Using Theory of Constraints on Your Lean Six Sigma Efforts
Posted by: meikah | 19 April 2010 | 7:39 pm
I had the opportunity to read Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s The Goal, which introduces the Theory of Constraints. My boss gave me a copy of that book, but unfortunately, I was not able to finish it. I will pick it up again one of these days.
In any case, an article on iSixSigma again recognizes the value of Theory of Constraints to Lean Six Sigma. If you know each of the concept, you know that TOC and Lean Six Sigma can go well together. Why?
Well the constraints referred to by Goldratt are bottlenecks in the process, may it be in manufacturing or elsewhere. Lean Six Sigma touches on bottlenecks as well, and is concerned with smoothing out a process by removing bottlenecks or constraints.
Theory of Constraints has an underlying assumption that organizations can be measured and controlled by variations on three measures: throughput, operating expense, and inventory. Continue reading…
These measures are much like what Lean work on. Going back to the iSixSigma article, Dushyant Thatte and Shraddha Salekar cited the five-step TOC approach and integrated it with Lean Six Sigma:
- Define the problem and business objective.
- Measure the current position. Ask relevant questions and collect the data.
- Analyze the problems: Use a cause-and-effect diagram to determine undesirable effects. Create a current reality tree, which illustrates the interrelationship of undesirable effects and identify the constraint. Identify assumptions and challenge them.
- Improve the system performance by: a) exploiting the constraint, b) subordinating the system to the constraint and c) elevating the constraint. Execute Lean and Six Sigma projects as a part of the Improve phase.
- Control current performance and repeat the process.
At Step 4, Belts use the Lean Six Sigma methodology. Other steps integrate TOC with Lean Six Sigma to ensure that the correct focus is on business objectives.
Related posts:
Theory of Constraints and Lean Six Sigma Project Selection
Constraints Management and Lean and Six Sigma
Filed under: Lean Six Sigma, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints
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SixSig Reference Feature: Theory of Constraints and Lean Six Sigma Project Selection
Posted by: meikah | 1 November 2009 | 9:23 pm
CEO and president of Smarter Solutions, Inc., Forrest W. Breyfogle III shares how to implement Theory of Constraints and Lean Six Sigma Project Selection so that the organization as a whole benefits from it.
Breyfogle shares:
The financials of an enterprise are a result of the integration and interaction of its processes, not of individual procedures in isolation. Using a whole-system perspective, one realizes that the output of a system is a function of its weakest link or constraint. If you’re not careful, you can be focusing on a subsystem that, even though improved, doesn’t affect the system’s overall big-picture output.
Related post:
Constraints Management and Lean and Six Sigma
Filed under: Deployment, Lean Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints
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Constraints Management and Lean and Six Sigma
Posted by: meikah | 12 May 2008 | 8:47 pm
Whoa, there’s no end to these quality management concepts and methodologies! This only shows that competition is stiff and business is doing good that companies continuously find ways to enjoy benefits and savings. 
Over at Supply Chain Management Review, there is a good discussion on how constraints management enhances Lean and Six Sigma. Inspired by the Eli Golratt’s Theory of Constraints, the article describes constraints management as:
Constraints management looks at the business as chains of dependent events and focuses improvement efforts on the weak links in the chains. On the face of it, the inclusion of yet another sophisticated business process might seem to lead to excessive complexity. But in practice, this new layered approach actually can simplify management’s job by providing a focusing mechanism for improvement initiatives.
Check out the article: How Constraints Management Enhances Lean and Six Sigma
