Business process re-engineering (BPR) — A study of the software tools currently available

Value Stream Mapping in Project Management: A Case Study

This article describes the application of value stream mapping to analyze and redesign the way of managing the materials procurement stage of a project. A framework based on integrated definition (IDEF) methodology, the stream analysis approach, activity-based costing, and discrete event simulation is presented. The stream analysis approach is used to analyze, diagnose, and manage process changes represented using an IDEF model. A dynamic simulation is used to evaluate the impact of the changes considered, to support the analysis of the process, and to model the performance of the proposed process. The overall methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a company whose core business is the design and construction of offshore oil rigs. The company specializes in engineering, procurement, and construction projects and has an annual portfolio of about six projects. Many of these projects have common features in terms of design and components, and they are all also characterized by a short “time to delivery.” For this reason, this study was aimed at assessing the possible effects that the application of new materials management policies could have on reducing both project completion time and the resources required.