Spaghetti Diagram
Plot the actual movements of an operator or a part on a layout, measure them, then draw the target path that removes unnecessary steps.
This course is for team leaders, methods technicians and continuous improvement facilitators who want to reduce movement at a workstation, on a line or in a storage area without heavy investment. It requires no prior Lean training.
By the end, you will know how to prepare an observation, plot a spaghetti diagram of the current state on a scale layout, measure travel distances and times, identify motion and transport waste, then build and test a target path whose result you can verify two weeks later.
What you will be able to do
- Explain in one sentence what a spaghetti diagram shows and what it does not show
- Prepare an observation: scope, scale layout, group roles, agreement of the people observed
- Plot the actual movements of an operator or a part over several cycles and number the stopping points
- Convert the plot into travel distance and time per cycle and per day
- Identify back-and-forth trips, crossings and waiting points on the plot, and rank them by priority
- Draw a target diagram, test the change and measure the before/after gap
The path
- What a spaghetti diagram shows 4 min
- Preparing the observation: layout, scale, roles 4 min
- Tracing the current state on the shop floor 5 min
- Measuring distances and reading the plate of spaghetti 5 min
- Drawing the target trace and verifying the gain 4 min
Prerequisites
None. Knowing the observed area and having a layout plan, even an approximate one, is enough. Having heard of the 7 wastes (Muda) helps but is not required: the concept is recapped in the course.
The closing quiz
The topic ends with a 7-question quiz, and a certificate is issued on success.