The Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management philosophy that focuses on identifying and addressing the most significant bottleneck or limitation in a process. It posits that every system has at least one constraint that restricts its overall performance. By improving this constraint, organizations can enhance efficiency and productivity. TOC involves five steps: identifying the constraint, exploiting it to maximize its output, subordinating other processes to support it, elevating the constraint to promote further improvement, and continually reassessing the system to address new constraints as they arise. This cyclical approach leads to ongoing optimization and success.