Streamlining Your Process with Sankey Charts: A Visual Guide to Optimizing Workflow

If you’re looking to optimize your workflow and improve the efficiency of your processes, then you might be interested in using Sankey charts. These visual aids are perfect for showing the flow of materials, services, or information through a system, and can help you easily identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. In this article, we’ll go over the basics of Sankey chart creation and some examples of how they can be used to improve your processes.

What Are Sankey Charts?

Sankey charts, named after their creator, George Sankey, are a type of flowchart that shows the direction and relative amounts of materials, services, or information flowing through a system. They are useful for identifying bottlenecks, improving efficiency, and optimizing processes.

Each Sankey chart consists of a set of directed pipes, representing the flow of materials or information, and a set of nodes, representing the points at which the flow can change direction. The nodes are labeled with the type of activity that takes place at each point, such as receiving, processing, or distributing.

How to Create a Sankey Chart

Creating a Sankey chart is relatively straightforward, as long as you have some basic knowledge of flowcharting and diagramming tools. Here are the steps to create a Sankey chart:

1. Choose a diagramming tool: There are many diagramming tools available for creating Sankey charts, such as Lucidchart, Gliffy, and Microsoft Visio. Choose one that you are comfortable using.
2. Add nodes: Start by adding nodes to your diagram to represent the different stages in your process. Each node should be labeled with the type of activity that takes place at that point.
3. Add directed pipes: Next, add directed pipes between the nodes to show the flow of materials or information. The pipes should be labeled with the type of material or information that is flowing through them.
4. Configure pipes: You can configure the direction of the pipes to show the direction of the flow. This can be done using the properties of the pipes or by adding arrows to the ends of the pipes.
5. Customize the chart: You can customize your Sankey chart by changing the appearance of the chart, adding tags or comments, and exporting your chart to a file format of your choice.

Applications of Sankey Charts

Sankey charts are a powerful tool for optimizing workflows and improving the efficiency of processes. Here are some examples of how they can be used:

1. Process mapping: Sankey charts can be used to map out the process of a business or organization, from start to finish. This can help identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement.
2. Supply chain management: Sankey charts can be used to analyze the flow of materials through a supply chain, helping to identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement.
3. Project management: Sankey charts can be used to visualize the flow of work through a project, allowing project managers to identify efficiency bottlenecks and optimize workflows.
4. Customer service: Sankey charts can be used to visualize the flow of customer interactions, from initial contact to resolution, allowing customer service teams to identify areas for improvement and optimize their processes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Sankey charts are a powerful tool for visualizing the flow of materials, services, or information through a system, and can be used to optimize workflows and improve the efficiency of processes. Creating a Sankey chart is relatively straightforward, and there are many diagramming tools available to help you create and customize your charts. Whether you are looking to streamline a business process, improve supply chain management, or optimize customer service, Sankey charts can help you achieve your goals.

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.