Theory Of Constraints Thinking Process Research Articles

Leveraging ChatGPT for Enhanced Logical Analysis in the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process

Abstract Background/Purpose Artificial intelligence (AI) has traditionally been used for quantitative analysis using explicit data. However, much of the information critical to decision making remains undocumented and is not stored in a structured way. This study explores the integration of AI, specifically ChatGPT, into Theory of Constraints (TOC) Thinking Process (TP) tools. Method In this study, we applied ChatGPT to a real-world IT project management case using a variety of research methods, including international literature analysis, observation, and personal experience. The use of the TOC TP allowed us to understand the decision-making process of ChatGPT and to systematically explore its advantages and limitations in creating logical trees of TOC TP. Results ChatGPT significantly enhanced efficiency and depth in TOC TP data collection and analysis, effectively addressing logical leaps for more coherent structures. It also promoted deeper analytical thinking and aided root cause identification. The integration of ChatGPT into the TOC TP process led to faster decision-making, reduced bias, and clearer analysis. Challenges of ChatGPT including the need for human oversight, specific TOC TP training, and ethical considerations were noted. Conclusion This study provides an initial investigation into the use of ChatGPT in TOC TP tools. The results suggest that ChatGPT has the potential to be a valuable tool for organizations seeking to improve their decision making and performance. However, further research is needed to validate these findings and explore the full potential of AI in TOC TP.

A framework for using Theory of Constraints thinking processes and tools to complement qualitative system dynamics modelling

AbstractWhile the tools currently used for qualitative system dynamics (Qual SD) modelling are very powerful in providing a holistic perspective and a framework for understanding complexity and change, they are often not explicitly designed to build and implement long‐term solutions based on that understanding. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) thinking processes and tools focus on these important aspects of the decision‐making process. We provide a six‐stage framework combining selected tools from TOC's thinking process and Qual SD's modelling process to provide a more rigorous systems thinking change process. We illustrate the methods and component tools via a case study on a complex societal issue (sale of alcohol in New Zealand supermarkets) developed for teaching purposes. We demonstrate the value of the framework, highlighting complementarities between tools, and show how specific insights emerged using each of the tools, with more insights resulting from using Qual SD and TOC collectively than separately. © 2024 The Authors. System Dynamics Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of System Dynamics Society.

Assembly Sequence Planning with Deformable Linear Objects in the Smart Factory: Dilemmas and Injections

Smart factory consists of extensive automation (e.g., robotic actors) and minor human interventions. Additional characteristics are manufacturing a variety of products rapidly and accurately. Many of the products contain rigid objects assembled with deformable ones, especially deformable linear objects (DLO) such as wires. Deformable object behavior results in modifications of objects' shape and position thus influencing assembly processes. Assembly sequence planning (ASP) is an intractable issue in production management. ASP in a robotized environment such as the smart factory with objects deformations is even more challenging. Deformable objects assembly by robotic actors increase uncertainty and influence factory performances. The theory of constraints (TOC) suggests tools for improving factory performances by concentrating on production flow. The literature is lacking TOC-based tools investigating smart factories and Industry 4.0 aspects. One of TOC thinking process tools is a conflict resolution diagram. This diagram describes a dilemma influencing achieving desired goal and aids in identifying potential solutions (called "injections"). This paper describes ASP dilemma in smart factories regarding robotic manipulation with deformable objects. The dilemma between generic, unified automatic assembly on one hand and customized, designated assembly, on the other hand, is elaborated. An entity called "interaction" is introduced as an injection to the smart factory ASP dilemma. Interactions are defined based on physical, geometric, and manufacturing attributes. Defining interactions categories is an important step toward comprehensive automation of assemblies containing deformable objects. By so interactions are promising direction from both research and industrial perspectives for robotic ASP with deformable objects in smart factories.

Revolutionizing supply chain management the theory of constraints way: a case study

This research describes in detail an application of theory of constraints (TOC) and its resulting benefits on the supply chain performance of India's largest lock manufacturing company over a period of seven years. Using TOC's thinking process, the core constraints that had limited the company's performance in the areas of production, distribution, supply group and projects were identified and eliminated. TOC's unique approach helped the company achieve a significant reduction in its finished goods, raw material and work-in-process inventories at various levels across the supply chain. The stock-outs and excess in the distribution system nearly disappeared. The existing lead times saw a drastic reduction while the availability of items increased to nearly 100% despite significant decrease in inventory levels in the supply chain. The inventory turns of the distributors and retailers more than tripled and their profitability increased significantly. The overall sales of the company grew nearly three times during the six years post TOC implementation. TOC's holistic approach helped the company to double its profits and improve its cash position during the Great Recession.

Transposing Constraints into Feasible Alternative Solutions by using Intermodal Passenger Transport in Timisoara City

Abstract Rural population migration in the urban area attracts a high rate of mobility, especially in cities with university centers and renowned companies. The emergence of these transitions also generates some saturation problems, such as socio-economic and social issues. The need for improvement in transport services are mandatory to change the travel behaviour. This paper provides solutions and ways to improve public transport services by using intermodal passenger transport. Transport services for the population need to be met at a higher level, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The paper illustrates the steps of integrating the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process (TOCTP) by diagnosing the problems encountered, designing the solution plan, and integrating the solution plan to resolve constraints. The paper explains how the TOCTP application detects reliable solutions to solve urban population saturation problems by identifying alternatives to public transport mobility benefits using intermodal passenger transport.

LOJİSTİK SEKTÖRÜNDE KISITLAR TEORİSİ DÜŞÜNCE SÜREÇLERİNİN UYGULANMASI: VAKA ÇALIŞMASI

Maritime transport is one of the most important elements of the logistics sector and its importance is increasing day by day in our globalizing world. As a result of companies moving their trades to international dimensions, the increasing global transportation demand encourages the continuous development and growth of maritime transport. In this study, Theory of Constraints -Thinking Processes (TOC-TP) were applied to container terminal process which is one of the most important nodes of maritime transport.TP is an approach that aims to systematically reveal any limitations that prevent the existing system from functioning more efficiently, and to remove these limitations by generating reasonable and logical solutions.TP uses the techniques of Current Reality Tree, Evaporating Cloud, Future Reality Tree, Prerequisite Tree and Transitional Tree to accomplish these goals. It was aimed to increase the efficiency of container terminal processes by applying TOC-TP. For this purpose, problems were identified by analyzing the existing situation with the Current Reality Tree technique first, and then the Evaporating Cloud technique was used to define injections for removing the problems called undesired effects. The new situation that is expected to be achieved by applying the injections defined for solution of the problems was shown by using Future Reality Tree technique. Finally, the application prescription of the recommended injections to remove the root problems detected in the container terminal processes of the port operation was presented using Transition Tree technique.

PENINGKATAN KINERJA PENGADAAN BARANG PT. API METRA PALMA DENGAN METODE THEORY OF CONSTRAINT THINKING PROCESS

This study aimed to solve the problem of low performance at PT. Api Metra Palma (AMP). Procurement is an important aspect in the company because ineffective procurement process may cause disruption to the overall business process and hinder the operational capability of the company. This procurement problem has occurred at the company long enough, causing a variety of losses, and is a complex problem because it involves many functional parts of the company. Performance measurements for procurement are delivery performance and order fulfillment lead time. Indicators of low performance in the company's procurement are marked with the slow realization of the demand (more than one month) and the underachievement of Quality Objective (QO) of the Department of Procurement and General Affairs.The analysis framework employed the stages of TOC Thinking Process. This theory uses five application tools, namely: Current Reality Tree (CRT), Conflict Cloud (CC), Future Reality Tree (FRT), Prerequisite Tree (PT), and the Transition Tree (TT). Those tools were utilized to identify the key problem, develop solutions and determine the solution to the problem. All the stages were presented in the form of effect-cause-effect relationship in a system and were presented in a form of visual images through a Tree Diagram. This study used a new approach in the TOC Thinking Process, namely the three cloud approach/3-UDE Cloud. This approach can provide guidance for communicating with various parties within the company without creating any resistance through the exposure of conflict in the company. This theory also provides a means for the system to make continuous improvement through the reinforcing loop.This study resulted in the identified root causes of the procurement problem, namely the company’s inability to change the current resources (that support the procurement) to become more reliable. A General Injection to solve the conflicts that exist within the company is through the transformation of procurement resources to become reliable. The transformation is carried out upon human resources, information technology, and procurement methods. The transformation description of the resource procurement is achieved through the implementation of several programs, namely: Internal Technical Training, Holding Visit and Midyear Coordination Meeting, TI Integration for the Procurement of Goods, Network Improvement, Negotiation of Priority Scale Policy Change, Term of Payment (TOP), Early Warning System, and Improvement of Document Control. This study was also able to identify that the company’s paradigm of cost efficiency in all functions and which was derived in the company's policy only caused the company to lose the competitiveness due to the weakened procurement performance.

Revolutionizing blood bank inventory management using the TOC thinking process: An Indian case study

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate an application of TOC's thinking process (TP) in a blood bank environment. We take an example of a real-life blood bank which is struggling with the problems of high shortage and wastage of blood products, large inventory levels, poor and erratic blood collection, limited product variety, high error rate, high turnover of technicians, high operating expenses and low revenue levels. We show using the TOC approach how these seemingly unrelated problems faced by the bank are in fact highly inter-related and how they all originate from a single root-cause. A current reality tree (CRT) is used to identify the root cause responsible for all the major blood bank problems. A conflict resolution diagram (CRD) is constructed to identify the core-conflict(s) responsible for the blood bank's poor performance. A simple yet powerful solution is generated for the given bank by breaking the core-conflict resulting from a paradigm constraint in blood banking. A future reality tree (FRT) is then constructed to show how the TOC approach will help the blood bank in lowering its shortage and wastage levels in spite of collecting lesser number of units in blood donation camps. The bank will be able to significantly cut down its inventories and can issue fresher units to the patients. Blood bank's revenue levels will increase while its operating expense will decrease due to the TOC approach. The error rate as well as the turnover of technicians in the blood bank laboratory will also reduce considerably. A simulation model shows that the proposed TOC solution will reduce the annual shortage of red blood cells by 66% and platelets by 82% at the bank. Similarly, the wastage of red blood cells will decrease by 93%, plasma by 99% and platelets by 98%. The average inventory level of the red blood cells will drop by 41%, plasma by 95% and platelets by 10%. The major contribution of this research is to show that TP tools can be extremely powerful in constructing win-win solutions for complex systems like blood banks by addressing their major problems in an integrated fashion. The TOC approach reveals how one widely-held belief in the blood banking world is the main reason behind the blood banks' poor state of affairs. The solutions presented in this research should be readily applicable to other blood banks which are struggling to improve their operational and financial performance.

The TOC Thinking Process: The viability of change

This research article presents a Full Thinking Process Analysis (FTPA), along with an in-depth comprehension of changes in healthcare, through a reframing of the Three-Cloud Approach. The reframed Three-Cloud Approach provides useful insights into the change implementation process, as it relates to the construction challenge of a new, 1000-bed hospital. Pertinent documents, formal evidence and interviews reveal multiple types of constraints, their dissolution and the implementation of shared answers to observed problems. Through the lens of the Thinking Process-Three-Cloud Approach, the case study shows how the process of identifying the Core Conflict Cloud is fundamental to implementing ongoing strategic and organizational change. The Three-Cloud Approach allows in-depth analyses of resistances to change and other intra-organisational processes, while it highlights the conditions necessary for underpinning and designing effective tactics for successful change implementation.

Creative Educational Methods in Implementation of Investment Projects in Renewable Energy

Implementation of renewable energy projects (RES) involves very complex processes which are based on the latest creative techniques to give adequate solutions teaching practitioners of this multidisciplinary field. The need for a complex transfer of knowledge at the administrative level, technical level and technological level of RES projects, constitute prerequisites for success in projects implementation of this type. The present paper proposes using creative educational methods for implementing investment projects in renewable energy using a combination of methods of Goldratt. To exemplify bottleneck situations in the management of certain flows within the supply chain of the RES implementation projects, the paper proposes Drum-Buffer-Rope philosophy. In order to underline the effectiveness in fast obtaining and implementing the right solutions along the lifecycle of RES projects, the paper illustrates the steps of Theory of Constraints Thinking Process (TOCTP) integration by problem diagnosing, designing the solutions plan and integrating the solutions plan through the conceptualization of adequate diagrams communication within these types of projects.

Knowledge Transfer in Educational Projects

The most appropriate approach for educational project practices, considering flow of ideas, may lead to the development and implementation of a thorough process of innovation for the knowledge transfer, based on best techniques of converting combinations for tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. One of the recent concepts of process improvement has been created using the methodology Win-Win and Clarity of Communication based on the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process (TOCTP). The paper illustrates the application of TOCTP in the process of converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge in educational projects. The paper provides different viewing perspective approaches for the knowledge transfer, building a strategy for a wide variety of issues, which contribute completely too full conversion of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. The research methodology of this paper illustrates the steps of TOCTP integration by problem diagnosing, designing the solutions plan and integrating the solutions plan into a conceptual model for knowledge transfer in educational projects. The authors of this paper present a case study that underlines the effectiveness in fast obtaining the right solutions for a research theme by using a combination of TOCTP diagrams.

Applying TOC thinking process tools in managing challenges of supply chain finance: a case study

The purpose of this paper is to examine the different challenges that confront supply chain finance (SCF) in Indian business environment, identify the core challenge and develop a concrete action plan to overcome it in an Indian organisation. An exclusive survey was carried out amongst Indian firms to ascertain the perceptions and experiences related to different SCF challenges. To identify the key challenge and prepare a road map to overcome it in an organisation, the five thinking process (TP) tools of the theory of constraints (TOC) were employed. The TP tools helped the organisation in the early stage of implementing SCF initiatives that guided the SCF manager before executing them. This paper is one of the first studies to address and analyse a survey on various challenges confronting SCF and present an integrated application of TP tools in solving a problem of SCF.

Theory of Constraints Thinking-Process Tools Facilitate Goal Achievement for Hotel Management: A Case Study of Improving Customer Satisfaction

This article aims to illustrate an implementation of theory of constraints (TOC) thinking process (TP) in order to analyze and improve operations at a hotel. The article contributes to the hospitality literature by demonstrating the effectiveness of the TOC TP within the hospitality industry. In order to understand current operations, data were collected through interviews, direct observations, and meeting with various focus groups. The research findings show that the TOC TPs can help hotel managers adapt appropriate strategies to successfully manage the constraints that were keeping the case study organization from improving its overall performance relative to its stated goal.

Intellectual Property Exchange Between Two Partner Companies- Application of the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes

The problem of implementing a database for intellectual property sharing in a two company alliance is examined utilizing the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes. The implementation of this database is required for new product development. Database implementation is hampered by internal policies, cost considerations, and strategic misalignment. A cause-effect analysis employing the Current Reality, Evaporating Cloud, Future Reality and Prerequisite techniques allows resolution of the conflict, resulting in a win-win solution and feasible implementation plan. This application of the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes provides an excellent example for practitioners, academics and educators to examine the methodology and analyze its strengths.

Applying the TOC Thinking Process: A case study in the government sector

In the past, the TOC Thinking Process (TP) has been primarily applied to address managerial challenges in private sector manufacturing, logistics, and project-oriented organizations. The purpose of this paper is to present an application of the TOC TP in a public sector service organization, namely, the Water Utility Division Maintenance System (WUDMS) within the Albuquerque Public Works Department. The two necessary conditions for meeting the WUDMS's goal of effective management are (1) completing work in a waste-free manner and (2) responding promptly to customer requests for service. Although seven undesirable effects (UDEs) were identified by the improvement team, UDEs from three diverse areas were selected for creating the requisite conflict clouds, namely, (1) much repair work is not completed promptly, (2) WUDMS has some wasteful practices, and (3) managers are unable to schedule repair work effectively. Entities from these conflict clouds were synthesized into a core conflict cloud that revolved around the issue of dedicating more human resources to repair work or improvement efforts and that formed the base of the Current Reality Tree. By surfacing assumptions underlying entity pair relationships within the core conflict, a strategic direction for change was identified as: expansion of WUDMS capacity through the use of non-traditional resources. This injection was logically validated via a Future Reality Tree. Initial results from its implementation demonstrate that the direction of the solution is correct.

Applying the TOC TP: a case study in the service sector

An increasingly utilized framework for implementing the continuous improvement management philosophy is the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Although this systemic managerial approach was initially developed and applied in the manufacturing sector, its underlying philosophy has been expanded to address three basic questions: What to change?; What to change to?; and How to cause the change? Demonstrates how a manager could apply the TOC thinking process (TP) logic tools to answer the first two questions for a small service organization. In regard to the first query, uses a relatively new procedure called the “three‐cloud approach” to determine the core problem or root cause responsible for the majority of the problems currently faced by management. By using this approach, a manager creates a current reality tree (CRT) that uses sufficiency logic to document the cause‐effect relationships responsible for a system’s current state. In regard to the second query, develops another TOC logic tool, a future reality tree (FRT), to help construct and evaluate planned interventions for resolving the core conflict and improving effectiveness. Draws conclusions relative to the feasibility and utility of using TOC TP logic tools to help managers of service organizations improve their overall system performance.

Applying the TOC thinking process in manufacturing: A case study

A case study is presented to illustrate the application of the Theory of Constraints thinking process logic tools in a manufacturing environment. The study firm performs design activities related to meeting future product requirements while concurrently meeting existing production schedules for the current design of the product. Current approaches to managing the firm's limited productive capacity do not allow for both design and production activities to occur simultaneously while meeting the customer's current product delivery schedule. Thus, despite their desire to satisfy their customer's future design requirements, management uses the majority of its production capacity to meet its customer's current product delivery schedule. This case study demonstrates how a team of employees used thinking process logic diagrams to document reality, identify a core conflict and problem, develop proposed changes to address the core problem, and create several detailed action plans to implement changes within the study organization. Initially, scenarios associated with some undesirable effects are used to understand how prevailing policies and behaviours result in less than desired production line performance. Then, a current reality tree is constructed to link the core problem or system constraint with the previously identified undesirable effects. Next, two major injections are developed to address the core problem in managing the production line as logically documented in a future reality tree. Finally, three transition trees are presented to guide the implementation of change at the study organization.