Push arrow
Material pushed on to the next process whether or not that process needs it yet. The push arrow is a broad arrow filled with diagonal stripes.
How to read it
The UW-Stout study describes push as a process producing regardless of the immediate needs of the downstream process. The Lean Enterprise Institute’s definition of push production is processing large batches at the maximum rate, based on forecast demand, then moving them on regardless of the actual pace of work in the next process. In the EPA toolkit’s key, the striped arrow is the movement of production material.
Also searched as: push arrow, push arrow symbol, striped arrow vsm, value stream map push arrow.
Look-alikes
The pull arrow, a curved arrow from a Supermarket, shows material taken when the next process needs it, the opposite of push. A plain thin arrow on a value stream map carries information, not material. A flowchart flowline is a plain arrow showing order.
Read next
- Next in Value stream mapping symbolsSupermarketA controlled store of parts that the next process takes from as it needs them, with the supplying process making only enough to refill it. The supermarket icon is a box open on the left with shelves across it.
- The same shape in Blueprint symbolsStairsA staircase, seen from above. The arrow shows the direction of travel from this floor, labelled with the direction and the number of risers.
More value stream mapping symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with arrows or lines.
Sources
- Value Stream Mapping at XYZ Company, Madhubala Rauniyar, MS research paper, May 2007, Appendix A: Value Stream Process symbols, University of Wisconsin-Stout (MINDS@UW), Appendix A, Push Arrow
- Push Production, Lexicon term, Lean Enterprise Institute, Definition
- Lean and Environment Toolkit, Version 1.0, Chapter 3 and Appendix A (Common Icons Used in Value Stream Maps), US Environmental Protection Agency, Appendix A, Common Icons Used in Value Stream Maps
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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