What is it?
TOC is a thinking process designed to help organizations focus their effort during a continuous improvement process.
The focusing methodology follows these simple 5 steps: –
- Establish the systems (organisation wide) performance limiting factor / constraint
- Exploit the potential of the constraint
- Subordinate the non constraints requirements to that of the constraint
- Elevate the constraint
- Find the new constraint
What are performance limiting factors?
Performance limiting factors can generally be grouped into 3 major categories.
- Policy constraints
- Management rules and regulations
- Behavioral constraints
- “We have always done it this way”
- Attitudes
- Physical constraints
- Equipment bottlenecks
What are the Best Practices we need to improve?
5S, Pull Systems, Standard Work, Leading and Managing Change, Teamwork, Visual Measures, Problem Solving, Fail Safe Devices (Poka-Yoke), Process Layout etc.
Recommended Exercise
Establish which are the constraints in your business. With physical constraints evidence of this is often shown by the build up of work-in-progress behind a particular process.
Then observe how effectively the constraint is being currently utilized: –
- Is it working all the time?
- When working is it working efficiently?
- Are the best methods for doing the work clearly spelt out and are all the operators consistently following the best method?
