Factory management: A five-step approach to quickly overcoming production bottlenecks

Thread Content

Introduction to bottlenecks: Production bottlenecks refer to factors that hinder the smooth progress of production, and they are generally divided into “dynamic bottlenecks” and “static bottlenecks”. “A “dynamic bottleneck” refers to the bottlenecks that arise randomly on a daily basis during the production process, such as those caused by personnel, equipment, materials, etc., which affect the smooth progress of production. For example, delays in the supply of raw materials lead to intermittent shutdowns while waiting for those materials ； “A \"static bottleneck\" refers to a situation in which, over the long term, one specific bottleneck factor leads to issues such as insufficient production, low efficiency, and poor quality. Whether it is a “dynamic bottleneck” or a “static bottleneck”, managers need to resolve them quickly during the production management process. However, many companies approach dealing with production bottlenecks in a way that resembles holding a \"sports competition.\" For example, when a company faces capacity constraints and is unable to deliver goods on time as required by customers, it resorts to issuing strict orders and forcing employees to work overtime in order to complete deliveries promptly ； Some companies resort to the \"troop mobilization tactic\": if 50 people cannot complete the task, 20 more are added; if it’s still not done after adding those 20, then 10 more are added… I call these tactics and overtime efforts \"firefighting\" methods, and their results are often inefficient. To quickly overcome production bottlenecks, are there any more effective and powerful methods besides these? Today, I will show you the specific methods used by Teacher Langou to quickly overcome production bottlenecks when providing management consulting services in companies. I summarize it as the “five-step approach to quickly breaking through production bottlenecks”: 1. Data collection. When it comes to data analysis, many managers say things like, “I have statistics on the defect rate; I have statistics on the output per production process…” These are only superficial forms of data analysis. What we need to do is conduct more in-depth data analysis. Behind data statistics lies the presentation of problems; therefore, when conducting data analysis, managers should not focus solely on the final results while ignoring the data related to the process. Otherwise, it will result in lack of specificity when formulating actions to overcome bottlenecks, leading to significant waste of human, material, and financial resources. What is the correct way to conduct data statistics? Data statistics are divided into data statistics of results and data statistics of process causes. For example, if the output of a certain production process is low, it is necessary to collect the following data: (1) Data on capacity utilization, that is, capacity utilization analysis ； (2) What causes the low production capacity: quality issues? Process issue? Issues with technical documentation? To determine the proportion of each issue as calculated through data statistics ； (3) If quality issues account for the largest proportion, it is necessary to further break down and analyze the proportions of various causes behind these quality issues. By breaking down things step by step and refining them further, the proportion of each issue can be determined; this is the data analysis based on process reasons. Behind the problem is efficiency. Only by tallying the proportion of each issue can targeted solutions be developed. So, the first thing to do is to conduct data analysis, and this analysis is not a superficial, result-oriented one; rather, it involves an in-depth analysis of the underlying reasons and processes. “\"Using data for management\" is a key point for every manager to achieve self-improvement and breakthroughs. Production managers must abandon the habit of managing based on experience and intuition; instead, they should use statistical data and a quantitative management approach to address and overcome the production bottlenecks in the factory. 2. Problem analysis. With the very detailed data statistics obtained earlier, a foundation is laid for problem analysis. Conduct cause analysis one by one regarding material issues, quality issues, process issues, and planning issues. In fact, many people know exactly what causes the bottleneck problem, as they are present in the workshop every day and are almost all experts. It seems that cause analysis is unnecessary. However, the reason analysis I present here is a deep-level analysis aimed at formulating improvement actions later on. Taking the capacity bottleneck example again, a company experiences delivery delays due to an increase in order volume. Through load analysis, it may seem like the issue is low efficiency on the surface, but an in-depth analysis of the underlying causes reveals that it is often due to the failure to adjust the company’s product structure or to make changes to its manufacturing processes. It turns out that for this type of product that goes through this process, the amount of work required is relatively low; but now a different batch of products has been used Perhaps the workload for one of the processes has increased a bit ； Another example is quality issues: are they caused by the previous process, and what are the reasons for them in the current process? Therefore, it is necessary to conduct in-depth exploration, to analyze the issues underlying those problems thoroughly, until the reasons behind many of those issues no longer require further explanation. 3. Improvement in the determination of movements. With data statistics and cause analysis in place, the next step are very specific improvement actions. “\"Specific improvement actions, clear responsibilities, and detailed division of labor\" are the key elements in defining improvement actions. That is, behind each issue and each action taken to make improvements, there must be a designated responsible person, a set deadline, and specific tasks to be carried out; it is essential to avoid anything that is superficial or meaningless. 4. Continuous action solidification. Many business owners often tell me, “Teacher Zhang, I’m aware of many of the problems in the factory. Since its establishment, I’ve been personally involved in the design of various manufacturing processes as well as in developing new business opportunities. Therefore, I’m familiar with the issues that exist in different departments and the bottlenecks they present, and I understand the reasons behind them. But whenever I take action to address these problems, the results are immediate. However, as soon as I step back or stop paying attention for a while, those problems reappear.” ” Actually, what is the problem here? When working on an improvement project and breaking through a production bottleneck, we failed to institutionalize the effective actions taken. How to solidify? It is about using management methods to turn effective improvement actions into a continuous improvement mechanism. For example, many quality control actions are standardized by organizing them according to the various processes of quality inspection ； We document employees’ operational procedures through work instructions and video tutorials. Through management methods, through inspections, and through frequent and continuous checks by managers, overcoming bottlenecks not only improves efficiency and resolves quality issues; more importantly, it enables the standardization of a company’s processes and the development of its team. I believe this is an aspect that we need to pay attention to. 5. Assessment of the implementation of results. I often say that the most important criterion for determining whether a management action can be carried out effectively in the long term is the ability to evaluate such action or process. Once the work related to improvement is completed and results are achieved, it is necessary to use assessment and performance management methods to turn the entire improvement plan into a closed loop. This closed loop helps to avoid problems such as merely going through the motions, working intermittently, and the reversal of the improvements achieved. Managers should link performance outcomes to employees’ salaries through performance management and evaluation methods. Just as many companies that operate on a piece-rate payment system tend to encounter numerous quality issues, as employees often focus only on efficiency, we can overcome these bottlenecks through on-site improvements and by standardizing various processes. After that, by implementing performance-based incentives, we can link quality, cost, and efficiency to employees’ earnings. Without this final loop of \"performance management and evaluation,\" over time these improvement efforts will gradually turn into mere formalities. These are the aspects that companies need to pay attention to in order to overcome on-site bottlenecks, and they are also the aspects that many managers and owners tend to overlook the most. Conclusion: To quickly overcome production bottlenecks, it is necessary to start with these five steps: data collection, problem analysis, determination of improvement actions, consistent implementation of those actions, and establishment of a performance evaluation mechanism.