Riordan

This paper will identify the bottleneck in my daily morning process while getting ready for work. The bottleneck is identified as the portion of the process that can cause the next stage to have to wait for the previous stage to be complete. The process of getting ready for work in the morning is different than looking at an assembly line for a widget. The observing and recording of the flow each morning over the last two weeks has created opportunity for the process to be streamlined. Initially the area where the most time could be saved is in preparing the gym back the night before. This did save time but not as much as initially anticipated. Once realizing the concept of a bottleneck the opportunity was clear that the stage which could be sped up was cooking breakfast while in the shower. Allowing oatmeal to heat up while the getting ready stage is being conducted created the use of a simultaneous activity. Creating this combination of the stages created a smoother transition after stage two which is putting on a business suit to the consumption of breakfast. Focusing on this bottleneck allowed for a reduction in preparation time and for less wait time in between stages of getting ready each morning. The morning process has been broken down into five stages which are identified as showering, putting on a business suit, eating breakfast, walking the dog, gathering all of the items needed for the day while heading out the door. This process was initially six stages and the identification of the bottleneck is what was needed to increase the efficiency of the morning process. In conclusion the bottleneck needs to be identified to derive a solution to reduce the lapse of time between the transition stages. The use of simultaneous activities helps to eliminate the cause of a bottleneck in the process flow. A bottleneck in the process is not necessarily a problem each time one is identified, but the reduction in the wait time will create more production and efficiency in a production flow.