SIPOC, Understanding Your Process' Elements

Utilized for process elements identification, and usually applied in the Measure step of  the DMAIC approach to process improvement (see posting on DMAIC within this blog), a SIPOC diagram is a useful tool to understand what your process is made of. It is visual, it lists the main components of each of the main foundations of a process, and can easily be applied in any industry. The acronym SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers. SIPOC expands on the basic operations management concept of input-transformation-output, by adding those who supply the raw material and/or information (suppliers) and those who ultimately receive the product being produced or the service being delivered. To illustrate such effort, we have chosen an easy process, one that many of us have undoubtedly performed before: making a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Let us consider the figure below:

Suppliers: in this example, we want to know which organizations are actually supplying the tools, raw materials, and/or information we need to kick off my process. Grocery store, Hydro co., and hardware store.

Inputs: in this column, we want to list all of the needed supplies my process needs to produce the product or deliver the service. When working with process improvement initiatives (such as Lean), the idea is to build a SIPOC on a "as is" basis, i.e. current state. Here we have bread, peanut butter, jam, and other supplies.

Process: what are the steps needed for the process to transform the inputs into something else? Be mindful of processes that produce a good or deliver a service: either way, there will always be transformation happening, and that is the main point here. As you can see from the figure above, we have listed the steps needed to make the inputs become the product.

Outputs: simply stated, the goods and/or services being delivered: a peanut butter and jam sandwich in this example.

Customers: these may be your final consumer(s) or perhaps the next process that receives what you are in charge of producing/creating. In our example: hungry kids rushing out of the house in the morning.

The usage of a SIPOC diagram can effectively help your organization to develop a pictorial mapping of your processes' elements along with their gaps. Through its various process improvement programs, eZSigma can help customers of any industry to develop, apply, and sustain process improvement initiatives. Get in touch to learn more about eZSigma or visit our website at www.ezsigmagroup.com 

Lean Methodology, The 8 Wastes

It is well known that we, as human beings, undoubtedly always waste resources, be it at your manufacturing setting or at home. Restaurants, hospitals, schools, airports, the list goes on. There is always waste being generated. But more than physical waste, we also always waste time, opportunities, and often, the chance of utilizing people's real talent. The LEAN methodology has brought to us the concept of the 8 wastes, and as incredible as it may sound, every single organization still has plenty of opportunities to start working on waste elimination right now. We would like to offer our captive audience a brief posting on the 8 wastes from what our experienced cast of consultants has learned about waste elimination.

Transportation: physically moving products and people around due to a poor flow of events. Have you found yourself going back and forth from the kitchen simply because the flow of your activities during dinner is all over the map?

Inventory: not only about perishable raw materials that have no need in being purchased ahead of time, but consider the cost of inventory - money sitting on shelves for no reason. The best inventory management practices are the ones focused on JIT (Just in Time).

Motion (or movement): this is about ergonomics, in any sense. Bending, lifting, turning. Layout is extremely important for process efficiency, besides of course, being critical of employees' health.

Waiting: for parts, information, human resources, raw materials, and equipment. In a manufacturing setting, waiting means a waste of money more than anything. In the services industry, it means that you can make it or break it when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Over-production: a classic waste due to inappropriate production planning. Making more than the process really needs creates waste in its purest form. The best practices on this waste elimination approach is the pull system (producing as required), something that Dell Computers and Toyota do effectively.

Over-processing: having too many non-value added steps in the process. Doing things for the sake of doing them. A great way of analyzing what your process current is (current state) and can be (future state) is the VSM tool (Value Stream Mapping).

Defects: an easily identifiable wasted resource, product, or service. It includes re-work, scrap, and corrections. Quality gurus such as Deming and Crosby have stated important advice about "doing it right the first time" and "aiming for zero defects."

Talent and Skills: making workers push the buttons is no longer acceptable. Delegating tasks without training is the road to failure. This is perhaps the most saddening of all wastes. Not utilizing the right talent and skills of the right people on the job is detrimental not only to the entire organization but most importantly, to those who in fact make your product or deliver your service.

3 Steps for a Successful 5S Program

Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke. The 5S program is not new. It has been around for at least 30 years, and it has helped organizations of all sizes in developing a better and safer workplace for employees of any industry. But 5S cannot be just another flavour of the month. The easiest steps of the program (the first 3 Ss) are a lot of fun to execute. They have a visual appeal and instantly deliver change in the workplace. Indeed, the hardest part is the organization's mind changing that will set the workplace ready for the program's longevity. In this post, we offer our audience three steps to make your 5S program last. To learn more about 5S, please visit the links provided below. You can also find dozens of books written about 5S for sale.

1. Establishing ownership: an orphan 5S program is nothing else than political compliance or simply stated, waste of time and money. Large corporations usually pick "champions" or "owners" to be the sponsors of the program, from training to execution. Small- and mid-size companies usually have their owners as the main sponsor. Whoever the organization chooses to be in charge, it is vital that someone is in fact in charge. It is equally important that this someone truly believes that the program will make the organization a safer, more productive, and better workplace - the old "walk the talk" adage.

2. Education: we have seen, in many occasions, a 5S program going down the drain because of lack of education. And we really mean education, not training. Employees need to comprehend why the program is about to be in place, and how the program will change their lives at work. Often, 5S is delivered as a housekeeping program, and a housekeeping program 5S is not. The main idea is to improve the well being of all, not only employees but also customers, vendors, and even the community around your business. The program per se includes housekeeping, but it is far from being it only.

3. Allocating a budget (or not): have no fear, in most cases, a low 5S budget can still make a huge change in the workplace. Furthermore, if the organization simply wants to contract third parties to rebuild, repaint, or even manage the program, it will not achieve the main idea of ownership and commitment from employees. The best 5S programs we have seen did not require a lot of capital or external contracting to be successful. Employees in most cases, when committed, use their intelligence and creativity rather than the company's funds. Of course, inevitably there will always be those cases in which spending is mandatory, but any company can start the program with zero cash for it.

A well implemented 5S program depends on many variables. These are only a few of them, but if the entrepreneur has these simple 3 steps in mind, s/he is off to a great start. If your organization does not have a 5S educated person, and if it is difficult to educate someone onsite, eZSigma can help you to turn your organization into a pleasant and productive workplace.

Selected links:

http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/lean/overview/five-s-tutorial.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5S_(methodology)

Using Scatter Diagrams to Understand Two Variables’ Relationship

Have you ever wondered why a certain product sells more in a given season? Have you thought about how complicated forecasting sales would be without any indication of when your organization should produce more or less? What about hotel chains, how do they work around the optimum occupancy rate?

A Scatter diagram is one of the Seven Traditional Quality Tools. It offers business practitioners an easy way to understand what the correlation between two variables is. But why is it important for you to know that? Imagine that your efforts in either hiring temp workers, or producing a product, or selling a course revolves around not only market demand but also around when the demand exists. Now imagine the amount of defect parts your process produces exactly when you receive shipments from a certain supplier. Understanding the correlation between two variables does exactly that: it lets you explore the possible impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable.  Let’s work with a simple example: consider the relationship between water consumption during a marathon in the summer and the temperature outside. I can certainly state that the hotter it is outside the more water a runner tends to consume. I believe you’d agree with that. Now let us switch gears. Can I say that the more water a runner consumes the hotter it is outside? Not really, the temperatures in the summer have nothing to do with how much water one drinks.

There is also a formula for calculating the relationship between two variables (called correlation coefficient). Excel can easily and quickly calculate that for you. (Check link at the bottom of this post). Furthermore, it is equally important to understand if the two variables you are studying have a weak or a strong correlationship, or if they have a correlationship at all. The image placed at the top of this post shows the more important types of relationships. Put yourself to the challenge: what are the types of relationships your process may have? As always, eZsigma is here to help in case you need further education on this and other topics related to the Seven Quality tools and process improvement.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/excel-help/correl-HP005209023.aspx

Using DMAIC to Improve Your Processes

You may have heard of the acronym, especially if you have had some exposure to the powerful and widely known Six Sigma methodology. But what does DMAIC mean and how is it properly used? Allow us give you a hint: no matter how mature an organization is on process management and control, there is always room for improvement.

DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. It is the core framework behind the Six Sigma approach, and it has helped many organizations in the betterment of their processes. Although a must in any Six Sigma project deployment, DMAIC can also be used on its own. In fact, many quality practitioners use DMAIC as a way of introducing continuous improvement to novice users. DMAIC utilizes a step-by-step approach that is meant to effectively look into undesirable results and bring improvement to any organizational setting (although the focus has been on manufacturing, the framework can be applied to any industry). The following is a brief explanation of how DMAIC is deployed. As always, EZSigma can help your organization in the implementation of this and many other improvement methods.

D (Define): a team charter with clear expectations of high impact projects is a vital component and deliverable of this step. Usually, the team responsible for the project will write down the problem statement,  the main metrics related to it, and the potential opportunities that the organization can gain with an established improved process. Clarity is the key word here.

M (Measure): perhaps the most time consuming step. Data collection can be done through the use of quality tools such as check sheets and/or automated reading systems (PLC). The use of video recording and interviews are also commonly used, but the more quantitative data the better.

A (Analyze): once factual data have been collected, many other tools can aid in the analysis of process behaviour: control charts, scatter diagrams, and regression analysis are just a few of them.

I (Improve): the word redesign is often used in this step. Practitioners look for solutions to the issue or undesirable result previously identified and confirmed by thorough data collection and analysis. The new process is then tested - hypothesis testing and design of experiments (DOE) are often used here.

C (Control): in order for the new process to be sustainable in the long term, a control plan is developed with the sole objective of locking in the newly and better implemented process. The establishment of a routine management program can also help in this step.