In the past week, I collected some data relating to the time taken for getting ready to

leave for work by me in the morning. I was able to determine bottlenecks in my current

process. “ A bottleneck is any resource whose capacity is less than the

demand placed upon it. A bottleneck is a constraint within the system that limits throughput”(

Chase ,2006).

There were several bottlenecks in my current process that I could identify. I was also able

to apply the Goldratt’s theory of constraints. “The first step in Goldratt’s

theory of constraints is to identify the system constraint and decide how to exploit the system

constraints and subordinate everything else to that decision”( Chase,2006). To improve a

process and increase efficiency, bottlenecks in the process must be identified. “To maximize the system production the slowest process must be improved, and all other processes are regulated to the speed of the slowest process”.(Taylor, 2008).One of the bottlenecks identified by me from my data analysis of the process of getting ready for work was when the alarm rings, whether to get up immediately or hit the snooze button and sleep a little more. I averaged an additional 10 minutes in the process because of hitting the snooze button of the alarm clock several times before finally getting out of bed. To overcome this bottleneck, I must wake up when the alarm rings for the first time and not hit the snooze time. I must go to bed earlier so that I get enough sleep and avoid the need for hitting the snooze button
The other bottleneck identified by me in the process of getting ready for work was my preparation of the breakfast meal. In three out of the five days. I prepared an elaborate breakfast resulting in the addition of 15 minutes to the entire process. On the two days that I skipped breakfast due to lack of hunger, I saved time and could leave for work earlier.To overcome this bottleneck, I must eat cereals or oat meal for breakfast rather than spend time on preparing an elaborate breakfast.
In summary, identification of the bottlenecks in the process of getting ready for work has enabled me to focus on these areas to decrease the time taken by the process. This will increase my efficiency in getting to work on a timely basis every day.