Ep 18. Eli Goldratt: The Goal, Theory of Constraints, OPT, Drum-Buffer-Rope

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In 1984, a physicist wrote a novel to sell his factory software. It worked too well, but it cost him his company. Eli Goldratt's "The Goal" became one of the most influential business books ever written. By his own account, operations managers that read it got better results than clients who had bought his scheduling software. He refused to pretend otherwise, and his shareholders showed him the door.This episode tells that story, then opens the Theory of Constraints for operators: the five focusing steps, Drum-Buffer-Rope, and why throughput accounting starts fights with finance. We test the evidence: a Marine Corps repair depot, an Air Force C-5 line, a Japanese toolmaker and the case against, including the failure mode Goldratt documented himself: what happens when a business books freed capacity as a headcount saving instead of a growth engine. This is the story about the man, novel, and impact on operations management. This episode pairs well with previous Operational Velocity episodes on John Little, Deming, and Aravind Eye Care, the links are below: 

• John Little 
  • https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZsSVZSKyYk1Rtn1ZCHkU3
• W. Edwards Deming
  • https://open.spotify.com/show/033vWeYysd1RAQNqG8kqAg
• Aravind Eye Care
  • https://open.spotify.com/episode/7BJeh8XppHXhJ6vO1nGjzG

Sources

• Goldratt & Cox, The Goal (1984; revised 1986, 1992, 2004, 2014)
• Goldratt & Fox, The Race (1986)
• Goldratt, The Haystack Syndrome (1990) · It's Not Luck (1994) · Critical Chain (1997)
• Goldratt, "My Saga to Improve Production" (1996): toc-goldratt.com/content/My-Saga-to-Improve-Production
• Goldratt, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," Gestão & Produção (2009): scielo.br/j/gp/a/nw43nPSMWtFFqr4x5jhJkJn
• Watson, Blackstone & Gardiner, "The evolution of a management philosophy: The theory of constraints," Journal of Operations Management (2007)
• Mabin & Balderstone, "The performance of the theory of constraints methodology," IJOPM (2003)
• US Marine Corps, "MCA garners 'Fox' award" (2009): albany.marines.mil
• Srinivasan et al., "Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Streamlines Aircraft Repair and Overhaul," Interfaces (2007)

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