MEE1016 Lean Enterprises and New Manufacturing Technology

FALL SEMESTER 2022_23

G2 SLOT

DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT -1

FACULTY- Prof. SUNDARAMALI G.

Submitted by

NAME – Shashank Phansikar

REG. No: 20BME0703

Introduction
The theory of constraints is arguably one of the most important solution developed with
regards to production engineering. It holds the capacity to rescue companies in a free fall and
get them back on track.
I intend to show the reader how the theory of constraints can be used in industries to increase
efficiency. In this paper, the example of an electric equipment company that produces
products for the mining industry is taken. However, the theory of constraints itself has a wide
array of applications such as manufacturing companies, service-based companies, quality
management, etc. It is well known in production engineering circles. The principle of TOC
can be summed up by a famous quote, “the chain is only as strong as its weakest link”
This is cited in papers [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]

If a certain raw material has to undergo various processes to turn into a final product, then,
Using the theory of constraints, an engineer first maps the overall production capacity by its
capacity constraining process and attempts to improve it.
It is a continuous improvement method that attempts to resolve the bottleneck and ensures
that the organization is making the maximum use of its available time and resources to
produce the optimum output.
TOC necessitates the deployment of additional resources in bottlenecks or the areas which
are causing the bottlenecks to form within the process.
such resources are called buffers. This philosophy is widely used in companies.
To quote some research papers,
TOC as a topic was first touched upon by E. M. Goldratt and Cox [8] wherein they coined the
term “Theory of production”.
{cited in 8}
In the following years, Goldratt published a book where for the first time, the term “theory of
constraints” was coined. [cited in 9, 10, 11].
According to Şimşit et al [1], TOC focuses on the weakest ring(s) in the chain to improve the
performance of systems.
according to Mabin and Balderstone [2], TOC is a multi-faceted systems methodology that
has been developed to assist people and organizations to think about their problems, develop
breakthrough solutions, and implement those solutions successfully.
Some advantages of TOC are as follows.
1) Reduction in the price of the product: This occurs because of factors such as the removal
of non-value-added operations, reducing the number of machine-hours, less wastage, etc.
2) improvement in the quality of the product
3) Increase in the overall productivity
4) Ease of management

In the next section, we will discuss how the theory of constraints has helped a company to
increase its efficiency.
Analysis.
the example of an electric equipment company that produces products for the mining industry
is taken
Five important areas in the production process are identified, namely
1) warehouse for storage of material intake,
2) paint shop, for painting
3) assembly, for joining various components to make the final product
4) testing station, to ensure that the product meets quality and safety standards
5) final product warehouse to store the product until the customer orders it.

after identifying these areas, the next step is to identify which department is the bottleneck of
the overall process. To do this, there is a combination of processes like Observation, usage of
software named “Enterprise Resource Planning” (ERP), and process mapping.
Thus, we found out that the (2) Paint shop is where the bigger financial losses were occurring
rendering the entire process inefficient.
Our next goal is to solve this.
The following solution is given by Radoslaw Wolniak and Michal Zasadzien who are cited in
[12]

These two Scientists first studied how the process is being done currently
(Before implementing TOC)
(Image taken from source [12])

as pointed out, there are two drawbacks to the current

system.
1) there is no break between the shifts
2) the devices are not dried after work.

Now let’s see what the scientists did after applying the theory of constraints
(image taken from source [12])
by implementing these two solutions, i.e. Introducing a break and drying the devices.
the researchers reported an increase in efficiency by 19% [source 12]

another added advantage is the overtime, in case of any unforeseen circumstances, the
workers have the opportunity to resolve it in overtime, and even after utilizing the overtime,
the factory will run on schedule. This is because overtime can be done during break time.

There is another improvement that the researchers did.

The below image represents what jobs the workers used to do during their shifts.
{image taken from source [12]}

now the changes that the researchers are going to do, will pertain to the painting process.
the earlier changes were with regards to time, shifts, breaks, etc.

as you can observe, painting is done two times, in (3) and (5) it was questioned whether it is
really required, i.e., painting them with molykote and foundation in the first stage, then
assembling the device and returning it to the paint shop for final painting. Additionally,
painting the devices with different colours on the interior and exterior if not required by
certain standards or the client would then be a non-value activity
Points 4, 5, and 6 of the overall painting process were focused on for improvements. By
Studying the painting process carefully, the researchers pointed out two reasons for the
prolonged painting process.
1) double painting the device
2) the use of two different colors for the internal and external parts of the device.

after implementing TOC, the new painting process schedule is displayed on the next page.
The new painting process was designed to maximize the availability of the painting booth and
thus eliminate the “bottleneck”. The amount of time needed for the overall painting process
was reduced significantly. The difference is about 5 hours, which is 35%.
source 12

Conclusion:
the theory of constraints in the production process eliminated the “bottleneck” by shortening
the entire painting process from the earlier 15 hours to the new 10 hours.
Some more improvements that were not mentioned above were also implemented such as
creating an additional room equipped with lashing.
The painting booth was divided into two workstations independent painting and drying parts.
A divider was also installed so that painting in two different colors is possible.
The fact that we are able to apply the Theory of Constraints in a present-day company and get
better results only confirms the philosophy’s universal validity in bringing gain.
Thanks to the Method of Five Steps of Focus, the concept of the Theory of Constraints allows
for the streamlining of production processes by identifying constraints and taking measures
towards their elimination. Using TOC in production companies allows for
1) elimination of losses during the manufacturing process
2) improvement in the efficiency of the entire process.

References.

[1] M. Alsmadi, A. Almani, Z. Khan, Implementing an integrated ABC and TOC approach to enhance
decision making in a Lean context: A case study. International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management 8 (2014) 906-920.

[2] A. Banerjee, S.K. Mukhopadhyay, A contemporary TOC innovative thinking process in the
backdrop of leagile supply chain. Journal of Enterprise Information Management 3 (2016) 400-431.

[3] V. Belvedere, A. Grando, Implementing a pull system in batch/mix process industry through
Theory of Constraints: A case study, in.: (eds.) Ronen B. The Theory of Constraints. Practice and
Research, Washington, DC: IOS Press, 2005.

[4] J. Cox, J. Schleier, Theory of Constraints. Handbook, New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professional,
2010

[5] H.W. Dettmer, Goldratt's Theory of Constraints: A Systems Approach to Continuous

Inmrovement, Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press, 1999

[6] E.M. Goldratt, Theory of Constraints/Lean/Six Sigma Integration, New York, NY: McGraw Hill
Professional, 2010.
[7] E.M. Goldratt, Critical chain, North River Press, USA, 1997.

[8] E.M. Goldratt, J. Cox, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, New York, NY: North River
Press, 2014.

[9] E.M. Goldratt, It’s not luck, London, England: Routledge, 2012.

[10] T. Hirts, P. Guernaccini, Toward a Model of Performance Measurement of Output Based on the
Theory of Constraints. Studies in Managerial and Financial Accounting 25 (2012) 117-137.

[11] W.A. Lewinson, Beyond the theory of constrain. How to eliminate variation and maximize
capacity, New York, NY: Productivity Press, 2007.

[12] Wolniak, Radosław & Skotnicka-Zasadzien, Bozena & Zasadzień, Michał. (2018). Application of
the Theory of Constraints for Continuous Improvement of a Production Process-Case Study. DEStech
Transactions on Social Science, Education and Human Science. 10.12783/dtssehs/seme2017/18023.