Page 100 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

86 I n t e g r a t e d P l a n n i n g S t r a t e g i c P l a n n i n g 87

elevation actions short of that point. In either case, after the
subordinate or elevate steps it’s important to go back to the first
step (identify) to verify where the new system constraint is, or to
determine that it has not migrated away from the original location.
Sometimes a constraint moves, not as a result of intentional actions,
but as a result of a change in the environment. For instance, a
change in preferences of the market might drive a company to
change its prod uct mix to such an extent that the constraint moves
elsewhere. While such external changes don’t happen very
frequently, it’s worth the effort to go back to the first step from time
to time, just to verify that what we believe to be the constraint still
is, in fact, the system’s limiting fac tor.
The warning about inertia says: “Don’t become complacent.”
There are two reasons for this. First, when the constraint moves,
the actions or policies we put into place to exploit and subordinate
the rest of the system to the “old” constraint may no longer be the
best things to do for the benefit of the whole system. If we don’t
re-evaluate where the new system constraint is, this deficiency
would never be noticed. Second, there is often a tendency to say,
“Well, we’ve solved that prob lem. There’s no need to revisit it
again.” But today’s solution eventual ly becomes tomorrow’s his-
torical curiosity. An organization that’s too lazy (or distracted by
other demands for its attention) to revisit old solutions can be sure
that eventually—probably sooner, rather than later—it won’t be
getting the best possible performance from its system.

Tools of Constraint Management
Success or failure in any endeavor often relies on the selection and
proper use of the right tools. Constraint management is no exception.
While the five focusing steps are effective guidelines for the tactical
and strategic manage ment of any kind of system, in specific situations
the nature of constraints and the problems associated with them call
for different tools and procedures. Exploiting a constraint would be
done differently in a service environment than in a production process.
Subordination would be different in a heavy manufacturing company
that produces standardized products than it would be in a small job
shop. Wouldn’t it be useful to have an aid that could point us toward
the right constraint management actions for each situation?

The Logical Thinking Process
With so many different kinds of constraints, and with policy constraints
underlying most of them, how can we identify what specific changes we
should be working on? Many of these constraints aren’t easy to identify.
Often, they’re not physical, or they’re not easy to measure. They sometimes

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