Production delays

What it looks like

• The production report says 80% complete, but the last process has not started.
• Work-in-progress sits beside one machine for several days.
• A supervisor starts urgent orders without checking what will be pushed out.
• Finished parts wait for inspection, rework or packing before they can move.
• Sales learns of the delay after the customer calls.

Why it happens

The plan measures activity rather than completed jobs. Each department reports pieces made. Nobody shows whether the full customer order can be dispatched.

Jobs are released without prerequisites. Material, drawings, tools, machine capacity or inspection plans are missing. Operators begin what they can and leave work half-finished.

One stage has less capacity than the rest. Faster machines build stock in front of the slow stage. More output upstream does not finish the order.

Urgent work enters without a trade-off. The owner accepts a rush order. The planner does not name which existing order will move.

Exceptions stay inside the factory. Sales keeps repeating the original date because there is no clear update from the floor.

The overlooked cause is the last operation. A job may look almost complete by pieces or hours while one essential process still blocks dispatch.

What to check first

1. Pick the five orders due soonest. Open each job card and the dispatch commitment. Mark the current stage, next stage and remaining quantity. Ignore broad percentages for now.
2. Walk to the biggest work-in-progress pile. Count jobs waiting there. Ask what blocks the next operation: capacity, tooling, inspection, drawings or a decision. Record the answer against each job.
3. Check yesterday's plan against actual output. Compare planned completed jobs with completed jobs, not only machine pieces. Note every job moved aside for urgent work.

This identifies the blockage. It does not yet prove that the original customer date was realistic.

How to fix it

1. Make one short order-risk list. Show order, promised date, current operation, next action and person responsible. Review it before the first shift.
2. Release only ready jobs. Check critical material, drawings, tool availability and required approvals first. Keep incomplete work in a visible 'not ready' group.
3. Plan around the limiting stage. Check its actual working hours, setup needs and waiting jobs. Avoid feeding it more material than it can handle.
4. Record rush-order impact. Before accepting an urgent insert, name the other jobs it affects. Sales and production should agree the dates.
5. Escalate blocked work the same day. A supervisor should flag any obstacle they cannot remove during the shift. Give it an owner and next check time.
6. Tell the customer before the commitment fails. Send a corrected date only after checking the plan. Record what was promised and who confirmed it.

Try this daily risk line:

Do not mark a job 'complete' until its defined finish point is reached.

A worked example

For example, a fabrication shop has an order worth ₹2,40,000 due on Friday. Cutting and welding are finished. All 50 pieces still need coating. The outside coater can finish 25 by Thursday and the balance on Monday.

The planner marks the coating stage as the blocker. Sales asks the customer whether a part dispatch is acceptable. Purchase confirms transport and return timing with the coater. The shop keeps the original commitment visible until the customer approves a change. The example shows what should be checked, not an achieved improvement.

How you know it is fixed

• For four weeks, count customer orders finished by the committed internal completion date.
• Count jobs started without all release requirements ready.
• Record the age of work waiting at each stage and how often a known blocker reaches the next shift unresolved.

When it is more serious

Persistent delays at one operation may need capacity, maintenance or outside-process changes. Do not accept quality shortcuts to meet dates. If the customer contract has penalties or approval requirements, involve the commercial owner before changing commitments. When all machines are busy but few orders finish, examine work-in-progress and priorities before buying another machine.

This works if someone does it every day. In most businesses, that someone is you.

Questions people ask

Should we measure pieces made or orders finished?

Track both. Pieces show operation output. Completed orders show whether the customer commitment can be met.

What is the first sign of a bottleneck?

Work waits repeatedly before one stage while that stage has no spare capacity. Confirm by checking its actual job queue.

Can overtime recover every delayed order?

No. Overtime at the wrong stage may increase unfinished stock without improving dispatch readiness.

When should sales tell the customer?

As soon as the team has a credible risk and a checked recovery date. Do not wait for the customer to ask.