Bottle Necks
The upper narrow part of a bottle is called the neck. The taperiing is an obstruction when going from the large part of a bottle through to narrow part, the neck. We use the term “bottleneck” as an explanation for an obstruction in a production line. Bottle necks also occur in traffic so perhaps we can take some notice of these.
A bottle neck in traffic is not a traffic jam. Different from a traffic jam a bottle neck is the result of a specific physical condition more often than not due to the design of the road, badly timed traffic lights or curves that are too short.
I put it more simply bad design is either a lack of preparatory work or a lack of foresight. Probably a combination of both.
Production lines suffer from bottle necks and the cause of these bottle necks results from the same causes. The causes are poor prepation and a lack of foresight.
Bottle necks are a point in a production line where production is hampered and the normal flow of production gets “stuck”. On a production line, a bottleneck means lost production, therefore, lost profit.
Now not many people have had experience with marbles in a bottle so I will return to traffic conditions. We have three columns of vehicles travelling along a highway when they arrive at a single lane bridge.
No prizes for guessing what happens next. Traffic stops when they reach the bottle neck.
Production flow stops when product reaches a bottle neck.
I have spent plenty of time waiting on either side of the otherwise lovely Queens Park Bridge in Geelong.
Town Planning
When we are looking to employ a new production or a change in the way we currently produce and you do not have access to an “expert” I believe it is a good idea to look at a number of different areas before experimenting with new set ups. I look at three proven performers when it comes to planning.
The Toyota Production System
Town Planners
The past experiences of the production line and its people that we are looking to improve
But just before we move ahead, let’s remember the wise words of Ken Stork of the Lean Enterprise Institute, Ken said “If you need a new process and don’t install it, you are still paying for it without getting it”.
The Toyota Production System
The TPS was the original Lean methodology and the forerunner to the generic term of “Lean Manufacturing”. Surprisingly for a method to be used in an automobile plant, it was not a rework of the system that Toyota had been using but it was born out of a visit to an American supermarket. The main aim was to eliminate waste. The wastes identified were,
Waste of overproduction (largest waste)
Waste of time on hand (waiting)
Waste of transportation
Waste of processing itself
Waste of excess inventory (at all stages)
Waste of movement
Waste of making defective products
Waste of underutilized workers
Toyota take pains to point that their system is not recorded in a “how to” hand book but a hand book for employee’s so that they can instill in all workers the need to identify the expenditures of material, effort and time that do not create value for the customers. The piece of that I would like to repeat here are the two words, "all workers“.
It may be an idea to revisit the opening few paragraphs of The Intro to 5S .
The foundations of the TPS are Just In Time production meaning "making only what is needed, only when it is needed, and only in the amount that is needed" and also what the Japanses name Jidoka "automation with a human touch".
Look closely, look around and do not forget to ask the people who spend most time on the floor, the workers.
“The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize”. ~ Shigeo Shingo, World’s Leading Expert on Manufacturing Processes
2. Town Planners
And what does town planning have to do with production you ask? I think that production facilities resemble towns and sometimes even large cities and what is required in the building of a city needs at least needs to be considered when planning a production line. Another key word is “planning”.
Anything new, whether completely new or as a result of change will have an impact on the area in which it is taking place and will have an impact on the people in the area in which the change is taking place. Consider people.
Will there be an impact of the use of electricity? Will additional power outlets be required? Ask about the use of water? Will taps need to be relocated? Will new amenities be required, toilets, parking facilities and roadways etc? There will be of course and one goal should be to lessen the impact that these changes will have on current production and the exisitng people.
How does the change fit in with the existing facilities and has adequate consideration been given to the effect on workers in regards to their considerations? Can they continue to produce without too many interuptions?
Has adeqaute consideration been given to any increase in traffic flow? At the start and end of the workers shift, external traffic, current and expected and at the end of shifts, will any increase in worker numbers allow all of these workers to promptly leave the buildings and subsequently the premises?
Ponder, prompt the mind and do not forget to ask the people who spend most time on the floor, the workers.
3. Past Experience
Have we really considered what we want to improve in the production methods or are we allowing ourselves to become victims of our own Confirmation Bias in that we cannot improve on what we have been doing. This is the biggest trap of all. Trigger has written about Confirmation Bias in relation to punting on the horses here ,however, go ahead and read it as the mind set is the same.
Similar to Confirmation Bias, be careful how you read statistics. I am a stat freak and love them but they can be tricky buggers sometimes. The ones I tend to steer clear of are averages. Averages are of less than average use.
Ask yourself, ask others and do not forget to ask the people who spend most time of the floor, the workers.
Project Management
It is not a habit that I have ever noticed in myself before but I seen to be putting lots of groups of words together that commence with the same letter and here I go again, the time it is the letter C. I didn’t even watch that much Sesame Street when I was kid.
My three words that for me accurately describe the key skills of the Project Manager, whatever the project are Communication, Co-ordination and Control. The control is a description of tending to the tiller rather than whip. While the Project Manager should have clear understanding of the technical aspects required in the project they do not necessarily need to be expert.
They shall control the experts, they shall ensure that the experts prepare documentation relating to the specifics of material required and methods to be used, they shall make sure that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing at all times. And vice versa.
In every project there will be a number of steps that require numerous contractors or team members to work together do be able to perform the required steps in a precise order. The Project Manager must ensure that all contractors and/or team members are working to the same schedule and using the same documentation. The contractors are the experts so arrange for them to meet and co-ordinate their schedules. Any party or parties that will be reticulating cables need to work together, water pipes the same, any similar works the same.
We have all seen councils dig up the footpath to lay water pipes one week and then make it beautiful only for the telecommunication workers to come along two weeks later and dig the footpath up again. Don’t let this happen on your project.
Your Project Manager must enjoy sharing information. Your Project Manager must enjoy learning new information. Your Project Manager must enjoy co-ordinating other professionals and making sure they perform their roles as per the specifications, Scope of Works, Tender document, whatever you call your prevailing documents. Above all, your Project Manager must be flexibale and not consider themselves the smartest person on the site, only the most organised. They must manage the other egos not be the number one ego.
Like your own workers, you will get the real information from the Contractors workers so you need to be an egalatarian and park your ego at the door. Save the serious talking for the main Contractor, they are the ones getting paid.