Guillermo Analysis

Bottlenecks in a Process

Katrina Le’Vere

OPS/571

October 16, 2012

PhD Greg Anders

Bottlenecks in a Process

Getting up and preparing to exercise is a daily process. This process can have several bottlenecks that may interrupt the process. I created a flowchart in week one to display visually the sequence of activities of my process. Unforeseen events such as early appointments, children missing the bus, and waking up late have the potential to complicate the process. When the productivity is less than the demand on that process in an operation it is a bottleneck (Goldman, 2012).

Process Bottleneck

Understanding bottlenecks and the concept of “throughput” is important for maximizing efficiency and decreasing its negative effects (Goldman, 2012). After analyzing the flowchart I found the main bottleneck point was choosing/selecting the clothes and exercise digital video disc (DVD) for the day. This constraint caused a 15-minute delay every morning. Once I passed this stage the next task became much faster. My goal was to accomplish my workout no later than six a.m. My second task, which is drinking my cup of coffee, is slightly faster than my bottleneck point. This will increase the throughput of the bottleneck and have a limited impact on the process capacity (Chase, Jacobs, & Aquiliano, 2006).

Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints

The theory of constraints (TOC) helps identify constraints and eliminate them to obtain a goal. The Goldratt’s Theory provides a process in eliminating the constraints. The five focusing steps of TOC include the following (Goldratt, 2009):

1. Identify the constraint

2. Decide how to exploit the system constraints

3. Subordinate everything else to that decision

4. Elevate the system constraints

5. If the constraints increase as a result of doing these steps, return to step one so that inertia does not constrain the system (Goldratt, 2009). There are ways to eliminate properly...