In manufacturing, a bottleneck (also known as a constraint) occurs when one part of the production process receives more work requests than it can handle, even at its maximum capacity.
This point of congestion can ultimately limit the output of the entire chain of assembly, stalling production, disappointing customers, and diminishing employee morale. The same concept applies in management and logistics, except it is the flow of information and work instructions that are stalled.
Conducting a Bottleneck Analysis
Bottleneck analysis is the process of examining a bottleneck to develop a course of action for resuming efficient operations. The analysis serves to identify bottlenecks in the production process, acquire relevant data, find solutions to address bottlenecks, and increase production capacity.
How Do You Know When You Have a Bottleneck?
There are two key indicators that there is a bottleneck somewhere within a production line.
- Employees are unable to do their jobs because they are waiting for products or parts.
- Certain products or parts are building up along the production line waiting to be used.
How Do You establish the Root Cause of the Bottleneck?
Finding the source of a bottleneck is usually fairly straight forward – simply look for the biggest build-up of parts and products that are waiting to be worked on. But there are many possible causes, which include:
- Machinery is unable to keep up with demand.
- Insufficient workforce or a lack of appropriately skilled employees.
- Inefficient or overly complex processes, e.g. lengthy set-up times.
- Faulty equipment.
- Miscommunication along the production line.
How Do You Resolve the Issue of a Bottleneck?
There are several possible solutions for resolving bottlenecks. In the short term, manufacturers might consider only producing products that link to existing orders or adding additional work shifts and overtime at the bottleneck to improve output. In the long-term, purchasing additional equipment, upskilling employees, replacing existing machinery, and simplifying processes are viable solutions.
Here are some of the tools used in bottleneck analysis:
- DMAIC – Define, measure, analyze, improve, and control is a data-driven, five-step quality strategy used to improve processes.
- Theory of Constraints (TOC) – This is a methodology for identifying a constraint standing in the way of a goal, testing it, and improving it until it no longer impacts that goal.
- Root Cause Analysis – This analysis leverages “5 Why’s,” which is an interrogative technique designed to uncover the cause-and-effect relationship underlying a problem.
- Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa) – Invented by quality control expert Kaoru Ishikawa, the Fishbone Diagram is a visual technique for root cause analysis and problem-solving. In manufacturing, it is a useful tool for causal analysis.
