Find the bottleneck

• Where do you add capacity so it *actually* helps?
• Foldhaus: a flat-pack desk line, orders piling up, one budget to spend
• *Presenter note:* Say the honest line — teaching material, not a certification.

The case & the three pitches

• Five stations in sequence: Cut 45 · Drill&edge 18 · Sand 30 · Assemble 22 · Pack 50
• Pitch A: saw 45→70 · Pitch B: drill 18→28 · Pitch C: pack 50→65
• *Presenter note:* Take the vote now, before any teaching. Record the split; don't comment.

The bottleneck sets the throughput

• Every desk passes through every station in order
• The line can't finish faster than its slowest step → 18 desks/hr
• Not the average (33), not the fast stations
• *Presenter note:* The bottleneck is often quiet; the pile sits *upstream* of it.

An hour spent where it counts

• Speed a non-bottleneck (A or C) → line still ships 18, pile just grows
• Speed the bottleneck (B) → line rises to 22, then Assemble (22) takes over
• Only improvement at the constraint reaches the customer

Your table's call

• Find the bottleneck → test each pitch → make the call → name the cost of being wrong
• One free move before spending any money
• *Presenter note:* Circulate; ask "if that station runs faster, what does the slowest step do?"

The five focusing steps

• Identify → Exploit → Subordinate → Elevate → Repeat
• Elevate (spend money) is step *four*, after the free gains
• Once you elevate, the constraint moves — go again

Why local efficiency lies

• Rewarding "100% busy" pushes fast stations to build work-in-process
• The only efficiency that pays is throughput of finished desks
• *Presenter note:* Tie back to the opening vote — the big number (A) was the trap.

Takeaway

• A line runs at the speed of its slowest step
• The only capacity worth buying is capacity at the constraint
• Further reading: the find-the-bottleneck Decide course