Unveiling Efficiency: How Sankey Charts Illuminate Resource Flows and Wastage in Your Organization

In the quest for sustainability and operational excellence, understanding where resources are funneled and where they end up as waste is paramount. Sankey charts, named after Matthew H. Sankey, a New Zealand chemist, serve as invaluable tools in visually representing the flow of resources, materials, energy, or data within an organization. By uncovering both the efficiency of resource use and the locations of inefficiencies, they offer a comprehensive view of your organization’s resource management practices. Let’s explore how Sankey charts can be created and applied to enhance your organization’s efficiency, uncover inefficiencies, and facilitate actionable insights.

Understanding Sankey Charts

Sankey diagrams, a type of flow diagram, display the quantities of materials, energy, information, or people (resources) as they move from one step of a process to another. These diagrams are particularly useful in showcasing the flow transformation, such as energy conversion in power plants, waste management systems, or the distribution of goods.

Sankey diagrams consist of several features:

• Arrows: Represent the movement of resources from one node to another.
• Width of Arrows: Depict the volume of resources flowing from one node to another.
• Skew (orientation) of Arrows): Helps in distinguishing between inputs and outputs or different types of resources.

Creating a Sankey Chart

Creating a Sankey chart involves several steps, each crucial in ensuring the diagram’s effectiveness and ease of interpretation:

1. Data Collection: Begin with detailed data on the flow of resources. This might include the quantity of raw materials entering, the products leaving, the amount of waste generated, etc.

2. Normalization: Depending on the type of data, it might need normalization to ensure that resource flows of vastly different magnitudes are represented accurately and can be compared fairly.

3. Defining Nodes and Arrows: Identify the sources and destinations of resource flows. Label and categorize the resource types moving between nodes.

4. Calculating Arrow Sizes: Use the normalized data to calculate the width of the arrows, which should be proportional to the volume of resources moving.

5. Designing the Chart: Using software like Excel, SankeyDiagram.org, or Python libraries (e.g., Plotly or Bokeh), design the flow with appropriate text labels and colors to enhance clarity and readability.

6. Feedback and Iteration: Shuffle and rearrange the nodes and arrows based on feedback to refine the organization’s flow.

By following these steps, organizations can create a Sankey chart that visually represents their resource flows, revealing opportunities for improvement.

Applications of Sankey Charts

Sankey diagrams are not limited to the manufacturing sector; they are applicable across various industries, including manufacturing, food and agriculture, transportation, and even energy and information networks. Here are some key applications:

• Energy Audit: Sankey diagrams are commonly used in energy audits to visualize and analyze the energy consumption across different systems and processes.

• Waste Management: In waste management, they highlight the efficiency of waste treatment processes, point out where more effort is needed, and can even inform recycling strategies.

• Supply Chain Management: Sankey diagrams can help in identifying and reducing waste in supply chains, enabling cost-saving measures and environmental improvements.

• Healthcare Waste: In healthcare settings, these charts can map pathogens’ flow and identify areas of vulnerability in decontamination processes.

• E-Waste Management: Sankey diagrams illuminate the flow of electronic waste and highlight the steps in the life cycle where significant energy and material inputs are consumed.

Conclusion

Sankey charts are powerful tools that can revolutionize how organizations approach resource management. By visually mapping resource flows and wastage, they enable stakeholders to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements, make informed decisions, and drive sustainable practices within their operations. As organizations continually seek ways to reduce waste and optimize their resource use, Sankey diagrams offer a clear pathway to achieving these goals, underscoring their pivotal role in the environmental and sustainability agenda of the modern business landscape.

SankeyMaster

SankeyMaster is your go-to tool for creating complex Sankey charts . Easily enter data and create Sankey charts that accurately reveal intricate data relationships.