BUS606: Operations and Supply Chain Management

The problem analysed in this paper concentrate on analysis of the production process to identify the bottlenecks and to analyse the state of the process. This problem is very important from industrial organization point of view, because bottlenecks are very dangerous from production time point of view. We need to identify them and next analyse all the process with the times of operation. The next stage could be to use lean management methods to reduce this time. For example the SMEAD method can be useful in this situation. 

The aim of presented paper is to identify the bottleneck in the production process and to analyse operations times in the production process. The SMED analysis will be presented in another paper.

The paper was prepared as a result of project 13/030/BK_18/0039 Development of intelligent production methods as well as work and life environments in the context of production engineering challenges.

According to Cambridge English dictionary we can define the bottleneck term as a problem that delays progress. Other definitions of this term are for example as follows:

• department, facility, machine, or resource already working at its full capacity and which, therefore, cannot handle any additional demand placed on it. Also called critical resource, a bottleneck limits the throughput of associated resources, 
• bottleneck in production is a point where an operation meets or exceeds the capacity of the facility. In other words, the factory or department can't produce enough units fast enough to keep the rest of the production schedule or other daily operations flowing at the same rate.

According to the theory of constraints (TOC), the central task of an effective production management is to find and eliminate the impact of a bottleneck in a company. We can divide the production management into three types from the occurrence of the bottleneck point of view:

• management in a situation with no bottleneck in the production process,
• management in a situation with one bottleneck in the production process,
• management in a situation with many bottlenecks in the production process.

The absence of bottlenecks in the production process means that the production productivity is enough to achieve forecast sales. If one bottleneck occurs, it needs to be determined whether there is only one production process or whether alternative production processes are possible. Contribution margin analysis for individual combinations of products and processes is a useful tool in this case. If it turns out that there are several parallel bottlenecks in the production process, the decision becomes more complex. In such an event, solutions to these problems should be founded with the use of linear programming methods.

The Theory of Constraits (TOC) is an organizational methodology of change that focuses on improving profit. The basic premise of a TOC is that each organization has at least one limitation, one factor not allowing more than anything to be the purpose of the organization. This is usually a profit.

TOC focuses on process constraints, production organization and also on "Bottlenecks" in different production products. However, the TOC does not focus exclusively on production constraints. Factors such as market demand are taken into account, or the ability to turn this demand into an on-demand sales force. So not only production, but also distribution, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and HR (human resources) are taken into account.

After solving the problem, the system capacity limits increase, but this does not mean that they become infinite, because most often, another resource becomes a new cause of further limitations. It is worth pointing out that the proper implementation of the various steps of the TOC cycle will make the existing constraints an opportunity for enterprise development. The key to the success of an enterprise is to understand what limitations exist in its system. We should in this case ask some question. At the strategic level, which limits the creation of exceptional value for our customers? And at operational level, which limits the flow velocity increase? The term "constraint" has in common everyday negative connotations. However, the Theory of Constraints suggests a different perspective. The limitation of the system is, in fact, the point of leverage of the whole system. Once the goals of the system are well defined, understanding its limitations is key to building a game plan - strategies and tactics that guide us to achieve the goal.