{"id":1633,"date":"2021-08-17T21:08:29","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T13:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobman.com.au\/?p=1633"},"modified":"2022-10-12T12:24:45","modified_gmt":"2022-10-12T04:24:45","slug":"identify-eliminate-production-bottlenecks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/articles\/identify-eliminate-production-bottlenecks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Identify & Eliminate Production Bottlenecks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actionable tips to banish bottlenecks from your processes<\/h2>\n

Bottlenecks can bring production to a standstill. Every manufacturer knows the feeling of encountering a backlog, but manufacturing bottlenecks build up subtly in many cases.<\/p>\n

By the time the problem gets your attention, you\u2019ve probably missed an order deadline, blown the budget, or burnt out an employee.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make sure that doesn\u2019t happen to your business.<\/p>\n

What is a bottleneck in a manufacturing process?<\/h2>\n

Manufacturing bottlenecks are delays in one stage of the production process. They occur when too much work builds up, creating a queue. Downstream processes slow to a crawl until the queue clears.<\/p>\n

There are two types of bottlenecks in manufacturing:<\/p>\n

1. Short-term Bottlenecks<\/h3>\n

Temporary snags that will resolve themselves.<\/p>\n

For example, a skilled employee goes on holiday or gets sick, your order is stuck in the Suez Canal, or a CNC machine fails unexpectedly.<\/p>\n

2. Long-term Bottlenecks<\/h3>\n

More pernicious bottlenecks that repeatedly frustrate the production process (and your team).<\/p>\n

Things like inefficient material transfer processes, manual reporting tasks and double data entry.<\/p>\n

How to identify bottlenecks<\/h2>\n

If you can identify bottlenecks, you\u2019re well on your way to increasing productivity. Short-term bottlenecks are usually obvious, while long-term issues tend to show up when you dig into process data with a strategic approach.<\/p>\n

Here are 4 approaches to identifying production bottlenecks:<\/p>\n

1. Map Your Processes<\/h3>\n

Visualise your production process to see where tasks are building up into a backlog. Jobman\u2019s agenda screens will help you identify the exact stage where production slows.<\/p>\n

Bonus tip: Take this opportunity to employ value stream mapping, a Lean strategy we discussed <\/i>in this blog<\/i><\/a>, to turn bottlenecks into boons.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"
Jobman’s Agenda Screens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Look For Accumulations<\/h3>\n

In single-line operations, it\u2019s easy to spot the machine or operator with the longest queue. But when you run multiple concurrent lines, identifying the inefficiency requires a more complex analysis \u2013 and a good process map (see above).<\/p>\n

3. Adjust Throughput<\/h3>\n

Throughput and bottlenecks are directly related. Increase throughput one machine at a time; the process stage with the biggest impact on output is your bottleneck.<\/p>\n

\"High<\/h3>\n

4. The 5 Whys Technique<\/h3>\n

When you notice an issue, ask, \u201cwhy is it happening?\u201d Then ask, \u201cwhy is that <\/i>happening?\u201d<\/p>\n

Repeat the process a few more times \u2013 this is the 5 Whys technique.<\/p>\n

By the 5th<\/sup> layer down, you should understand what is causing the bottleneck.<\/p>\n

How to eliminate bottlenecks<\/h2>\n

Now, here\u2019s how to eliminate production bottlenecks and unlock productivity:<\/p>\n

Avoid Idle Capacity<\/h3>\n

Keep the bottleneck stage loaded to full capacity. There is a downstream ripple effect; slowing production because of a bottleneck doesn\u2019t solve the issue; it only encourages lower output.<\/p>\n

Reduce Strain On The Bottleneck<\/h3>\n

Make sure your product is in the best possible shape when it reaches the bottleneck stage.\u00a0Things like inefficient material transfer processes, manual reporting tasks and double data entry.<\/p>\n

Manage WIP Limits<\/h3>\n

Focus on getting one thing done at a time. If you don\u2019t have WIP (work-in-progress) limits in place, set them.<\/p>\n

WIP limits prevent your workforce or equipment from receiving too many different tasks at once, leading to inefficient context switching.<\/p>\n

Jobman\u2019s capacity planning features<\/a> make managing WIP limits a breeze.<\/p>\n

\"3d
Capacity Planning Feature in Jobman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Jobman’s Target Calendar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Process Work In Batches<\/h3>\n

Especially for custom manufacturers, batching similar jobs is another way to avoid context switching.<\/p>\n

It might only take a few minutes to recalibrate your equipment for a different type of task, but those minutes quickly add up to hours.<\/p>\n

This is where Jobman\u2019s job scheduling<\/a> tool enables you to quickly shuffle jobs for the most productive outcome.<\/p>\n

For example, Jobman allows for different Job types to be viewed on the target calendar. Meaning you could batch jobs that are outsourced for painting to reduce courier expenses.<\/p>\n

Curious to know more about eliminating production bottlenecks? Contact the Jobman team<\/a> for advice on managing your manufacturing business more efficiently with Australia\u2019s leading ERP software.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actionable tips to banish bottlenecks from your processes Bottlenecks can bring production to a standstill. Every manufacturer knows the feeling of encountering a backlog, but manufacturing bottlenecks build up subtly…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,4,13,20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alerts","8":"category-erp","9":"category-job-scheduling","10":"category-reporting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobman.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}