Once you know which step limits your plant, the schedule almost writes itself: plan that one step carefully, protect it, and let everything else follow. Here is how to do it, step by step.
Step 1 — Confirm the bottleneck
Scheduling the wrong step makes things worse, so check first. The bottleneck is where work waits most of the time, where supervisors expedite around, and where an hour lost means an hour less shipped for the whole plant. If you are unsure, start with how to find the bottleneck.
Step 2 — Sequence the bottleneck, and only the bottleneck
Build a detailed sequence for the bottleneck alone: which order runs next, and in what order after that. Sort by due date first, then group work that shares a setup where it doesn’t put a due date at risk. Every other step gets no detailed schedule of its own; it works on whatever has arrived, oldest first.
- Load it to what it can really do, using its actual hours per day, not nameplate.
- Keep changeovers down at the bottleneck; every minute of setup there is output lost for the whole plant.
- Don’t let it wait for material, drawings, inspection or an operator on break.
Step 3 — Put a time buffer in front of it
Normal problems upstream (a late part, a breakdown, a quality hold) should not starve the bottleneck. Release each order early enough that it normally arrives in front of the bottleneck with time to spare. That spare time is the buffer. How long it should be depends on your routing and how much your upstream steps vary; start generous and tighten it as the floor stabilises.
Step 4 — Release work at the bottleneck’s pace
This is the rope. An order is released to the floor a buffer’s length before the bottleneck needs it, not when a machine upstream runs out of work. Release only orders whose kit is complete: material, drawings and tooling ready. Work in process comes down, queues get shorter, and lead times become predictable.
Step 5 — Watch the buffer every day
Each order shows how much of its buffer has been used: green, amber or red. A short daily meeting goes through the reds: why each one is late, who fixes it, by when. That meeting, not the software, is what keeps the schedule real. See buffer management explained.
Step 6 — Check the load before you promise dates
Before accepting a rush order or quoting a date, check the bottleneck’s load for the weeks ahead. If it is full, the date has to move or capacity has to be found. Saying so up front beats discovering it on the due date.
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