Find the constraint that sets the system pace.
A bottleneck is the operation, resource, or recurring condition that limits total production output. Bottleneck analysis uses queues, cycle times, downtime, utilization, and flow behavior to identify where capacity is being consumed faster than it can be replenished.
Measure the loss before choosing the improvement.
Constraints, idle time, scheduled availability, microstops, speed loss, quality loss, setup, maintenance, and recovery all affect how much useful production the system delivers.
Improve the part of the system that is actually limiting output.
Local efficiency can be misleading. The best improvement target is the recurring loss that changes total production output, lead time, quality, or reliability.
CRIT-AWatch the Queue
Work that repeatedly accumulates before the same resource is one of the clearest signs that demand is exceeding available capacity there.
CRIT-BMeasure Effective Capacity
Theoretical rate should be adjusted for downtime, changeovers, product mix, quality loss, and real cycle variation.
CRIT-CProtect the Constraint
Starvation, missing material, quality holds, unnecessary setup, and avoidable downtime at the constraint directly reduce system output.
CRIT-DRebalance Work
Moving work away from the constrained station can increase throughput when adjacent stations have unused capacity.
Make constraints and lost time visible.
These diagrams focus on queue growth, productive time, OEE loss layers, downtime events, and recurring loss categories.
Queue growth.
Recurring accumulation ahead of one operation usually indicates that incoming work is exceeding the rate that operation can sustain.
Constraint focus.
The constrained step deserves protection and improvement because its lost time becomes lost throughput for the complete system.
Relevant production and equipment resources.
External references are selected from the approved TempoJS manufacturing link inventory and matched directly to the efficiency topic.
A bottleneck is the point that controls the pace of the system. Queue growth, effective capacity, downtime, changeover, product mix, and starvation reveal where improvement can increase total output.