Capacity, Bottleneck, and Slack

Bottleneck Step

The bottleneck step is the step that sets the line capacity.

highlighted = computed this step

Bottleneck Step

The bottleneck is the second step because it has the smallest rate.

bottleneck=second step\text{bottleneck}=\text{second step}
Base bottleneckThe processline visual marks the bottleneck step by role and text.base bottleneck stepdemand 18/houroutput 18/hourunmet 0/hourStep 1capacity 30/hutil 3/5Step 2capacity 20/hutil 9/10bottleneckStep 3capacity 25/hutil 18/25

Bottleneck Capacity

The second step limits the line at 20 units per hour.

second step capacity=20\text{second step capacity} = 20
Base bottleneckThe processline visual marks the bottleneck step by role and text.base bottleneck stepdemand 18/houroutput 18/hourunmet 0/hourStep 1capacity 30/hutil 3/5Step 2capacity 20/hutil 9/10bottleneckStep 3capacity 25/hutil 18/25