Question

Which of the following are ways to increase the capacity of a bottleneck?

a.) Shifting workers from processes that are not bottlenecks to the process that is the bottleneck
b.) Not spending any overtime hours on the bottleneck
c.) Investing in additional machines at the bottleneck
d.) Selling some of the machines at the bottleneck.

Answer 1

Increasing a bottleneck's capacity can be achieved by reallocating workers from other areas to the bottleneck or investing in more machinery, but selling machines would reduce capacity.

Step-by-step explanation:

To increase the capacity of a bottleneck, one could implement multiple strategies such as:

• Shifting workers from non-bottleneck processes to the bottleneck process.
• Investing in additional machines at the bottleneck to increase production capabilities.
• Selling machines is not a way to increase capacity and would, in fact, be counterproductive.

For example, if a worker from a non-bottleneck stage whose job was not directly increasing production were moved to assist at the bottleneck, their contribution could potentially increase the throughput of the entire system. Similarly, by investing in more machinery for the bottleneck process, the company can increase its output by allowing for more work to be done simultaneously. In contrast, not spending on overtime or selling machines would reduce the capacity to address the bottleneck, not increase it.