1. Are bottlenecks keeping your
operation from fulfilling its potential?
BY MIKE CATALANO | TRIVISTA ASSOCIATE
B
ottlenecks—the steps in
a process that govern
the speed of the entire
operation—are a common headache
in the manufacturing world. Unlike
the bottlenecks we experience in
our daily lives, such as a broken-
down car on the freeway making us
late for work, production bottlenecks
are not simple annoyances or
inconveniences. On the contrary, in
a business they can translate into
significant opportunity loss if left
untreated. Yet, while it’s often easy
to identify a bottleneck on the shop
floor, figuring out how to manage it is
a much more complex undertaking.
The root cause of a bottleneck is
often buried deep inside a process
and only becomes apparent
through rigorous investigation and
experimentation.
Consider the case of a high-end
home furnishings manufacturer.
The company was failing to meet
its production targets for one of its
most popular items because the
manufacturing process of a key
component was continually falling
behind. Prior to final assembly,
this component required significant
amounts of sanding, painting,
and buffing—a process that rarely
went as smoothly as the company
expected. In fact, the department
responsible for this component
regularly found itself having to
rework, and sometimes even scrap
the product due to a wide range
of defects. Doing so not only
slowed down the entire production
process for the end product, but
also cost the company hundreds of
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2. thousands of dollars in wasted labor
and materials.
It was clear the paint department’s
inability to consistently produce
components that met the
company’s quality standards was
the bottleneck. What wasn’t so
clear was the root cause of that
inconsistency. Why were defects
able to find their way onto the
finished component despite
workers’ best efforts to avoid them?
The company needed help and
asked TriVista to find a solution.
Our team first used Value Stream
Maps and Pareto Analysis (Figure
1) to assess the existing process
to track the number and types of
defects produced over a four week
timeframe. This in-depth analysis
revealed that dust particles in the
paint was the single-biggest cause
of rework. Knowing this, we then
had to determine the source of
the dust. Although a large range
of variables in the paint process
could have been causing the
contamination, by using Design
of Experiments (DOE) and other
advanced statistical methods, we
found that the facility infrastructure
and lack of discipline required to
control paint room conditions was
the primary contributor to the
bottleneck. Our team developed
a relatively inexpensive solution: a
more efficient layout and process
for the existing paint room and
production facility. We also designed
and implemented a future state
facility change to ensure continued
success of the new process.
By locating and managing the
true cause of the bottleneck,
the company was able to boost
production by as much as 40
percent—allowing them to keep
pace with demand and increase
revenue.
The home furnishings company’s
experience is a perfect example
of why a rigorous and disciplined
approach is needed to resolve
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FIGURE 1
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$-
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SALES PARETO

3. production bottlenecks. Such an
approach typically incorporates the
DMAIC Process (Figure 2):
Define:
As mentioned earlier, a company
generally knows where the
bottleneck is: It’s the slowest
activity delaying the rest of the
process. However, pinpointing the
reason why that particular activity
is slow is crucial, and requires more
than a casual look. Two powerful
tools are especially useful in
helping a company identify areas
that merit deeper investigation.
One tool is a Value Stream Map,
which illustrates the entire activity
or process, including cycle time,
current steps, delays, information
flows, and defects. Another is a
Spaghetti Diagram (Figure 3), which
helps pinpoint wasted movements
that are adding unnecessary time
to a process.
Measure:
To be able to improve a process,
it is essential that a company
understands where it’s starting
from. Therefore, it must collect a
wide range of process performance
data to establish a current
baseline. Ultimately, this baseline
will be compared to performance
metrics gathered after the project
is complete in order to objectively
determine whether significant
improvement has been made.
Analyze:
Getting beneath the surface and
uncovering what’s really going
on generally requires next-level
assessment tools such as the “5
Why” Analysis and a Fishbone
Diagram, which help uncover cause-
and-effect relationships. In some
instances, use of these tools may
reveal that a bottleneck has multiple
causes, in which case a company
must then determine how it wants
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STAGING AREA
NEW PRODUCT
STAGING AREA
NEW PRODUCT
STAGING AREA
PRODUCTION AREA
PACKING AREA
SCALE
OFFICE
SCRAP
STAGING
AREA
INVENTORY
INVENTORY
UNLOADING ZONE
INVENTORY
Current State flow
Future State flow
SPAGHETTI DIAGRAM
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 2

4. to address them. A Pareto Analysis
is helpful here, as it enables a
company to prioritize the necessary
changes based on which will be
most successful in eliminating or
reducing the bottleneck.
Improve:
Once a company knows which root
cause to attack, it can then design
and implement a solution. Typically,
a solution will involve either Lean
Management, Six Sigma Principles,
or many times a combination of both.
A lean solution is one that primarily
targets reducing waste—especially
excess steps or movements that
can slow a process down. Six Sigma,
on the other hand, focuses on
reducing variation through methods
such as statistical modeling and
experimentation (as was the case
with the furnishings manufacturer).
In either case, a solution may entail
new processes, new systems, new
skills, or sometimes even a change
in company culture.
Control:
To ensure the new process
maintains optimal performance,
a company must monitor and
control it. Methods such as Visual
Management and Statistical Process
Control help a company keep
tabs on the operation by spotting
potential signs of problems, such
as a drop in quality or output, thus
enabling them to respond quickly.
It’s worth repeating that the
purpose of this approach is finding
the true cause of a bottleneck, not
simply addressing the symptom
as many companies are apt to do.
For instance, the home furnishings
company knew its paint and finish
process was slower than desired
because of defects in the finish,
but a common sentiment in the
organization was that the defects
would subside if painters were
better trained or had better paint
guns. Without taking a more
comprehensive look at its operation,
the company may have wasted
more time and money on training
programs and new equipment
which would have yielded the same
results – a high amount of rework
and scrapped components.
Just because a company learns to
manage and improve one bottleneck,
doesn’t mean the job is done. There
will always be a bottleneck, a slowest
activity, or process that prevents
an operation from running at full
potential. That’s why maintaining
a continuous improvement mindset
is critical to managing bottlenecks
as production processes develop
and change to meet customer
requirements. The ultimate goal
is to manage bottlenecks as much
as possible to ensure production
can continue to efficiently and
effectively satisfy demand.
For more information on Production
Bottlenecks, please contact us at
info@trivista.com or call 949-218-4830.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Catalano brings TriVista clients a dynamic range of Mechanical Engineering
skills paired with deep Lean Six Sigma knowledge and experience to develop and
implement continuous improvement projects. Since joining TriVista in 2011, Mike has
led and supported over 25 engagements in the US, Canada, and Mexico helping
businesses eliminate waste, improve quality, and increase productivity through
operational excellence. As an Associate, Mike excels in statistically analyzing
data, diagnosing problems, developing solutions, and not only implementing those
solutions but training onsite staff in maintaining improvements.
To learn more about our services, visit www.trivista.com, call 949-218-4830, or email
info@trivista.com.
MIKE CATALANO
ASSOCIATE