Abstract

Purpose – Due to recent technological developments, many maintenance managers become overwhelmed by the vast amount of data available to support their decision making. This paper discusses identifying and eliminating waste in information management processes through a value stream mapping –based method.

Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is constructed based upon a review of the previous academic literature. The application of the framework is demonstrated with an empirical case example of a maintenance information management process within a food manufacturing company.

Findings – The paper highlights existing examples of applying value stream mapping in information management, however, the knowledge is fragmented and has not been extensively applied in a maintenance context. The case example shows that the suggested process offers a feasible method of mapping and evaluating the inherent waste in information management processes.

Originality/value – The paper summarizes the existing body of knowledge on lean information management in maintenance, and presents a theoretical framework on how value stream mapping can be applied in the context. An empirical example is provided to show the method applied to a real industry case. The results will illustrate how the framework can support companies in identifying the waste and development potential in their maintenance information management.