Business loves catchphrases and labels. That especially applies to improvement methodologies. So many refer to these methodologies as Six Sigma, when in fact, Six Sigma is actually a methodology of improvement. However, when you understand improvement methodologies, you will find that there are three different and unique improvement methodologies, only one of which is Six Sigma. The challenge in selection is to use whatever methodology that helps your organization improve. Let’s define three methodologies to help with this understanding:

Six Sigma – A focus on reducing variation and achieving uniform process, resulting in less waste, less throughput waste and less inventory.

Lean – A focus on waste and flow time results in less variation, uniform output and less inventory.

Theory of Constraints (TOC) – A focus on constraints and increased throughput results in less inventory.

Although the belief is there is commonality with the methodologies, the fact is they are distinct processes that achieve unique results through their application. It is important to understand the methodology and which theory will be accepted in the individual corporate culture. Change is embraced when acceptance is reached.

The first step in this process is to identify the primary theory that works best for your business and the one that will be quickly accepted within the culture. First we need to understand the primary theory of the methodology, then understand the primary theory of the tools and methodology. This is considered to be the primary effect. It is an if/then relationship. For example:

Six Sigma – If you focus on reducing variation, then you will have a more uniform process.

Lean If you focus on waste removal, then flow time will improve.

TOC If you focus on constraints, then throughput volume will improve.

It may appear that each methodology is driven towards common tools and concepts. However, the reality is that each methodology begins their journey from different perspectives, crossing commonality in the middle and ending with different results.

Deciding which methodology will work best for your organization begins with understanding the organizational culture and values. If your organization values analytical studies and data, then Six Sigma may be the best fit. If your organization values immediate change with visual results, then Lean may be the best choice. If your organization values a systematic approach, where process buy-in’ is not crucial and you value separation of worker and management, TOC would be your choice.

Ultimately, there are many factors involved in choosing a methodology, but these core considerations should be your driving focus. Each methodology contributes valuable concepts, ideas and techniques. You must decide which will best benefit your organization.

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By effectively applying the theory of constraints (TOC), you can optimize a process and push it towards its limits without actually violating any of those limits. That way, you can get much more out of each iteration of that process, and your overall operation will run more smoothly and efficiently. There are many areas where TOC is seeing active use nowadays, and retail is one of the more prominent ones for various reasons.

More Efficient Supplying

Keeping shelves stocked and the store supplied as a whole is a challenging task, and one that often runs on tight deadlines and other limiting constraints. And yet, once you dig deep beneath the surface of the supply chain management of most retail stores, you end up uncovering some frightening patterns. It’s not rare to realize that those constraints are far from pushed to their limits, and in some cases the supplying process may actually be severely behind the line in terms of utilizing its potential.

Of course, improving your supply chain operations doesn’t mean much if your storage facilities can’t handle the extra load as well. There is a fine balance that has to be observed, but thankfully the theory of constraints can be just as useful in those areas as well. The important thing is that you don’t leave any part of your business untouched when applying TOC, as it can actually help create an imbalance if you only apply it to one part of your retail shop.

If this is a problem for you, you may want to take a careful look at the way you’re handling the operation of your storage facilities. Sometimes you’ll discover that there are some constraints that can be pushed in that area as well, and these can sometimes even lead to more significant improvements in your overall productivity.

Organizing Shifts in a Better Way

Another common problem in the retail world are constant schedule conflicts and issues with the timing of employees. This often boils down to the fact that schedules are not actually utilized as fully as they could be, and a lot of time is wasted on procedures that can either be grouped together or ultimately avoided completely.

By pushing some constraints, you can ensure that your workers not only utilize the time they spend at work much more efficiently, but also that they have more time for themselves, because schedules are organized in a more appropriate way. This will lead to increased productivity across the board, as well as increased employee satisfaction which can ultimately play towards the same final result.

Keep in mind that TOC can sometimes drive you towards making changes that are not actually that optimal for everyone, and you’ll need to keep every employee’s current scheduling situation into consideration when you’re about to push some constraints. Otherwise, you might find out that you’ve pushed something too far and it makes things uncomfortable for one or more employees. In the retail world, this can be disastrous as it can lead to an issue that quickly compounds and keeps getting worse and worse over time.

Conclusion

The theory of constraints has a very important place in the retail world, and it can open the doors to many improvements in the operation of a typical retail store. However, it has to be applied in a careful, controlled manner that takes some factors into consideration, most importantly the balance between the work of different departments like supply and storage. As long as you go about it in a coordinated manner that takes everything into account, you should end up with good results.

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The theory of constraints (TOC) is a methodology that seeks to maximize the potential of any system by investigating its constraints, and figuring out the critical ones. From there, the system can be safely expanded in directions where the constraints are not at their limit yet, allowing the company to move forward towards improved productivity while remaining within safe margins. It shouldn’t be surprising that TOC finds active use in the healthcare sector, and there are various real-world examples of how it has helped transform a facility into a more productive and organized one.

Increased Capacity for Patients

By far one of the biggest problems for healthcare facilities of any scale is the rate at which they can service their patients. It’s not rare for waiting times to extend beyond one hour even with an appointment, and this continues to be a major issue with various clinics and hospitals. When you look at this problem as a situation with constraints, it becomes clear that TOC can be a powerful tool for addressing it.

There are real case studies where TOC has been applied to reduce the waiting times at healthcare facilities, and it’s pretty much universally a great success. Sometimes the reductions aren’t that significant, but this usually indicates the facility was already handling its workload efficiently to begin with. In other cases, a very sharp reduction in waiting times can be observed, with a large number of new patient slots opening up for each available day.

Of course, the theory of constraints is not a magic wand in these situations, and it still relies on your ability to accurately identify the constraints that are preventing the facility from handling more patients. When you’re working with more physicians in a larger facility, it can become a lot trickier to coordinate things in an efficient manner.

Improved Emergency Response Rates

Responding to an emergency situation usually follows a strict checklist that varies according to the exact nature of the emergency. In all cases, the points of that list are important and it makes sense to follow them strictly, but there are situations where a lot of time is wasted on procedures that are ultimately fruitless and can be safely trimmed from the checklist.

However, those cases are not always that apparent, especially to overburdened healthcare professionals working under pressure and tight deadlines. A careful evaluation of the checklist that has to be followed in a situation like this may reveal certain constraints that are far below their ideal values, allowing the facility to improve its ability to handle those situations at a faster rate.

It’s still important to maintain a sharp focus on patient safety in all situations though, especially when it comes to an emergency. That’s why it’s usually a good idea to apply TOC in several steps when trying to improve emergency response rates, instead of making multiple drastic changes all at once. That way, you can safely roll the system back in case you encounter new problems, and you can go back to the drawing board to look for alternative solutions that you may have missed before.

It’s also a good idea to communicate your intentions with the physicians who’re going to be affected as best as possible, otherwise they might feel like the pressure on them is increasing for no good reason. This is a field that already suffers from a problem with this quite a lot, so don’t make things even worse.

Conclusion

The theory of constraints can be a very powerful tool for transforming the workflow at a healthcare facility and ensuring that things run much more smoothly and without any unnecessary interruptions or wasted time. However, it has to be applied carefully and in a controlled manner to guarantee that the safety of patients is not compromised at any step of the way, and that things remain in reasonable margins.

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Working with the Theory of Constraints (TOC) can be very beneficial for many businesses nowadays, especially those that are constantly striving to improve their operations and get even more out of their work. This happens to align perfectly with the general ideas behind Six Sigma, making the two a powerful combination with a great potential. If you want to see great improvements in your business and ensure that they will not impact your operations in any unexpected ways, look no further than integrating the Theory of Constraints.

Aligning TOC and Six Sigma

Continuous improvement is one of the core ideas behind Six Sigma, and it’s the exact state that you’re trying to achieve by integrating the Theory of Constraints into your work. When you’re working with TOC, you’ll always know that the improvements you’re making are going to impact your business positively, instead of having any side effects that will ultimately cause problems down the road.

On the other hand, Six Sigma can help you trim the fat in your operations by allowing you to focus on waste reduction as much as you can and this usually goes hand in hand with integrating the Theory of Constraints into your operations. By ensuring that you’re not wasting any efforts or resources in any area of your operations, you can easily move in the direction of improving every step of the process

Verifying the Validity of Each Change

One of the best things about Six Sigma is that it forces you to always look at your business with a critical eye and evaluate its current state under a microscope. This can often allow you to spot errors in the current setup much faster than if you’re attempting to verify your processes through auxiliary means, and this in turn is a perfect complement to what TOC does for your business.

Put simply, when you’re working with TOC, you’ll want to ensure that every change you’re making to your operations pushes some constraint outwards, while at the same time remaining within reasonable bounds. You can easily use a constant verification process as part of your Six Sigma implementation in order to ensure that those constraints are not getting violated at any step of the way, and optionally to get alerts whenever such a violation does occur. This can be a very powerful tool with serious implications for your overall operations.

Sometimes you may even discover that you could have pushed things even further, thanks to the analytical techniques found in the area of Six Sigma. It’s generally a very powerful set of tools and methods that can help you get in full control of your business in a relatively short period of time, and ensure that you’re always striving for continuous improvement.

Analyzing the Change of Your Business Throughout Time

Last but definitely not least, when you’ve got Six Sigma integrated tightly into your operations, this means that you have a reliable way of looking back through time and seeing how your business has changed since its original inception. And this can be a very useful tool when you’re working with TOC, as it can give you a very accurate overview of how things have changed with each improvement you’ve made. Sometimes you may see a certain line of the graph going down but that’s fine, as long as the long-term tendency is towards improvement.

Conclusion

The Theory of Constraints can have a huge impact on an organization that’s already relying on Six Sigma in its operations, and it’s a powerful tool that’s important to master as early as possible if you want to strive for continuous improvement. Even if that’s not the direction you want to move in, it’s still a good idea to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of TOC.

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