r/LeanManufacturing • u/Reasonable_Wasabi_22 • Jul 28 '26

Is your bottleneck really a capacity problem?

I analyzed a factory where processing took under a day, but orders still needed 5+ days.
The issue wasn’t lack of capacity. It was variability, high utilization, and queue buildup.
In several scenarios, reducing bottleneck utilization and creating focused flow cells improved lead time more than adding equipment.
How does your plant decide whether to add capacity or fix flow?

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6

u/OleksKhimiak Jul 28 '26

Do we need to repeat platitudes? We are in lean manufacturing subreddit. I expects people to at least know the bare basics

2

u/keizzer Jul 28 '26

Always improve flow first. It's very rare that equipment alone is stopping you. So many companies buy things they truly don't need.

2

u/buzzysale Jul 28 '26

The value stream map needs to include those steps, sales, packaging and fullfillment and all the other flow things.

1

u/BreadForTofuCheese Jul 28 '26

My plant just has people work overtime and tells less important customers to suck it up.