TOC Overview

 

Finding the constraint – is it obvious what it is and where it is?

home_builder_sep
podklad-2
 

Why do systems (companies) have constraints anyway?

home_builder_sep

Because systems are not balanced - here are a few reasons for this:

• Systems keep evolving – think in terms of adding and deleting components.
• System components are not equally capable of doing whatever they are supposed to.
• Systems are under stress, strain, pressures, and disturbances from both outside and inside.
• Last but not least, simply shifting towards a different goal the system’s balance (and hence the constraint) changes.
 

Do not spread your effort – concentrate on the constraint

home_builder_sep
podklad-1
 

The five focusing steps of TOC with comments

home_builder_sep

1. Identify the system’s constraint

Let the system to be exposed to normal working conditions (that is, a reasonable load). Observe and analyze the system.

2. Exploit the system’s constraint

Make sure the constraint’s work is organized (e.g. it has a plan) so that the constraint is never idle.

3. Subordinate everything else to the above decision (this is the heart of TOC)

Train the rest of the system to serve the constraint. Protect the constraint from disturbances (i.e. “Murphy”). If the constraints are human resources, make their work comfortable and liberate them from mundane tasks.

4. Elevate the system’s constraint

Increase the constraint’s ability to produce but preferably keep the constraint the same.

5. If the constraint changed, go back to step one

Theory of Constraints provides a set of holistic processes and rules, all based on a systems approach that exploits the inherent simplicity within complex systems through focusing on the few "leverage points” as a way to synchronize the parts to achieve ongoing improvement in the performance of the system as a whole.