Theory of Constraints
Contents |
Big idea
The theory of constraints is a management paradigm that advocates improvement of a system by looking at constraints rather than the opportunities. The big idea of the theory is best described with the idiom: “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link”, meaning that the performance of the system is no greater than the limits of its constraints. System performance improvement is thus achieved by adjusting the system to the most limiting constraint.
Key assumptions
An assumption about the management of organizations has to be made in order to apply the theory of constraints. It is assumed that the work of organizations can be measured by looking at three key measures:
- Throughput, which is the rate at which the system generates revenue (e.g. the quantity of sold goods).
- Inventory, which is the money invested in the purchase of materials required to generate revenue (e.g. purchase of raw materials, outsourced components, etc.).
- Operational expense, which is the money spent on turning inventory into throughput (e.g. rent of factory, employee pay, costs of running machinery, etc.). [1]
Some necessary conditions must be met before applying the theory of constraints. Issues of safety, quality, legal obligations, etc. must be satisfied and cannot be included in the analysis of constraint. Where the goal for many organizations is to generate revenue, for NGOs it is a necessary condition to sustain themselves by making money. As a consequence of this, it is of utmost importance to possess financial expertise when making decisions regarding throughput, inventory, and operational expense. [2]
Concepts of the theory of constraints
The five focusing steps
The theory of constraints assumes that the performance of a system is limited in achieving its goals by at least one constraint. By identifying the most limiting constraint, improvements to the performance of the system can be introduced. Examples of system improvements can be either to increase the throughput or to decrease the operational expense.
The five focusing steps describe the process of applying the theory of constraints:
- Identify the constraint(s) of the system.
- Decide how to utilize the constraint(s) in order to improve the system.
- Make the exploit of the constraint(s) a top priority and rearrange the rest of the system to the previous decision.
- Implement the changes and dissolve the limiting constraint(s).
- Be aware whether a constraint has been broken in the previous steps. If so, begin the process from step 1 again. [3]
The steps are designed to focus on the constraints of a system in order to improve it by recognizing and utilizing them to the advantage of the system.
Types of constraints
Basically, a constraint can be anything that limits the performance of a system and prevents a it from attaining its goals. Constraint can take many shapes and be found in many place, but within the theory of constraints only the most limiting constraints are taken into consideration. Internal constraints are evident when the system is incapable of satisfying a given market. The removing of an internal constraint will allow for a greater throughput and thus attempt to satisfy the market. External constraints are evident when the demand from a given market is less than the capacity of the system. In this case, measures must be made in an attempt to increase the demand for its throughput.
More specifically, internal constraints include:
- Equipment
- - Insufficient number of machines.
- - Poorly utilized equipment.
- - Understaffed work stations.
- - Outdated equipment, etc.
- People
- - Lack of skilled employees.
- - Underskilled employees.
- - Lack of motivation among the employees.
- - Poor work environment, etc.
- Policy
- - Environmental laws.
- - Financial circumstances.
- - Ethical issues, etc.
Broken constraints
A constraint is said to be broken when it seizes to be the limiting factor of the system. Breaking a constraint is thus equivalent to having successfully removed the constraint for the system, and the five focusing steps will now allow for location and erradication of the next limiting constraint.
Buffers
In production, a constraint in the form of a bottleneck can often be alleviated by placing buffers before and after the constraint itself. A buffer is like a small inventory filled with work in progress parts just waiting to be processed by the constraint. By doing so, the constraint is assured to continue production despite failures elsewhere in the production facility. Placing a buffer behind the constraint secures the constraint from being affected by breakdowns and failures further down the production line.
It is possible to utilize non-physical buffers when it comes to e.g. project management. Properly scheduling and insertion of "time-buffers" can avert probable delays or setbacks.
Types of plants
There are four different types of plants in the theory of constraints. The type of plant allows for potentially easier location of constraints.
- I-plant: The material flows in a single line until it is finished. The constraint is the machine or step in production with the longest process time. An example could be the production of screws and nails.
- A-plant: The material flows from several lines to a converging point becoming a single product. The constraint is often found in the converging point as synchonization of materials/parts from different lines can become an issue. If the converging point is not adequately fed with required materials/parts, unnecessary waiting time will occur. An simple example could be the production of tables and chairs (requiring table tops, seat, and legs for both).
- V-plant: The material flows from a single source to become many different products. The constraint is often what is referred to as "robbing" where one subsequent work station will drain the majority of materials/parts, leaving other subsequent work stations starving for input. Correctly monitoring and managing the diverging point will aid in avoid this constraint. An example could be a steel manufacturer, producing both rods and sheets from ore.
- T-plant: The general material flow is as described for the I-plant, but the T-plant produces many different products using some if not all the same components, but in different combinations or assemblies. The constraint can be similar to that of both the A-plant and the V-plant. An example could be a computer (or just electronics) manufacturer.
These are the primary bases for plant types. They can be brought together in a number of ways for specific systems.
Applications
The theory of constaints can be applied to a wide variety of industries ranging from production project management. Whereever there is a need for optimization of processes or activities, the theory of constraints can be applied if modified appropiately.
Project management
Using the theory of constraints, most projects can easily be viewed as A-plants, where a number of different tasks need to come together for a single deliverable. This can be useful for discovering time schedule-related bottlenecks and deal with them accordingly, e.g. by making sure to implement appropriate buffers.
This approach to project management can additionally be coupled with Critical Chain Project Management.
