Author: Giovana Quandt

Do you know what process bottlenecks are and how they can negatively affect your company?

If in your organizational routine you notice factors such as: long waiting times, accumulated work, and high levels of exhaustion, for example, you may have process bottlenecks in your daily routine.

Poorly automated and bureaucratic processes are the main obstacles to the growth of organizations. In addition, they make it difficult to identify bottlenecks, which can cause problems such as loss of revenue, customer dissatisfaction, low-quality products/services, and employee discouragement.

But when do bottlenecks occur?

Process bottlenecks are caused when inputs come in faster than the next step can turn them into output. These bottlenecks can be caused by points not operating as expected, manual errors, machine errors, and even poor operational management.

In the organizational environment, a production process can take place in several stages and involve several sectors. For these processes to occur effectively, it is necessary to have, besides an internal alignment, tools to avoid bottlenecks.

How to identify process bottlenecks and how can Fusion help?

Basically, there are three actions to identify process bottlenecks:

1. Process input/output analysis;
2. Mapping of the process steps;
3. Identification of possible causes and action plan;

Fusion Platform can help in the following ways:

1. Process input/output analysis

If the input of your process comes in faster than the next step can turn it into output, there is a bottleneck in the production process of your business.

2. Mapping of process steps

In process mapping there is a very useful tool to help identify where the production bottlenecks are happening – the flowchart. Its function is to detail each step of the process in an easy-to-follow diagrammatic flow. After the process mapping is done, it becomes much simpler to identify the cause of the problem and possible opportunities for improvement.

The flows can be represented using geometric figures, such as rectangles, circles, triangles, being functional or in blocks. In the functional flowcharts, besides the geometric figures, it shows which sector is responsible for each step in which the process takes place. In block flowcharts, only rectangles and lines with arrows are used, showing key activities and execution hierarchies.

If you want to understand more about this topic, we suggest the article: Process mapping: where to start?

3. Identification of possible causes and action plan

After identifying where the process bottlenecks are, it is time to identify the causes.

The methodology that can be used at this moment is the 5W2H – 7 words that define the success of a well-guided plan: What; Where; When; Who; Why; and How; How Much.

At this point it is essential to understand the problems in depth, verify the frequency with which they occur, and create an action plan to solve them, through flowcharts.

After acquiring all the answers, it’s time to put the action plan into practice. Within Fusion Platform you will be able to intuitively create flows and processes to automate any of your company daily activities.

Some of the benefits you will gain by using our tool are: fully electronic forms, easy automation, quality and consistency, productivity gain, error reduction, continuous improvement, transparency, traceability, and mobility.

Our tool is defined as the best alternative for digital transformation through process management, allowing your company to create processes in a simple way and with a high level of integration with management systems – test it now by clicking here.

Conclusion

The use of new technologies, such as BPM softwares, becomes totally beneficial, since it is a tool that helps model processes with much more agility and facilitates teamwork. By applying these tips, it will be possible to identify and eliminate production bottlenecks and make the entire organization more effective.

Try it for 15 days free right now! Or, if you prefer, request a demonstration from our consultants. Count on us to answer all your doubts and help your company!