Goldratt and the Theory of Constraints : The Quantum Leap in Management

Intro -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Why this book? -- Acknowledgements -- What are the goals of the ToC? -- So what are the benefits to me? -- So who was Eli Goldratt? -- How did the ToC come about? -- Why "Theory …?" -- " … of Constraints?" -- So where is the ToC today? -- What are my business targets? -- Earn money -- Excite markets -- Ongoing improvement -- Secure employment -- Profitable growth -- Food for thought -- Earning money-what exactly does it mean? -- Throughput (T) -- Inventory/Investments (I) -- Operating expense (OE) -- Financial decisions -- How successful are we? -- Net Profit (NP) -- Return on Investment (RoI) -- Productivity (P) -- Investment Turns (IT) -- Food for thought -- What keeps us from earning money? -- There is a constraint! -- Five steps toward continuous improvement -- 1. Identify the constraint -- 2. Decide how to optimize use of the constraint -- 3. Everything else must be subordinate to thisone decision -- 4. Elevate the constraint -- 5. Start over if the constraint shifts -- Food for thought -- We are not producing enough! -- Problem: Local optima -- Dilemma: But we do need local optima! -- Idle resources are a waste -- Solution: Drum Buffer Rope -- Drum -- Buffer -- Relay runner work ethic -- Buffer management -- The dangers of success -- Shifting the constraint -- Relay runner work ethic -- Buffer management -- The dangers of success -- Shifting the constraint -- Food for thought -- What about finances? -- Dilemma: Throughput vs. Costs -- The chain analogy -- Managing the chain in the "cost world" -- Managing the chain in the "throughput world" -- The core conflict -- Do costs really follow the additive rule? -- Solution: The Throughput accounting system -- How much profit do we make from our products? -- Find the constraint -- Determine the throughput created by the product.