Relieving the Bottleneck

A bottleneck, or chokepoint, is the limiting factor in the speed of a process.

 

Continuous improvement process usually deals with this phenomenon using 3-steps:

1. Identify the bottleneck
2. Eliminate the bottleneck
3. Identify the next bottleneck

 

It’s the second step in this process that represents the biggest challenge. Eliminating a bottleneck may call for capital investment. A less expensive alternative is to run the bottleneck area for more hours than the rest of the facility.

 

Suppose a company has seven lines that it runs for five days every week. Each of the lines is fed to a downstream process that is limited, by the bottleneck, to six lines of processing capacity per day. This means that every day the bottleneck falls behind the equivalent of one line of output for one day. By Friday night, the lines are done producing for the week. Meanwhile, the bottleneck has a backlog of five line-days worth of production. The result is:

 

A stockpile of product that is not having value being added = Waste

Quality problems due to higher W.I.P. and slower recognition of flaws

Higher costs associated with higher inventory.

Slower responsiveness to changes in orders.

 

You cannot change what you have already produced and accumulated upstream of the bottleneck.

 

Dealing with the bottleneck can unleash the potential  and unlock the hidden potential in the organization.