The Goal
Throughput Accounting (TA) is based on Theory of Constraints (TOC). TA seeks to increase the speed at which Throughput is generated with respect to an organization's constraints.
- Throughput (T) is the rate at which the System produces "goal units”
- Investment (I) is the assets tied up in the System (for example Capital Equipment)
- Operating Expense (OE) is what the System spends in generating "goal units”
Organizations that wish to increase attainment of “goal units”:
- Increase Throughput (T)
- Reduce Investment (I)
- Reduce Operating Expense (OE)
For example, in Semiconductor Production Test nobody like buying expensive Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). The “I” leg of the TOC stool.
Test Operations also does not like expending unnecessary Human Capital (for example Test Engineering). Labor is often the largest item in the Operating Expense (OE) budget. The “OE” leg of the TOC stool.
Many business models have been offered (to Customers) to monetize and extract (by Supplier) the business value of Semiconductor ATE. Buying ATE, Leasing ATE, Free ATE which requires Tokens (to use), and even Free ATE where the Operating System is SAS (Software as a Service) in the “Cloud”. But that’s not what Customers are buying.
Remember, “nobody likes buying expensive ATE”.
Semiconductor ATE is a means to a Goal (actually a means to numerous “goal units”).
Customers want the ability to rapidly create production-ready Test Programs, and rapidly deploy low-cost high-performance Test Cells. This is Throughput. The “T” leg of the TOC stool.
That’s what the NI Semiconductor Test System (STS) seeks to accomplish. Rapid creation of production-ready Test Programs (with LabVIEW), and Rapid deployment of high-performance Test Cells (“powered by PXI”).
Our production test System is low-cost which truly helps Test Operations (masters of Theory of Constraints) best optimize attainment of key Semiconductor Test “goal units”.
25 years ago, inspired by "The Goal", I began to see how "test" was often viewed as the constraint to throughput/schedule, and too seldom as the source for feedback/innovation. That was when I committed to the vision of computer based instrumentation. Lean into the problem and innovate. Thanks Hank Lydick and your wonderful colleagues at NI.