Seminar in Theory of Constraints

Dr. Chao-Hsien Chu
School of Information Sciences and Technology
The Pennsylvania State University, USA
E-Mail: chu@ist.psu.edu

Introduction:

The manufacturing environment Today.
Why companies loss competitive edge?
What's new in manufacturing management?
What is this thing called "TOC"?
MRP, CIM, JIT, TQM, or TOC? Where do we start?

Shaping the Minds:

What is the goals of the organization?
Measurements versus necessary conditions.
What's wrong with conventional measurements?
T.I.OE.-New measures for world-class manufacturing.
Moving from the "cost" world to the "throughput" world.
Exploring the secret of dependent events.
Exploring the impact of statistical fluctuations.
Understanding the magic of bottleneck versus non-bottleneck resources.

Technology Revolutions:

The process of TOC.
Effect-Cause-Effect Diagrams.
Evaporating Clouds.
Socratic Methods.
The Drum-Buffer-Rope Approach.

Illustration of Implementation:

The problems of high inventory.
Process batch versus transfer batch decision.
How to determine profitability?
Make or buy decision.
The effects of engineering improvement.
The impacts of total quality management (TQM).
Marketing segmentation and constraints pricing.
Strategic ramifications of capital investment.
What's wrong with PERT/CPM?

Implementation Issues and Strategy:

The major obstacles faced by most organizations.
How to overcome obstacles to regain competitive edge?
Strategies for successful implementations.

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