BOTTLENECK

It is commonly called a "bottleneck" to any element, which affects or reduces the production
process of a company, increasing waiting times and reducing productivity, which has as a
consequence the increase in the total time required to complete a process, generating in turn an
increase in the final cost of the product. In this case, we are going to refer to the bottlenecks
within the furniture production chain.

To avoid this, the first thing that furniture factories should do is identify what are the main causes
that may be generating them, and which can usually be summarized as:

Lack of materials: A production process requires inputs and machines that are in good condition.
Proper inventory needs to be carried out to recognize which implementations are failing to avoid
delaying the process and thereby increasing cost.

Lack of operators: when there are not enough operators to repair the machines or to carry out the
respective maintenance work, bottlenecks usually occur.

Incorrect speed - A bottleneck can also occur when a machine or part of the system works faster
or slower than it should - this is one of the most frequent reasons for jams in the production
process. In general, it is caused by a malfunction of the systems that control the process.

Poorly prepared personnel: Having suitable and prepared personnel will advance the production
process in a compact manner. Having a worker who does not know the process or is inefficient can
cause economic and even human losses in the company.

Downtime: occurs when a machine has to be repaired or replaced, in this case it is recommended
to reduce to the minimum possible the time in which the machine remains off. In this sense, you
must have replacement parts or spare parts in stock, in this way it will be possible to reduce the
repair times of the machine.

Lack of warehouses: Companies have problems leaving the products they manufacture due to lack
of space. To avoid this, it is recommended to install intermediate warehouses between those
processes where a bottleneck can occur so that the material is not lost and in turn causes
economic losses.

Administrative disinterest: The managers and heads of the company must be aware of the entire
production process and the possible failures that may be generated in order to mitigate the
damages. If they do not show interest, it will be difficult to comply with the established times,
losing money and especially the prestige gained.

Identifying bottlenecks in a production process will help your company avoid setbacks and losses
that will be difficult to recover.

The phase of the process in which the bottleneck occurs, generally has a large inventory to be
processed because it is slower than the previous processes. For this reason, the following phases
will suffer delays and unwanted downtimes that, finally, translate into reduced production and
increased costs.

To correct this problem, the first thing to do is to identify the bottleneck of the production line and
then apply corrective measures.

One of the most widely used techniques to identify bottlenecks in a production line is process
monitoring, paying more attention to weak phases.

Careful monitoring can identify the exact place where a traffic jam begins, causing delays in the
production process or even bringing the entire system to a standstill.

furniture factory software

How to fix bottlenecks

Bottlenecks can be anticipated from the planning stage of a production process, but there are no
magic bullets to guarantee that they will not appear. That's why you need to be prepared to take
corrective action quickly - it's the best way to prevent bottlenecks from interfering with business
productivity. Some alternatives to manage or correct bottlenecks are:

Identify the obstacle: identify the exact place where the jam has occurred.

Subordinate the rest of the activities to which it is affected: If the problem cannot be solved in the
first instance, a good alternative is to adapt the rest of the process to the rhythm of the phase that
presents the bottleneck while a better solution is found.