flaskehalse

Flaskehalse refers to the part of a system whose limited capacity constrains overall performance. In production, logistics, services and software, a bottleneck is the stage or resource that determines the maximum rate at which outputs can be produced. When a bottleneck exists, it often causes a buildup of work-in-progress before it and leaves other parts of the process underutilized relative to demand.

Bottlenecks arise from insufficient capacity, long setup times, equipment downtime, variability in demand or processing times, quality issues, or misalignment between process steps. They typically manifest as queues or delays at the bottleneck and can ripple through the entire system, reducing throughput and extending lead times.

Key indicators include throughput, cycle time, utilization, and queue lengths. Identifying the bottleneck involves observing where the longest queues form, where work piles up, or where capacity is consistently stretched relative to demand.

Mitigation strategies aim to relieve or bypass the constraint. Options include increasing the bottleneck capacity, speeding up its processing time, reducing variability, improving setup times, cross-training staff, adding parallel resources, or rearranging the process layout. In the Theory of Constraints, the drum-buffer-rope method aligns production pace to the bottleneck.

Flaskehalse are a central concept in manufacturing and service operations, but bottlenecks also occur in networks, traffic systems and software pipelines. Effective bottleneck management focuses on identifying constraints, measuring their impact, and implementing targeted improvements to raise overall system performance.