An introduction to the dice game Welcome to the dice game simulator. The aim of the dice game is to demonstrate what happens when you have a system of dependent steps (one activity cannot be started until the previous step is complete) and where each step experiences statistical fluctuations (performance varies day by day).
On this page there are two games: the standard game, which is the game played in chapter nine of Pride and Joy, and The Manager’s game where you have resources which can be moved between throws to try and improve flow.
TOC in Production Online Course extract: The 5 Focusing Steps. A Marris Consulting online service.
This course, that we launched one year ago, has been a great success. We continue to add to it continuously by enriching the appendices with more and more recent examples drawn from our unique experience of implementing the Theory Of Constraints in over 350 organisations throughout the world.
We have worked in: cars, bicycles, rockets, planes, trains, buses, medical devices, software development, missiles, chemicals, insurance, oil & gas, batteries, airlines, food & beverages, Swiss watches, auto OEMs, cardboard, aluminum, pharmaceuticals, steel, recycling, dog food, armament, tax services, public transport, e-commerce, industrial equipment, aeronautical MRO, nuclear industry, vacuum pumps, ERP editors and implementors, glass production, ball bearings, air conditioning, global logistics, semiconductors, bank note production, railway MRO, satellites, fast food, mining, armed forces, luxury goods, farming equipment, lampposts, luxury hotels …
MrBeast is the worlds most popular Youtuber. In this video he talks about the book The Goal and how he addresses the question of bottlenecks. Go to 19 mins and 50 seconds "Don’t Be The Bottleneck"
This presentation highlights some of the core developments over the last thirty years and in particular focuses on areas where modification of the standard applications was not sufficient and a different approach was required (one that remains firmly rooted in the underpinning theory). In each instance Alex Knight demonstrates that the breakthrough has come purely from the derivation of the underlying theory and has never required the addition or integration with other theories.
Aeronautical industry: How to master your ramp-up with the Theory Of Constraints. How to produce more despite a stressed-out Supply Chain. Watch the video recording of my recent webinar on the subject. A 22-minute executive summary. This is our point of view based on the 40% of our assignments that are in the aeronautical industry.
The Theory Of Constraints is all about finding what element prevents you reaching your goal. In this case the goal is to produce more. So, the approach is simple: find the “bottleneck” and focus on how it can produce more.
Often, but not always, another important thing that needs to be done in parallel is to reduce the level of inventory. We do this using the “2 for 1 rule”.
I talk not only about producing more but also how to accelerate project portfolios since ramp-ups often require Capex projects, production transfers from one plant to another, new product industrialization, etc.
Philip Marris was one of 20 people invited to share his story of the impact Eliyahu Goldratt, the founder of the Theory Of Constraints, had on him. This was during a conference organized by the Theory Of Constraints Practitioners Alliance (TOCPA) in 2026.
Philip goes back to 1985 when he worked with Eliyahu Goldratt and his brother Issy Pazgal in Creative Output that had developed the OPT scheduling software.
In 1984, Eli Goldratt wrote The Goal, a novel about manufacturing that has no business being as relevant to software as it is. It's also the most useful business book you'll ever read that's technically fiction, which is almost the exact opposite of most KPI frameworks.
The Theory Of Constraints applied to Sales. Some companies suffer from a lack of activity, and we often hear: "The constraint is in the market." This phrase is often expressed as inevitable, even though it is often possible to pull internal levers to overcome this constraint. [....] hosted by Philip Marris and Etienne Lecerf, illustrates the application of the Theory of Constraints to Sales, or how to sell more in industries with a high product diversity, and presents simple tips and solutions to increase revenue. [....]
In B2B sectors with a high product/customer mix, sales teams often face a paradox: a multitude of opportunities, but too little time, focus, and operational alignment to convert them. [....] it would be misleading to think that the responsibility for selling more only falls to sales departments [....] the joint responsibility of sales and operations to increase revenue. [....]
In this webinar, discover how: - The cluster analysis and the white space analysis reveal the [....] - Throughput accounting transforms pricing into [....] - Operations and Supply Chain can maximize [....] - Sales flow mapping clarifies the real constraint [....]
TOC4Finland has invited Philip Marris, CEO of Marris Consulting and a renowned expert in the Theory of Constraints and Lean, to their next meeting in March 2026. This is the continuation of Philip Marris' collaboration with the TOC community in Finland that dates back to his first conference in Helsinki in 2017.
The event brings together several international experts who will present advancements in the use of the Theory of Constraints, particularly with Artificial Intelligence, and case studies of the implementation of the Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain:
1) Case study: How Goldratt's rules were implemented at Fingrid (electricity transmission system operator), by Rami Saajoranta (in Finnish)
2) Case studies: Goldratt's Rules of Flow and Critical Chain by Georgijs Buklovskis (in English)
3) Relevance of the Theory of Constraints when using AI, by Sari Torkkola (in Finnish)
4) Combining the Theory of Constraints and Lean: 1 + 1 = 3, by Philip Marris (in English)
TOC was called in for what may be the worst environmental disaster in the USA. BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform exploded, [...] sending oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Pinnacle Strategies was called upon by BP to rapidly improve supply chain availability and decontamination efforts. Less than 48 hours after the initial inquiry, they began a marathon of visits [...] in one case 10 fold increase, of manufacturing capacity for boom, skimmers, and absorbents. Later, after the well was capped, Pinnacle Strategies led improvement activities at decontamination sites across five states where thousands of boats, ships, and rigs were decontaminated before returning to their normal service. ...
Despite its well-known origins in production, popularized through The Goal, Theory of Constraints (TOC) is far more than a production philosophy – it can be applied to many other areas. ...
Mabin, V. (2013). The thinking processes basics workshop. TOCICO International Conference, Bad Nauheim, Germany, TOCICO
Those who apply the Theory Of Constraints (TOC) have a tendency to confuse the capacity constraint of the organisation (the bottleneck) and punctual or chronic problems.
Those who apply the Theory Of Constraints (TOC) have a tendency to confuse the capacity constraint of the organisation (the bottleneck) and punctual or chronic problems.
[...] a systematic overview of how to: - Identify the Constraint (AKA: The Bottleneck): (See slides 4 & 6) The entire organizational flow is limited by the single tightest restriction. If you aren't optimizing only the constraint first, every other effort is waste. - Practice "Creativity Before Capital": (Slide 8) In 90% of cases, the bottleneck solution is free or extremely low-cost. Moving from chaos to Phase I success does not require significant capital expenditure or additions to headcount. It requires ruthless 改善 (Kaizen) prioritization. - Implement systematic, multi-phase growth sprints: Double EBITDA in 90 to 180 days (Phase I), then transition through continuing 90-day phases that multiply EBITDA again and again (see our projected EBITDA multiplication curve). [...]
An Introduction to Buffer Management This presentation explores the conceptual origins of buffer management in the context of TOC developments across make to order, engineer to order, make to availability (MTO, ETO, MTA) manufacturing environments and more recently in the service sector. The presentation relates the buffer management concept to the seminal work of Shewhart (1931) and Ohno (1978) and discusses the practical and theoretical basis for extending the buffer management concept to enhance ‘lean’ developments, with particular reference to construction and healthcare management.
This is a booklet that describes the process of thinking through a situation, using the TOC Logical Thinking Processes, to show how systems thinking plays an important role in really developing lasting solutions to problems, whether they bedevil the homeowner as in this example, or a business. Think
An online conference of over 20 TOC oldies to speak about their time with Eliyahu Goldratt, and Eli’s impact on their lives. The link includes time stamping to go to a specific testimonial.
The theory of constraints (ToC) is a planning philosophy that determines the throughput of a production system from one (or more) bottlenecks. Supply chain planning is based on the drum-buffer-rope principle and is fully integrated into the SAP system by a large number of consulting solutions. For this purpose, a so-called gating machine, or critical constraint resources (CCR), determines the total throughput in the planning run.
In addition, it should be mentioned that ToC is not reorder-point-based planning. It is a much more holistic, consistent, and intuitive planning philosophy for material and resource planning. In addition, there is enhanced material requirements planning with priority-driven, interactive planning and shop floor control, taking into account bottleneck capacities.
WARNING: The solution proposed by SAP contains several conceptual errors such as placing the buffer after the bottleneck rather that before it. But it is good to see SAP taking the Theory Of Constraints approach into account.
A brief 5 minute summary of how one applies the Theory of Constraints in a production environment. It covers: the axiom of the unbalanced plant, the existence of bottlenecks, the Drum – Buffer – Rope flow control mechanism and the improvement strategy (the 5 focusing steps).
Webinar presented by Philip Marris, CEO of Marris Consulting, sharing his experience supporting numerous aerospace equipment manufacturers in their ramp-up projects.
Aeronautical OEMs: How to produce more despite a stressed-out Supply Chain. [...] Often singled out are the OEMs - Original Equipment Manufacturers -, who are struggling to keep up with the steep ramp up in demand. And the entire supply chain is impacted: lack of materials, but also often a lack of capacity and resources with rare skills. [...] This webinar provides you with the keys to successfully increasing production rates and delivery volumes, while simultaneously improving working conditions.
Short, stand-alone stories inspired by the Theory of Constraints that reveal why systems fail despite smart people, hard work, and good intentions.
Over 100 stories that you can read in any order. 405 pages. A collection of short stories about systems that look busy, responsible, and well-managed—yet quietly fail to move toward their goal. Each story offers a moment of recognition where seeing differently matters more than working harder. These stories can be read in any order. You can pick and choose the ones that interest you or read them all.
Philip Marris presents the graphic edition of the international best seller "The Goal". Based on the business novel "The Goal" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox, this book is a graphic novel. It is an original and pertinent introduction to the Theory of Constraints.
The story is basically unchanged: same story line, sames messages, sames characters, etc.
Authors of original 1984 edition: Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox. Authors of the graphic edition, 2017: Dwight Jon Zimmerman (Editor), Dean Motter (Illustrator)
Operational excellence in the agri-food industry. A lot of the solutions proposed to improve operational excellence are aimed at the manufacturing industry. The specific constraints of the food industry are too often ignored. [...] Philip Marris presents how to adapt classical Operational Excellence to this industry, perspective supported by numerous missions in this industry over the past 20 years. [...] the products must remain fresh has historically forced these businesses to ensure good, rapid flow through their processes. [...] The factory type is nearly always a “V-Plant” with many more references of finished goods as there are different types of raw material. The classic pull flow control mechanisms such as Kanban will often be inapplicable. [...] For those industries that own the raw material (be it the apple trees or herds of cows) they are inexorably in a “push environment" where the challenge is to get the best margin from a given and uncontrollable quantity of incoming material. [...] The material yield (kilos sold / kilos incoming) is key [...] there are change-over constraints [...] In this webinar Philip Marris, with his wide-ranging experience of hundreds of different production environments and the experienced gained by Marris Consulting in the food industry shares his lessons learned and his recommendations.
How to improve flow in knowledge work with the Theory of Constraints
The first time I heard the term Theory of Constraints (ToC), I imagined something as exciting as watching laundry dry. Years later, the Five Focusing Steps of ToC are some of the most powerful tools I know for improving delivery performance—whether in manufacturing, software, or government IT.
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