Saturday, September 23, 2006

SIPOC - Introduction

SIPOC - Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customer

A Six Sigma tool that stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customer. It enables an overall view of a process by a team.

Typically a team tool that is used to classify any and all important aspects of any given process in order to perfect the process prior to beginning work. It is similar and related to Process Mapping and 'In/Out Of Scope' tools, but provides additional detail.

Required inputs for the teams to take into account are...
S - the Suppliers to the process
I - the Inputs to the process
P - the Process the team is trying to improving
O - the Outputs of the process
C - the Customers that get the process's outputs
(Sometimes customer condition are added to the end of an SIPOC to be used for additional facts)

In order for SIPOC to be effective, the teams must be thoroughly decisive on who supplies the inputs to the process, the specifications that are identify on all the inputs of that process, accurately identify who the actual customers will be of the process that is being improved, and exactly what are those customer requirements.

The SIPOC tool is particularly useful when it is not clear:
Who supplies Inputs to the process?
What specifications are placed on the Inputs?
Who are the true Customers of the process?
What are the Requirements of the customers?

Example >>