A bottleneck restricts production, akin to a narrow funnel point.
It leads to backups, surplus inventory, and inefficiencies, hindering overall output.
Why Is Bottleneck Analysis Important?
Identify and resolve roadblocks to improve production flow, unlocking capabilities, reducing lead times, and optimizing overall performance.
What are the goals?
Bottleneck analysis aims to boost throughput, cut cycle times, and eliminate waste within processes for continuous production, leading to happier customers.
Relationship to Lean Principles
Clearing bottlenecks aligns with lean manufacturing, delivering value while minimizing waste.
Workflow mapping aids structured continuous improvement for efficiency.
Identifying Bottlenecks
Several lean tools and techniques can be employed to pinpoint the areas causing delays
VSM visualizes material and information flow, enhancing efficiency.
Value Stream Mapping
Analyze process cycle time to identify bottlenecks and enhance throughput.
Bottleneck analysis with Process Cycle Efficiency
Takt time guides production rate to meet customer demand efficiently.
Takt time calculations
Gemba walks reveal workflow insights, aiding bottleneck identification and improvement.
With Gemba walks & observations
Identifying the true root cause of a bottleneck is crucial for effectively resolving it.
Root Cause Analysis
Iterative questioning reveals root causes by asking "why" repeatedly.
5 Whys technique
Ex., if a bottleneck is identified in a packaging line, the 5 Whys might go like this:
Why is the packaging line bottlenecked?
Why is the labeling machine running slow?
Why are the labels not feeding properly?
Why is the label roll misaligned?
Why didn’t the operator follow the proper setup procedure?
Fishbone diagram organizes potential causes systematically for bottleneck analysis.
Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagram
Data analysis complements qualitative techniques, enhancing root cause identification.