Bottleneck is a point of congestion in a production system that occurs when workloads arrive too quickly for production. The inefficiencies brought about by the bottleneck often create delays and higher production costs. The term “bottleneck” refers to the typical shape of a bottle and the fact that the bottle’s neck is the narrowest point, which is the most likely place for congestion to occur, slowing down the flow of liquid from the bottle.
A bottleneck can have a significant impact on the flow of manufacturing and can sharply increase the time and expense of production. Companies are more at risk for bottlenecks when they start the production process for a new product. This is because there may be flaws in the process that the company must identify and correct; this situation requires more scrutiny and fine-tuning. Operations management is concerned with controlling the production process, identifying potential bottlenecks before they occur, and finding efficient solutions. Advanced manufacturing is “the use of innovative technologies to create existing products and develop new products, including production activities, automation, and networking”. Download manufacturing software pricing scheme calculations for your overview.
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Bottleneck in Manufacturing
Today, all industrial companies want to increase uptime, reduce operational costs, and boost productivity and throughput. However, bottlenecks in manufacturing are one of the primary reasons why your projects get delayed, budgets burst from the added cost of delays and the whole process becomes unpredictable.
Nearly 40% of industrial output is wasted even before it reaches your customers. Untimely bottlenecks in manufacturing cause a $12 trillion debt on the global production market and contribute to a major share of this waste. This waste can keep you far away from achieving your operational targets and deeply impact your logistics and supply chain planning strategy.
From overstocking inventory and supplies to a lag in operational timelines, bottleneck activities always result in reduced performance for manufacturers of all sizes. It is also a fact that a bottleneck in manufacturing exists regardless of how well your factory workers and machinery are working. That is why it is important for manufacturers to know how to accurately identify the bottleneck in manufacturing products so that they can take the necessary measures to avoid the costliest ones whenever and wherever they occur.
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What You Can Do To Handle Manufacturing Bottleneck
At times, you can easily resolve the bottleneck by allocating more resources or people to that work stage or process. That could mean hiring one more QA tester for the sake of a more streamlined production flow. However, what if the bottleneck requires a particularly scarce resource or hard-to-find expertise? In some cases, the cost of the solution to the bottleneck can be too high. Leaving a bottleneck untreated will always cost you more than resolving it. What should you do next then? Here are several things you should do to contain the bottleneck:
Never leave it idle, Because of the ripple effect on the rest of the flow, the bottleneck process should always be loaded at full capacity.
To reduce the strain on the bottleneck, you have to make sure that work arrives at it in its very best form. If your review process is a bottleneck, ensure that the quality is built in from the start. Each error that the reviewer finds is going to cost you more time and money.
Process work in batches. Some of the operations would take less time if you organized similar work items in batches. However, be cautious. The larger the batch size is, the higher the risk. The rule of thumb is that a smaller batch is always better, but in the real world, we sometimes have to make compromises.
Add more people and resources. If you can, increase the capacity of the bottleneck to speed up the whole process. However, keep your eyes wide open. As soon as re-distributing the system’s resources, another bottleneck is bound to appear elsewhere in the system.
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Here are 4 of The Best Manufacturing Software That Will Eliminate Your Manufacturing Bottleneck Obstacle
Manufacturing software is a tool that provides functionality to plan and execute projects from beginning to end, while automating materials planning, production tracking and scheduling and product lifecycle management.
1. HashMicro Manufacturing Automation
HashMicro has established itself as the number one advanced manufacturing Singapore software provider after years of delivering business automation solutions. The highlight of HashMicro is its scalability in medium-to-large-sized businesses. They noticed that more and more businesses were entrusting their business operations to HashMicro over time. This is because it allows for a great deal of flexibility and integration when aligning the system with business operations.
HashMicro serves a diverse range of businesses, and you may have heard that the company is now working to broaden the system’s application. It also invested heavily in high-quality modules that can be purchased separately. Advanced reporting, a user-friendly interface, and an unlimited number of users are included. HashMicro manufacturing software can be integrated into other complete accounting systems.
2. EREPAG
ERPAG is a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. It is suitable for small and midsize businesses in various industries, including automobile, retail, education, information technology, and more. Primary features include sales management, purchasing, manufacturing management, accounting and finance, inventory management, reporting, and analytics.
ERPAG allows users to manage business processes including selling, ordering, receiving, and delivery. Other features include payroll, service management, shipping management, user-access management, point of sale, and barcode scanning. ERPAG offers integration with Google Mail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Microsoft, Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, QuickBooks, Square, Stripe, and more. It supports 40+ shippers globally including UPS, FedEx, and USPS.
3. Matrak
Matrak is a construction material tracking platform where managing projects is easier than ever. Connect your supply chain with our material and progress tracking software, enabling project teams to gain better visibility and collaborate on projects from the factory to the site. Matrak already has a hundred projects completed, and thousands of materials tracked. Matrak focuses on finding out how customers use Matrak’s customizable tracking software for their project needs.
4. Revalie
Revalize was formed in 2021, following the merging of five leading software companies that each contain storied experience providing sector-specific software solutions for manufacturers. Since its inception, the enterprise has grown to represent more than a dozen global brands. Positioning Revalize as the global leader in supplying manufacturers with solutions that help optimize their revenue operations.
Revalie offers you to Shorten your time to revenue with tools that optimize and accelerate the design-to-cash process for specialty manufacturers. Revalie’s software offers industry-leading CPQ, product, and design solutions. It helps you to streamline the sales process, manage large product inventories, visualize custom product configurations, and more. All of it is to optimize the unique needs of specialty industries.
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Conclusion
Advanced manufacturing will level the playing field between small and large businesses. As capability will no longer be based on the number of employees or manufacturing space but on the design of systems that provide the best fit and offer highly consistent products for customers at a lower price than traditional models. We feel your pain & want to work with you in achieving your full potential. Join HashMicro on this global mission to seed the all-around operational manufacturing efficiency by eliminating a bottleneck in manufacturing from the plant floor. You can increase productivity and profitability with a complete manufacturing system from HashMicro. Furthermore, you can download manufacturing software pricing scheme calculations for your overview before using the manufacturing system for your business. Get a free demo now!
