Lean manufacturing focuses on eliminating waste and optimizing processes to achieve maximum efficiency and expediency. This means bottlenecks are in many ways the natural adversaries of lean principles. Any point along your supply chain or production line where activity is throttled, for any reason, becomes a serious hindrance to your efficiency. As a result, work slows down to a crawl, teams are left waiting for others to catch up, and productivity plummets.
This is why conducting a bottleneck analysis in lean manufacturing operations is such a critical step for manufacturers to take. Allowing bottlenecks to exist in your processes and facilities hinders your true potential. Uncovering these choke points is extremely important, but it requires expertise and a keen eye to identify them. How can your operations improve bottleneck identification and open them up once and for all? Read on to learn more about this continuous improvement process and how to implement it.
What is bottleneck analysis?
Broadly defined, a manufacturing bottleneck is any process, machine or resource that slows down the flow of product through a production line, leading to a reduction in manufacturing capacity. These inefficiencies can result from outdated equipment, poorly designed floor plans, lack of human resources, inefficient supply chains and many other issues.
A bottleneck analysis in manufacturing is a systematic approach to identifying these problems wherever they may exist throughout a manufacturing operation and determining the best way to resolve them. The concept is based on the Theory of Constraints, a lean methodology that’s focused on the idea that improving the slowest process within an operation can have a significant positive impact on capacity. In this application of the idea, decision-makers rely on heavy amounts of data pertaining to cycle times, production rates and queue lengths to guide their efforts.
Identifying bottlenecks in production
There are many different components that make up a bottleneck analysis. This is because there are so many types of bottlenecks in manufacturing and causes that can lead to their development. Here are some of the most common techniques used by analysts as they conduct a bottleneck analysis:
- Cycle time analysis: Each stage of the manufacturing process should be timed to see how long it takes. The longest step is a good place to begin looking for potential bottlenecks, as it most likely indicates an issue.
- Queue indicators: Observing each workstation may reveal one where products tend to accumulate rather than progress to the next phase. This is likely an indicator of an issue at that specific station.
- Observation and Gemba walks: By observing the production floor firsthand, managers might uncover areas where workers are idle, machinery frequently breaks down or any processes that could be made more efficient.
- Digital tools: Modern manufacturing setups often take advantage of Industrial Internet of Things technology, which gives manufacturers real-time insights into processes through sensors that can detect higher wait times at various points.
Tools and techniques for resolving bottlenecks
Once issues are detected in the production line, there are numerous methods manufacturers can use to eliminate or lessen bottlenecks, including:
- Continuous flow adjustments: In some cases, proper resource utilization is the underlying issue. This means re-balancing lines or re-allocating labor could help alleviate the problem.
- Workstation redesign: Rearranging tools or changing the ergonomics of a specific workstation can make the job easier for the assigned worker and cut down on the amount of unnecessary effort that may be causing a bottleneck.
- Process standardization: Sometimes, the problem is that processes may not be standardized. This can lead to variable results and unpredictable cycle times. Standardizing processes can streamline operations and create consistent results.
- Kaizen/rapid improvement events: These focused, short-term projects are usually deployed to address specific concerns within a manufacturing process. This makes them ideally suited for addressing bottlenecks.
Measuring results and gains from bottleneck identification
Without a clear understanding of your key performance indicators (KPIs), it’s nearly impossible to tell whether your efforts have been successful at eliminating bottlenecks. This is why manufacturers need to focus on tracking these metrics such as lead time, on-time delivery rates and work-in-progress levels. Even once the solution is implemented, these KPIs need to be studied continuously to make sure the problem doesn’t re-emerge or evolve into other issues elsewhere. Changes to your standard operating procedures must be published and communicated to employees to prevent bad habits from overtaking any progress made. The successes you experience in resolving bottlenecks should be shared with everyone on the team to make it clear that this process achieves results. All these measures are essential to sustain the positive changes achieved through the bottleneck analysis and reduction process.
Overcoming common challenges in bottleneck analysis
No process is foolproof, and manufacturers need to be aware of some of the most common pitfalls that can hurt their efforts in finding and eliminating bottlenecks. For example, poor data collection can paint the wrong picture of what’s truly going on in the production process. Data-driven manufacturing through connected equipment can make this much smoother. Another common hurdle is understanding how complex processes interact with each other to create bottlenecks, but this can be overcome with the help of value stream mapping to create an easy-to-follow visualization of how everything fits together. If employees are not fully engaged with the process, it can lead to key aspects being overlooked and solutions not being implemented to the fullest. This is why manufacturers need to make sure they have everyone’s buy-in before getting started.
Bottlenecks can throw your company’s lean manufacturing journey off the rails, but they don’t have to. With the proper amount of care and attention, you can resolve these issues in your processes and achieve the levels of performance and efficiency you want. For more information about implementing lean methodologies and bottleneck analysis, get in touch with the experts at ATS today to learn about our industrial maintenance services.
