The bottleneck moved. The meeting didn’t.

Debottlenecking works precisely once before the machinery built to fix the old constraint starts quietly destroying the gains from fixing it.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The bottleneck moved. The meeting didn’t.

A business spends eight months and real money widening its worst bottleneck. Throughput rises for a quarter. Then it flattens, sometimes at a level only marginally better than before, occasionally with longer lead times and more work-in-progress than when it started. The conclusion in the room is that the investment underdelivered, or that the forecast was optimistic, or that demand softened. Usually none of that is what happened. The investment worked. The constraint moved. And every reporting line, escalation path, overtime approval and improvement project in the business is still…

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Important: General information only. Rialto Bridge articles describe patterns and considerations that may apply to a business; they are not financial, legal, tax or accounting advice, and they take no account of your particular circumstances. Consider your own situation and seek advice from a qualified professional before acting.

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