Manufacturing Risk Advisor: Manufacturing Bottlenecks

As manufacturing organizations hire more staff and adopt new technologies and processes to stay ahead, unaddressed bottlenecks can prevent organizations from reaping the full benefits of these efforts. As such, it is important for organization leaders to identify and address bottlenecks to increase efficiency and promote effective risk management.

Addressing Bottlenecks

A bottleneck is a part of an operation that limits its overall effectiveness. Bottlenecks can negatively impact an organization, resulting in production being stalled, supplies being overstocked, reduced employee morale and lower customer satisfaction. Bottlenecks are most commonly caused by equipment, people or processes that are not operating as efficiently as intended.

Equipment bottlenecks are typically the result of equipment breakdown. Equipment that is aging, being run at full capacity for long periods of time and operated by inexperienced employees can all cause equipment to wear down and be unable to perform as efficiently as intended or required. Regular equipment inspections and maintenance can help remedy these bottlenecks, but costly equipment replacements may be required in extreme cases.

Employee bottlenecks generally result from employees who are overworked, inexperienced or unmotivated. Understanding where each employee is most valuable, making them readily available when and where they’re needed, providing extensive training and placing a focus on employee satisfaction can help to remedy any bottlenecks caused by employees.

Process bottlenecks commonly result from outdated policies or procedures that do not account for changes made throughout the organization. Reviewing and updating processes and policies on an annual basis with department leaders can help prevent these bottlenecks from occurring.