Spring 2012 issue of Horizons

The SIPOC Process While various methodologies are available, RubinBrown recommends a tool that can assist you. A SIPOC diagram outlines the Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers in a process. This tool can help management quickly outline each step of the process and determine where problems may exist. The elements of the SIPOC diagram should be discussed by all personnel involved in the process to ensure that all areas of the process are covered. A designated employee should be assigned as the SIPOC lead to ensure that the group stays on task when discussing these elements and that all discussions are recorded in meeting notes.

Once each of the SIPOC elements has been discussed and evaluated, possible issues and inefficient or ineffective procedures will begin to appear. These items, identified through the use of a SIPOC diagram need to be further evaluated to determine if they are truly an issue or simply a false negative. For example, a possible issue identified in the SIPOC discussion could be that payroll information is entered into the payroll system late due to company departments submitting in time sheets after the prescribed deadline. To confirm or disprove this theory, a report could be run from the system to determine when the payroll information was entered and compared to emails from department managers containing the time sheets.

SIPOC Diagram

Using the Automotive Industry as the subject, below is an example of a SIPOC Diagram. While in this example, ‘Suppliers’ and ‘Customers’ are third-party organizations, if the diagram is created for an internal administrative process, the suppliers and customers may be third-party organizations or internal personnel (such as the Marketing Department or the Controller).

Suppliers

Inputs

Process

Output

Customers

• Paint Wholesaler • Local Metal Suppliers • Glass Distributor • Wiring Distributor

• Paint • Metal • Glass • Wiring • Tires

• Vehicle

• Car Dealerships • Consumer • Rental Car Chains

Weld Body of Vehicle

Attach Doors, Hood, Trunk, Windows, Tires

Create Doors, Hood, and Trunk

Connect Wiring

Paint Vehicle

Inspect Vehicle

Create Windows

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