Getting Started with TOC

Every organization embarking on a TOC  journey faces different challenges unique to their circumstances. However there are several crucial steps that almost always increase top-level support, spread the right learning, and engender the buy-in necessary to pursue The Goal.

Prepare the Groundwork
  • Get others involved - share TOC books, training, websites, videos, etc. with colleagues in other departments and functions to build broader support.
  • Secure an Executive Sponsor, a business leader who will take personal responsibility for the TOC transformation. Ideally this would be the Owner, Chairperson, Managing Director, CEO or COO.
  • Capitalize on a crisis to begin the transformation. This could be a working capital shortage, dismal profitability, poor customer due-date performance, high-stress high-workload environment, frequent internal conflicts, external crisis in the economy/industry, etc.
  • If your company isn’t in crisis, focus attention on an emerging competitive threat or find a customer who is willing demand dramatically better due-date performance.

Lay the Foundation
  • Educate your Top Team, including CXOs and all Department / Functional Heads via training, Goldratt Satellite Program and/or mentoring (about 8 days of training, spread over 1-2 months). Ensure team buy-In before proceeding further.
  • Retain a TOC Advisor/Coach for fastest deployment.
  • Align the top team to global, bottom-line oriented measurements (abolish KPAs).
  • Identify your constraint(s), based on inventory accumulation, expediting trends and rated capacity.
  • Identify your organization's core conflict
  • Make it clear to all that layoffs are incompatible with TOC and that there are no plans to fire anyone (apart from non-performance)!
  • Place expansion plans on hold - all non-essential new equipment, additional headcount etc. TOC implementation will almost certainly release significant spare capacity!

For more detailed implementation steps, conduct a TOC Feasibility Study

Complimentary
​Guides:

 - Theory of Constraints
 - The Goal Summary
 - Five Focusing Steps
 - Thinking Processes
 - Examples & Cases
 - Recommended Books ​
 - Getting Started in TOC

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