bottlenecks

A bottleneck in a system is the stage, resource, or process whose limited capacity constrains the overall throughput. It determines the maximum rate at which the system can deliver outputs, and work tends to accumulate upstream while downstream resources may be idle.

Bottlenecks arise from resource constraints, equipment limitations, poor workflow design, variability in demand or arrival times, maintenance gaps, or quality failures that require rework. They are dynamic: as one bottleneck is addressed, another may become the new bottleneck.

Identification uses metrics such as throughput, cycle time, and resource utilization. Techniques include value stream mapping, process-flow analysis, Little’s law, and process mining. Simulation and line balancing can help locate the bottleneck and test improvements.

Bottlenecks occur in manufacturing, computing, software, networks, and service operations. In manufacturing, a slow machine or station creates queueing upstream. In computing, disk, memory, or network I/O can limit data processing. Management approaches aim to elevate or bypass the bottleneck: add capacity, parallelize tasks, rebalance workloads, change process design, improve preventive maintenance, or apply the theory of constraints.

Key caveat: removing a bottleneck may reveal the next constraint; improvements should consider the system as a whole and avoid shifting delays elsewhere. Balanced improvement focuses on the throughput of the entire system rather than optimizing a single station.