What blocks the above key elements?
Rudolf Burkhard
Focus is 2X Profit & ROI by: Apply the Theory of Constraints with me. Use 6-Sigma & Lean! Leverage capability. Gain capacity, cut lead time, get 100% reliability & control costs. Get more customers to buy more. DE/EN/FR
- There is always something blocking us from achieving more. We call that our constraint. If our constraint is blocking us, doesn’t it make sense to look for and find your leverage there? Why would you search elsewhere?
- A physical constraint blocks every system and its subsystems. While every subsystem has a constraint only one of them is the constraint of the super-system. Do you agree?
- While physical constraints always exist, since there is no way for a chain to NOT have a weakest link; there is another type of blocking entity: Policies, rules, behaviours, the way we do things around here can all constrain our performance. You can probably name some policies or rules that bother you.
- If the constraint in a system (or subsystem) blocks performance, then it must be imperative to find it. If you do not find it, then how can your company make a big jump in profit and profitability? Let me know!
NB. Frequently managers tell us they have many constraints or that their constraint dances all over the factory (a big subsystem) or business. The ‘dancing constraint’ is the term used by a supply chain manager from India during my presentation.
NB. Before you invest in a new constraint machine, think carefully. Your constraint may be hurt by a policy or by the way all other parts of the factory or business operate. Often, if you fix the way work is done, you will no longer need to invest. And, often enough the constraint will move. Eventually, once you are producing much more Throughput a new investment will become necessary.
NB. Very often dealing with the constraint quickly yields a very significant improvement with little or no expense. Read Kevin Fox’s Blue Lights story to get an idea of the power. Kevin improved a subsystem, but because that subsystem was the constraint of the super-system the company benefited a lot.
NB. Finding the constraint and dealing with is very motivating for workers - workers too respond to performance!
NB. Dealing with the constraint almost always has a positive impact on customer satisfaction.
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Kreative L?sungen durch systematisches Denken
4 年I think we are assuming that the managers in the factories are using the approach of the flowing system and the determining element of the Constraint. A stone in a stream does not prevent it from flowing. The mainstream focuses on efficiency, the best use of all resources, and this thinking is absolutely dominant. If we go one level higher, the constraint in many organisations is to be able to switch between these ways of thinking.
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4 年We should know our potential constraints as we might not have one currently? For example a breakdown is a temporary "constraint" a restriction that stops flow but, over a time period, there is no bottleneck until the "customer demand rate" cannot be met. We can have breakdowns not limiting the demand. Even a machine with a world class OEE of 85% will only be a constraint IF the customers want more than we can produce. But... there will be a range of "potential" contraints: potential bottlenecks. These are "hidden" areas where the demand is currently being met but, for example, should demand increase to a rate higher that CAN be met, then we will have a bottleneck, a sustained constraint. Here is where I see OEE as being key. OEE tells us two things: the amount we CAN make now (of a sellable quality) and the amount we SHOULD be able to make. The difference being potentially a buffer to be tapped by improving how the equipment, for example, operates within the system. The value is in knowing the capacity (quality throughput) of all the steps in the process. Best rates that can be processed; What we currently do; Our current capability; We need to know where we me might develop potential issues. Steve
Focus is 2X Profit & ROI by: Apply the Theory of Constraints with me. Use 6-Sigma & Lean! Leverage capability. Gain capacity, cut lead time, get 100% reliability & control costs. Get more customers to buy more. DE/EN/FR
4 年Simple thoughts. Have you identified your constraint - the one that provides the leverage for a really big profit bounce?