Theory Of Constraints-Concepts And Implementation

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was propounded by an Israeli physicist, Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt around thirty years back. In 1984, he explained TOC by means of a novel called “The Goal”. In TOC, scientific rules and logical reasoning of the hard sciences are used in the corporate world. TOC argues that all organizations have a constraint which prevents infinite growth. In order to overcome the constraint, TOC recommends a
five-step process. These are called the focusing steps. These steps articulate the goal of the organization, identify the constraint, decide how to exploit the constraint, subordinate all other decisions to it and, elevate the constraint. After overcoming the constraint, it may be necessary to overcome the next critical constraint in the organization. TOC also has a logic tool called the thinking process. The thinking process consists of agreeing on the problem, agree on the direction of the solution, agree that the solution solves the problem, remove any negative ramifications, and agree to remove obstacles in the implementation. Based on TOC, some solutions have been developed called drum–buffer–rope, simplified drum–buffer–rope and critical chain planning method (CCPM).
Initially, TOC was used in the manufacturing environment and the drum–buffer–rope solution was used to schedule products. However, over a period of time it has found application in service organizations like hospitals and schools. In India, Satyam Computers has developed a software solution using CCPM which has been used successfully by some cement companies to reduce downtime. The future is likely to see more companies using TOC in India.