What is the Theory of Constraints (TOC)?
The TOC is something of a chameleon because it includes both a mechanism for generating solutions to complex problems of widely differing types, and the solutions themselves. The official definition of TOC as “The Thinking Processes and their applications” is accurate but not very informative. Essentially, TOC is a methodical and powerful approach to continuously improving the performance of an organization (or a system). It is based around a philosophy of systematically identifying and appropriately dealing with the few genuine constraints that limit an organization’s overall performance relative to it’s goal. This provides management with a small number of focal points for improvement efforts with the assurance of great leverage from those efforts. Results are typically fast, direct, and often massive. Constraints can be physical, and relatively easy to identify; or, they can be an organization’s policies, procedures, measurements, even a way of thinking. These are much more difficul
