Direct answer
Model the line: station cycle times, real availability and buffer sizes. Attack micro-stops and buffer deficits before considering faster equipment.
How this problem shows up
- Line output well below the slowest machine's rate
- Frequent short stoppages nobody records
- Starving and blocking visible along the line
- One station's stop halts everything
- Speed increases produce no output gain
Engineering responses
Micro-stop elimination
Data-driven removal of jams, sensor faults and minor stops.
Buffer engineering
Accumulation sized to decouple stations.
Line rebalancing
Shift work content away from the constraint station.
Constraint upgrade
Capital only after the above are exhausted.
Engineering and project considerations
- Five stations at 95% availability give ~77% line availability unbuffered
- Micro-stops are usually unrecorded and therefore invisible in reports
- Speeding a station upstream of a constraint increases WIP only
- Discrete-event simulation validates buffer changes cheaply
- Changeover time is throughput loss in high-mix operations
What to prepare before engaging engineering companies
- Automated stop-event data with duration and cause
- Station cycle times measured, not quoted
- Current buffer volumes
- Product mix and changeover frequency
What to measure
Line OEEMean time between micro-stopsUnits per hour at steady state
Frequently asked questions
Why did a faster machine not help?
Because it was not the constraint, or because losses propagate through unbuffered stations. Both are visible in a line model.
Related engineering knowledge
Independent, buyer-side and supplier-neutral
Global B2B Group does not sell machines and does not represent equipment manufacturers. This material is published to help industrial organisations define the problem, prepare the specification and structure the investment before engineering partners are selected.
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