective of your processes.

What You Will Learn:

• The limitations of traditional, paper-based value stream mapping
• How AI-embedded, collaborative VSM keeps your process improvement efforts continuous and evolving
• The benefits of involving cross-functional SMEs in real-time decision-making
• How to turn your value stream map into a living document that adapts as your operations change

Join us to discover how you can take your value stream mapping to the next level with AI and collaboration, creating a more effective tool for continuous improvement.

The best part about the webinar? It’s free—even a caveman gets that!

Course Instructor

Braden Ball is the co-founder and CEO of Threaded, the AI-powered industrial engineering platform. He has launched, scaled, and optimized manufacturing lines for industry leaders like Tesla, Rivian, Caterpillar, and Carbon3D, and created Threaded to empower manufacturers to rapidly scale industrial improvement with the latest in technology.

Course Coordinators

Luke Fuess and Steve Russ: Driving Manufacturing Excellence Across Idaho

Luke Fuess serves as the primary liaison between NIST and TechHelp for the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network, where he ensures strategic alignment and program success. His extensive background in manufacturing includes production management at ICON Aircraft, executive leadership as COO at US Ordnance, and innovation in alternative fuel production. Luke's strengths lie in efficiency, inventory control, workforce development, and the application of lean methodologies. His focus on strategic planning and operational excellence enhances resiliency and impact throughout the state’s industrial ecosystem.

Steve Russ, a long-time Idaho resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, brings deep technical knowledge and hands-on experience to TechHelp. After serving as an aviation armament and avionics technician on Marine rotary-wing aircraft, Steve continued his work on UH-60 and AH-64 platforms as a federal technician. He earned a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from Boise State University and went on to specialize in high-precision temperature sensors as a ceramics engineer at QTI Sensing Solutions. His expertise spans the entire product lifecycle—from R&D to cost reduction and failure analysis. As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and AS9100D auditor, Steve plays a key role in advancing production quality and new product development.

With Sincere Thanks to Our Supporting Partners