pullonkaivon

Pullonkaivon, in Finnish literally meaning bottleneck, is a term used to describe the point in a process or system where capacity is insufficient to meet demand, thereby limiting overall throughput. The concept is used across manufacturing, services, and logistics to identify where the flow of work becomes the slowest link.

In production and manufacturing, the bottleneck governs the rate at which the entire line can operate. The concept also applies to service delivery, software delivery pipelines, and logistics networks. The bottleneck can be caused by limited equipment, skilled labor, scheduling, or variability in processing times. It often results in queues, increased lead times, and higher work-in-progress stock at the bottleneck station, while other parts may be underutilized.

To identify a bottleneck, observers look for accumulating work, long cycle times at a specific operation, or utilization that approaches or exceeds capacity. Tools include value stream mapping, Little's Law, and throughput analysis, as well as process mining and line-balancing studies. Once identified, strategies aim to elevate performance at the bottleneck. Common approaches include expanding capacity at the bottleneck (adding machines or staff), improving efficiency or uptime, rescheduling to level demand, reducing variability, and redistributing work. In some cases, introducing parallel processing, buffering, or outsourcing non-core steps helps.

The concept is central to the Theory of Constraints (TOC), which emphasizes improving the bottleneck to raise system-wide throughput. After optimizations, a new bottleneck may emerge elsewhere, requiring ongoing evaluation. Real-world examples include manufacturing assembly lines, call centers with limited agents, hospital triage, and software deployment pipelines.