Bottlenecks in the process and application of Goldratts theory of constraints - Essay Example

Bottlenecks in the process and application of Goldratt’s theory of constraints A bottleneck is an obstruction or constraint in the system which impairs the performance of the entire system and results in increased system time and the low throughput. More specifically it can be defined as a resource which cannot accommodate the demand placed on it due to its limited capacity (Chase, Jacobs & Aquilano, 2006). For instance, if we consider the process of bread making; there are two steps required to complete the process.

The first step is to prepare the dough and bake the loaves while the second step is of packaging the loaves. If the first step has a cycle time of 1 hour for a batch of 100 loaves and the second step has a cycle time of 0.75 hours than the first step is a bottleneck to the entire process. This is so because its capacity is lesser than the demand placed on it as the packaging process has a higher demand as it needs to package 133 loaves in an hour. Thus a bottleneck results in increased system time and lower throughput.

My initial process is illustrated below in the figure. Figure 1: Flowchart for getting out of bed and getting ready for work The main bottlenecks in the process that can slow the response time are the activity of alarm ringing, dressing up and breakfasting. This is so because when the alarm rings, it matters that do I get out of the bed on the first ring or not. Secondly, dressing up can also be a bottleneck for getting ready for work since it depends on whether my dress has been ironed and shoes are polished or not.

Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints (TOC) Goldratt’s theory of constraint is a great tool which can be used to identify and overcome the bottlenecks in the process. Firstly, it emphasizes on identifying system constraint. Then it stresses that we should make the constraints as effective as possible. We have already identified our major constraints which are Not getting out of bed on first alarm bell Dress not being ironed and shoes not being polished Breakfast not ready on time The second step of the theory requires that we.

That is we can sleep out early in the night so the probability of getting out of the bed on the first alarm ring is high. Similarly I can iron out my dress and polish the shoes a day before planning to go to the work. If I utilize all the activities efficiently, I can reach work on time and hence can maximize my throughput which is my fundamental goal. References Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F. R., & Aquilano, N. J. (2006) Operations Management for Competitive Advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin