Time to Read: 5 min
6 ways to avoid bottlenecks in your factory!
- Increase productivity by up to 20% now!
Don’t want to deal with bottlenecks in logistics, provision and assembly?
If you don’t regularly take care of your bottlenecks, in the worst case scenario it can lead to your customers being dissatisfied. Do bottlenecks also lead to
- Delayed deliveries?
- Too little space on the assembly line?
- Quality problems?
- Increased costs due to e.g. overtime?
Where do bottlenecks occur?
Classic bottlenecks in intralogistics can be
- Capacity: this can be caused by an overload of storage space or resources, such as personnel or means of transport, as well as under-utilization of resources.
- Material provision: This can be caused by delivery difficulties or delivery delays, incorrectly provided materials, materials that are not provided on time or in the wrong quantity or quality. In addition, disorganized material provision can lead to long search times and idle times for assembly staff.
- Warehouse management: Poor inventory management or inefficient processes. In addition, incorrectly planned material requirements or high fluctuations in material requirements can lead to bottlenecks.
- Material movement: Insufficient number of transportation means, delays in transportation, due to overutilized transportation routes and routes.
- Material processing: Delays can be caused by inadequate equipment at the workplace or a lack of personnel. A confusing workplace or poorly trained personnel can also be another reason.
Important! A bottleneck in one area always has an impact on the entire system. So always look at the whole picture.
Uncover bottlenecks in 6 steps!
There are various ways to avoid bottlenecks in intralogistics and production. We have listed the following six options for you.
- Step 1: Identify critical resources
It is important to identify the critical resources in production, such as machines, raw materials or labor. Bottlenecks can occur if there is a shortage of these resources. - Step 2: Analyze and monitor KPIs
This involves recording and evaluating data relevant to production: production times, downtimes, reject rates and throughput. Bottlenecks can be identified by analyzing and regularly reviewing this data. - Step 3: Check production processes
It is important to regularly review the production processes in order to identify bottlenecks. Checklists or audits, for example, can help here. - Step 4: Interview employees
Employees should be involved in identifying bottlenecks. They are usually quicker to recognize bottlenecks and may also be able to suggest solutions - Step 5: Comparison with others
Comparison with other companies or factories can help to identify best practices and avoid mistakes that others have already made. - Step 6: Simulate
A virtual replica can help to identify bottlenecks. In the virtual environment, processes can be simulated and bottlenecks can be identified before they occur in reality.
6 ways to avoid bottlenecks!
There are various ways to avoid bottlenecks in intralogistics and production. We have listed the following six options for you.
Way 1: Optimize processes regularly
Bottlenecks can often be quickly identified and eliminated by analyzing and optimizing existing processes.
Path 2: Increase capacities
Bottlenecks and overloading of employees or resources can be avoided by using larger storage areas, more means of transportation or by employing more staff.
Path 3: Use automation technologies
The use of technologies such as automated storage racks or pick-by-voice systems can increase efficiency and prevent bottlenecks in material transportation/provision.
Path 4: Inventory management
Optimizing inventory management and ordering processes can help to reduce waiting times for deliveries and improve the utilization of storage space. Buffer stocks can also be a good way of absorbing fluctuations in the material flow. Close cooperation with suppliers and close communication are also necessary when planning stocks. In this way, early information about bottlenecks can help to minimize delivery difficulties.
Path 5: Lean management
Lean management methods such as Kanban, JIT, Kaizen and 5S can help to increase efficiency and reduce throughput times. We will show you how lean management can help you avoid bottlenecks in our webinar >>click here for the free webinar on lean management
Way 6: Simulation software
Simulate possible changes, such as an increasing production quantity or a changing production program, and identify bottlenecks before they occur in production/factory. You can see how simulation software can support you in this >>here more about simulation software
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